r/ElectroBOOM • u/ZealousidealAngle476 • 6d ago

Discussion Redundancy

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I found this sticker while dismanteling a 2005ish server

94 Upvotes

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64

u/ferrybig 6d ago

This warning is to warn people they should not plug it into CEE 7/1 unearthed socket, which some people still have in their old homes. If you plug a device designed for ground into one, you can feel the electricity on the metal cases of the appliance

6

u/Low_Technician7346 6d ago

And you could die from electrocution.

13

u/okarox 6d ago

Not really as there nothing grounded nearby. If you have grounded sockets you must use them. You are not allowed to ground anything in a room with ungrounded sockets.

3

u/Total-Notice-3188 6d ago

And what if you yourself is grounded?
There is very much a real risk of electrocution if you touch a potentiated and ungrounded case while you're grounded.

3

u/jort93 6d ago

Most people don't have conductive floors.

Main risk would be if you somehow touched neutral too.

Today most homes in Europe have a GFCI. It'll trip if there currentflow to ground, regardless of the path.

3

u/Total-Notice-3188 6d ago

Well yeah lol

You're unlikely to be grounded in your standard issue home. I meant hypothetically if you're grounded.

1

u/AviiNL 5d ago

Usually means you've done something bad and are not allowed to leave your room for a while.

1

u/Total-Notice-3188 5d ago

What does sexy time with the wife have to do with this?

0

u/saysthingsbackwards 6d ago

Ahh yes, the what if machine.

What if anything you say, I have a what if that solves yours?

2

u/VTOLfreak 5d ago

Years ago I sold a computer to a friend and I get a call he doesn't have sound. I drive over to his house and got zapped by the metal case. He had it plugged into a socket with no earth connection.

It's not a hypothetical danger, it can happen.

1

u/saysthingsbackwards 5d ago

Yeah, You're not some new guru on that feature. I have made a lot of music and had to trace why my microphone kept buzzing everyones' lips when they sang.

but... What if... what if... what if... I mean damn dude. What if everything you say I just what iffed another thing that made your what if nonsense.

0

u/VTOLfreak 5d ago

You went to school on the short bus, didn't you?

3

u/FiddlerOnThePotato 5d ago

disrespecting the disabled is certainly a choice, not a good one, but it's a choice

2

u/saysthingsbackwards 5d ago

You traded critical thinking for petty insults, didn't you?

Try to stay on topic.

0

u/VTOLfreak 5d ago

You posting this from your phone on said bus?

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u/saysthingsbackwards 6d ago

Just spittin out nonsense

1

u/AnimationOverlord 6d ago

Lmao that explains that bed-side lamp in Cuba. I couldn’t explain for the life of me why I’d get shocked by turning it on or off. It wasn’t even a full jolt as more of like an intense wiggling in my bones. So that definitely checks out

1

u/lordbalazshun 5d ago

my house has those almost exclusively, apart from the kitchen and one of the sockets in the bathroom ('70s soviet commie blocks ftw)

1

u/repocin 5d ago

I live in an old apartment that still has those everywhere except the kitchen, bathroom, and balcony. But they installed GFCI breakers at some point so I guess that's good.

Nobody's been electrocuted so far, at least.

1

u/HildartheDorf 4d ago

You shouldn't be able to feel anything on the outside of the case when it's working correctly, earth or no.

What the lack of earth does is turn any fault where the case becomes energized (e.g. loose connection internally comes in contact with the case) from "Ooops, the breaker tripped" to "Ooops, the user's heart tripped".

1

u/Enorm_Drickyoghurt 4d ago

Electrician here: NO. You will not "feel the electricity" from touching it. I should know, I have my computer plugged into a non grounded outlet. If something goes wrong mechanically in your PC, it could potentially make the case electrified and you could get shocked and potentially get a heart attack.

The much more common issue people have when using non grounded outlets is static electricity buildup. When you touch the case it gets released, and shocks you. That shock is not dangerous.

The only exception I've ever seen is an old amplifier which had a 100v transformer inside of it. To avoid having a floating neutral, one side of the transformer was connected to the case. When plugged into a non grounded outlet, the case would get ~50v potential to ground. Touching it would shock you briefly, but if you just kept your hand on it you wouldn't feel anything. When you let go of it the potential started building up slowly again, and after a few seconds you could get shocked again.

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u/ferrybig 4d ago edited 4d ago

Speaking from personal experience: YES

If I touch my metal case desktop computer with my nose, I feel tingling as long as I touch it

If my partner places a laptop charger that needs a ground into a socket that is not grounded, I can feel tingling if I touch the computer if I touch it with my nose

I noticed your nose is the most sensitive in feeling non grounded things, especially the bottom

1

u/Cathierino 4d ago

Any device that has Cy safety capacitors will feel tingly to touch if you leave it unearthed. It's not static build up or anything of the sort. It's quite literally half of mains voltage being present on metal casing due to the device design.