Should I ground my Tice Powerblock / Titan Combo?

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.

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.
10-06-10: Rotelmania

Rotelmania,

Apt 40 years old?.... Probably more like at least 60 years old. You should have not pulled out the receptacle/s for a look. You will definitely need to hire an electrician to access the damage done by disturbing the old brittle insulated wiring.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>..

10-07-10: Apmaher
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.

Wrong.....it is not fine.....

By UL the neutral cannot float. It must be connected to the main system ground of the house. In fact, in this case, there is no neutral just 2 floating hot conductors with out a reference to ground.

Obviously the Tice was never submitted to UL for testing and certification.
.

Tice Service Bulletin #5 April 1991

Subject: Connecting ground in Power Block & Micro Block.
"Static electricity buildup in digital processors and players can cause damage to their circuit components. Excess static electricity can be drained off by insuring that your digital processor or player is properly grounded. The following change should be made to all Power Blocks and Micro Blocks to ensure effective grounding for digital equipment."

"1. Remove cover and locate the green wire coming from the power cord as it enters the unit. The cut end of the green wire will be secured with a tie wrap. Cut and remove the tie wrap to free the green wire.
2. Strip back a small amount of insulation from this wire. Attach the green wire to the UNUSED green screw at the corner of the outlet. DO NOT CONNECT THE GREEN WIRE TO THE GOLD OR SILVER SCREWS.
3. Reinstall the cover BEFORE applying power to the Block."

That was all verbatim from the service bulletin....so One set of the three pair of outlets will be grounded. Use those two for Digital equipment.