Grounding of electric appliances

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davewe
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With our new rental we just bought several appliances. I noticed that both the refrigerator and microwave came with a separate ground wire. The instructions said to connect it for safety purposes but not where to connect it to.

Now our house has both 2 pronged and 3 pronged outlets, but I know in the Philippines just because something is 3 pronged does not mean it is properly grounded. 

I know  nothing to speak of about electricity but don't believe there is any kind of grounding rod in the kitchen. Is there any value to using these grounding wires and where do I connect them to?

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Dave Hounddriver
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1 hour ago, davewe said:

Is there any value to using these grounding wires and where do I connect them to?

Good question.  Are you getting any static shocks when touching the appliances or are you feeling any vibration when you gently put a finger on the metal surface?

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davewe
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7 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

Good question.  Are you getting any static shocks when touching the appliances or are you feeling any vibration when you gently put a finger on the metal surface?

No I don't feel anything so far. I am not saying the appliances have to be grounded just wondering where to attach the grounding wire if I chose to ground them.

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Jollygoodfellow
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6 minutes ago, davewe said:

No I don't feel anything so far. I am not saying the appliances have to be grounded just wondering where to attach the grounding wire if I chose to ground them.

I think it is meant to be attached to the cabinet. If it shorts out it will trip the circuit breaker but dont take my word for that. 

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Dave Hounddriver
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1 hour ago, davewe said:

No I don't feel anything so far

Good thing.  I have a couple of appliances with that grounding wire hanging on the back.  Its been many years and it is not attached to anything.  So long as I get no static shocks or feel the vibrations then I say TIP, right Mogo?  (He was the first member I saw using that expression so credit where it is due.)

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Mr-T
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Try walking bare feet on your kitchen tile floor and grab a hold of your refrigerator and see what happens. Most likely you will get a tingle, something to wake you up.

In my area in north Luzon there is no third grounding wire supply by the utility co. Unlike the U.S. which use the three wire system with grounding protection for the user and appliances. Almost all filipino s i know unplug all appliances during bad weather, thunder and lightening. When we built our house we had proper grounding installed, actually two grounding rods was sunk into the ground. Even with that we lost a digital TV because the power cord did not have a ground wire. Also knocked out five of my CCTV cameras.   That ground wire you mentioned should be connected to a metal water pipe if there is any available. Now a days they are using plastic instead of metal piping. Seeing that your house is maybe a older house you most likely have metal piping (plumbing). Look under your kitchen sink, most likely place to locate that in your house.

Good luck with your new home. 

Trevor.

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davewe
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4 hours ago, Mr-T said:

That ground wire you mentioned should be connected to a metal water pipe if there is any available. Now a days they are using plastic instead of metal piping. Seeing that your house is maybe a older house you most likely have metal piping (plumbing). Look under your kitchen sink, most likely place to locate that in your house.

Thanks I will check the sink pipe. Actually this advise is consistent with what I was told about my guitar amp. I get some hum because of the lack of grounding (although in the new house it hums less). Talked to the designer of the amp himself and he recommended running a ground wire to metal piping. Seemed like kind of a pain so I haven't done it yet.

My wife is paranoid about unplugging appliances and now maybe I understand why.

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Old55
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It's not so simple.

Earth ground is not the same as your service ground, kinda.

It's best to have a knowledgeable electrician analysis your wiring. 

The correct way to ground your home service is ground to earth to one point at the service box. Yes it's acceptable to connected appliances to ONE ground rod. I wouldn't use a water pipe in the Philippines 🇵🇭 because another user could be grounding to it with a positive or negative potential. This could cause a ground loop or hot ground.☠️

Years ago I connected a cable to a water well pipe for grounding my folks house. We wired the outlets for TV, PC and a ground fault detector outlet in the CR for the shower heater.

Next visit noticed the cable was missing. Someone stole it!🙄

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Jake
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17 hours ago, davewe said:

With our new rental we just bought several appliances. I noticed that both the refrigerator and microwave came with a separate ground wire. The instructions said to connect it for safety purposes but not where to connect it to.

Now our house has both 2 pronged and 3 pronged outlets, but I know in the Philippines just because something is 3 pronged does not mean it is properly grounded. 

I know  nothing to speak of about electricity but don't believe there is any kind of grounding rod in the kitchen. Is there any value to using these grounding wires and where do I connect them to?

JGF is correct --- connect one end to a ground screw at the metal backplane/bracket of the appliance.  The other end is the real head scratcher.  Here is the link I posted to Intrepid's topic regarding his home construction:

http://www.philippines-expats.com/topic/26405-our-house-construction/?do=findComment&comment=201116

I realize that your new residence is a rental so it's up to the landlord to upgrade your wiring or get permission so that you could do it yourself.  

 

Congrats on your new home and welcome to the Philippines (finally).  Respectfully Jake

 

Edited by Jake
correct format
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Jollygoodfellow
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10 hours ago, Mr-T said:

Almost all filipino s i know unplug all appliances during bad weather, thunder and lightening.

This has nothing to do with grounding. What it is in every country is a huge spike of electric current due to lightning strike. Grounding wont save your appliances in this case.

 

10 hours ago, Mr-T said:

That ground wire you mentioned should be connected to a metal water pipe if there is any available.

Although years ago this was the system. I often wonder what would happen when one is in the shower if a problem occurred. Burnt to a crisp comes to mind.  :mellow:

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