Can I rig up my own ground?

[Mr PC]

I live on the ground floor of a big, old, creaky apartment building. I have a ground loop problem and suspect that the whole building is poorly grounded. I've tried the amp in other buildings and it is fine, and the amp buzzed when I took it to other areas in the building.

Here's my crazy idea--Run my own wire out of my window and into the ground that is right outside. I don't know much of anything about electronics, but think this wouldn't be too hard.

I wouldn't try it if knowledgeable people told me it was dangerous or futile.

Any ideas?

Mr. PC

[auralman]

Find a cold water pipe and wrap your ground around that. Seriously. Not dangerous at all. In fact, it's a preferred method in a lot of NYC studios with "questionable" con ed wiring.

[Mr PC]

Do I have to find the ground in the fuse box, or can I use the ground wire from an extension cord and then plug to amp into the extension cord?

[percussion boy]

Cold water ground 101:

1. Get a 3-2 adapter, a grounding clamp, and some grounding wire from a hardware store. (A surge protector is also a good idea, but not required to get a ground. Getting a surge protector big enough to feed the amp all the power it wants may be pricey . . .)

2. Attach one end of the grounding wire through the metal loop in the 3-2 adapter.

3. Attach the other end of the grounding wire to the grounding clamp.

4. Clamp the grounding clamp around the cold water pipe of the bathroom sink.

5. Plug your power strip or surge protector into the 3-2 adapter, and the adapter into an outlet.

Some surge protectors, like the APC ones, have lights to indicate whether the surge protector is plugged into a properly grounded circuit. If your new cold water ground is successful, the lights should show that the surge protection is working, and that there is no fault in the site wiring.

Disclaimer: Be cautious when dealing with wall outlets, they can kill you.

Hope this helps. It worked for me.

[Mr PC]

The more I think about it, the more it would be a pain to find a water pipe. My jamming area would be at the other end of the apartment from any pipes. Is the ground outside idea workable. It would be an easy run outside to the ground--

Thanks a ton for the input

[hulahalau]

Please do not use a water pipe as a ground. It is a SAFETY issue, as well as not being compatible with most recent Codes. The reason for the Codes' prohibition is that often the supply pipe is not metal, or if metal, has a plastic decoupling union where it meets the internal building piping. So even if all supply pipes are copper, the copper is isolated from the ground.

The ONLY safe thing is to buy the 6 or 8 foot copper grounding rod from your building or electrical supply store, pound it into the ground (ideally clay, and not sand) and attach a HEAVY ground wire or copper grounding tape to the rod, and then run that back to the electrical service box where the circuit breakers are located.

[NewYorkDave]

Only if you can sink a 6' copper rod into the ground. And besides, what you're proposing is illegal and dangerous.

Seriously, don't mess around with the grounding or any other aspect of power distribution in your house, especially since you "don't know much of anything about electronics" as you put it. (Actually, this is electrical not electronic, but semantics aside...). Call a qualified electrician.

[dungeonsound615]

I remember hearing something that the plastic decoupling union can somehow cause the pipes to store a charge thus killing an unknown plumber or what have you. dont qoute me on this however.

[Mr PC]

hmmmm...

I think I'll talk to my landlord---


Thanks---


PC

[stillafool]

I used a six-foot grounding pole, and I didn't ask my landlord (fuck her, she should have grounded it herself). I even drilled a hole through her wall.

[auralman]

In NYC, most cold water pipes are so old they probably eventually connect to Niagara falls. Maybe that's why it worked.

[hulahalau]

Only if you can sink a 6' copper rod into the ground. And besides, what you're proposing is illegal and dangerous.

Seriously, don't mess around with the grounding or any other aspect of power distribution in your house, especially since you "don't know much of anything about electronics" as you put it. (Actually, this is electrical not electronic, but semantics aside...). Call a qualified electrician.

Dave:

I'm not sure your post is clear as to what is illegal and dangerous. Using a 6 foot grounding rod is often Code required. Running it back to the service box and connecting it there to the specified ground terminal is precisely what is required by Code.

On the other hand, running a separate ground from equipment to a ground rod, bypassing the central ground point in the service box, is definitely unsafe and not to code.

I think the final advice-hire an electrician, is the safest. Me, I never rewire electrical stuff myself. the liability and insurance issues are too much for me to save ac ouple hundred bucks to get it right by using an electrician.