Should I ground my Tice Powerblock / Titan Combo?

Help,

I live in an apt with no ground (built in the 40's). I just picked up a Tice Elite 3. I have an Rotel RSP1098, 2 SAE A202 amps, Rotel DVD player, tuner, etc to run off the Tice. Got it with no manual.. have no idea how to set the switches, what to do about the no ground etc etc.. HELP. thanks!

I live in an apt with no ground (built in the 40's).
10-06-10: Rotelmania

Multi story apt building? Good chance the electrical branch circuit wiring is installed in metallic conduit.

If you have a multi meter you can check it out.
*pull the receptacle outlet cover plate.
*Set the meter to AC volts.
*Insert one test probe in the screw hole that holds on the receptacle outlet cover plate. Or touch it to the one of the screws that holds the receptacle to the metal rough-in box.
*Insert the other test probe in the hot contact hole of the receptacle. Don't know which one is the hot one? Try both.

Meter should read 120Vac nominal....

If it does you have an equipment ground. How good of a ground? That depends on the integrity of all the fitting connections from the receptacle metal box all the way back to the electrical panel.

Hire an electrician he can test the ground conductivity by putting a temporary load across the hot conductor and the metal receptacle box. He will then check for voltage drop across the temporary load.

Have a new grounding type receptacle ready for the electrician to install if the equipment ground checks out ok.....
.

Jea48 THANKS!! Really appreciate the help. I know how to work a multi-meter but, not an EE major so... most appreciative!!

Ok, well, this should be interesting.. it was for me at least.

the wires are PAPER wraped with what looks like thick string (but with the characteristics of paper) :( talk about brittle.. look at it funny and it crumbles.. Have no idea how that works. What I looked at crumbled on me and I had to wrap it with electrical tape to cover it up. Old screw in style fuses etc. (I'm upping my renters insurance for replacement value on everything tomorrow!! :))

to your test.
You are right about some kind of ground.. weather the outlets are simply tying the ground and the neutral or, they are grounding through a metal conduit.. I don't know. what I see coming in the box is paper wrapped wire.. cant speak for whats behind the box in the wall. I didnt see a ground/neutral tie so, must be a metal conduit ground ??

OUTLET 1: has 120 between hot and ground good sign
OUTLET 2: has 84v between hot and ground :/ not sure what that means
OUTLET 3: has 1.3v between hot and ground ahhhh what now
OUTLET 4: in bathroom has 120v between hot and ground. good

wow, well, my Triplite Isobar on the TV is getting a good ground. But, my stereo is all tied in to the outlet with 1.3v to ground. (I have nothing in the outlet with 84v to ground)

Now, This may not matter as... NONE of my stereo equipment has a 3 prong plug! both amps/preamp/tuner... all 2 prong.

BUT.. my TICE ELITE 3 does have the 3 prongs. what happens if I plug this in and it gets a 1.3v ground? will I pop the Tice? Or is this not a big deal?

THANKS!!

Steve

Hi

Sorry Bruce_Weiland if this looks familiar but I figure I'd post this so everyone may benefit.

I live in a an older house and I just purchased a Tice Power Block for my audio system. The outlet I have the Tice Power Block plugged into is grounded. I confirmed it with a Tripp Lite power strip that tell shows a green light when the outlet is grounded/ok.

I then plugged in the Tripp Lite power strip into an outlet on the Tice Power Block and the strip was showing there was a fault and there was no ground. I then checked all the other outlets and got the same reading.

Is this normal? I'm hoping the Tice Power Block is stll grounded and I can start plugging all my gear into it. I was hoping to plug in my amp, preamp, transport and dac into it. Should I have the Tice Power Block checked and possibly serviced for any grounding issues?

Thanks in advance.

The Power Block is fine...it is a isolation transformer...that means the neutral is isolated from the house...which in turn reads as an open circuit (no ground) if you plug a polarity checker (in this case the power strip) into the Tice output (secondary)...that is normal.