Tech / Special Interest → Home Improvement > [Electrical] Tell me about cheater plugs

[Electrical] Tell me about cheater plugs

I'm moving into a (rented) home soon that has a nice mix of two prong and three prong outlets. I don't actually have a lot of three-prong appliances so I'm hoping to be able to arrange things so that it's not a problem. There are a few rooms though with nothing but two-prong outlets so the situation might arise.

What exactly is the risk associated with "cheater plugs"? Could people be shocked by touching the appliances or is it more of a risk to the device itself, or what?

What if I want to use a power strip/surge protector on a two-prong outlet and then attach several two-prong-only things to it? I assume it's safe to use a cheater plug in that situation?
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»[Info] The DSLR Orangeface extension 2.0!

Even in the places that have 3-prong outlets it doesn't mean that whoever installed them actually ran a ground wire to the outlet.

Something like this makes it easy to test the wiring of the outlets: »www.homedepot.com/p/Gardner-Bend···02867890 That particular one also lets you test GFCI outlets to make certain that they trip properly.

I'm sure that one of the resident electricians will be along soon with more info for you.

A grounded 2-prong outlet with a cheater plug properly grounded to the cover plate screw is not that bad. However, I bet you almost never see one used correctly. Besides, most 2-prong outlets are not grounded.

Without a ground, it is a safety issue. Normally you would not get a shock but there are some devices that put a small current on the ground line. Many devices with input filters assume the polarity is correct and will induce a voltage on the ground if the polarity is reversed.

Your 2-prong outlets may not even be polarized; that is another safety issue.

I'd suggest getting a circuit tester for the existing 3-prong outlets. There is a good chance they may not have a ground. Install the cheater and then test it with the circuit tester.
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Scott Henion

Embedded Systems Consultant,
SHDesigns home - DIY Welder

Now that I think about it, the outlets are unusual because they all have three plugs, not two (as in, three pairs of holes). So I don't know if there is even a screw in the right place to attach the ground on one of those adapters.
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»[Info] The DSLR Orangeface extension 2.0!

Those are old 1950s vintage outlets... my house has a couple of those. [Which I have slowly been replacing - as I need to.] Attach the grounding adapter on the bottom / or top and attach the screw. Use a circuit tester as suggested by others.

You will be fine 99% of the time.

But let’s talk about the 1%. Let’s say you have a washing machine, it is on a vinyl floor with rubber hoses and no other connections to any ground. What if a few drops of water get in the wrong place and connect the hot wire to the chassis and there is enough gunk around to be conductive. If it was plugged into a grounded outlet the breaker would likely trip, but since there is a cheater plug on the end of the cord and the screw is not installed the washer is not grounded. Now its case has 120 volts on it should anyone touch it and the well grounded sink next to the washer, it will be a shocking experience.

With a 2 wire system it only takes 1 fault make a very bad situation.

Walta

Cheater plugs should be thrown in the garbage. I can't believe they even sell those things any more.
Most surge protectors probably will not function properly, or at all, on a cheater.

There is a real risk with using cheater adapters. If you (or landlord) *really* can't have the electrical properly upgraded to a 3 wire system, then at least install a GFCI receptacle. It *will not* protect equipment, but will provide a layer of life safety.
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If someone refers to herself / himself as a "guru", they probably aren't.

I had a tech whose wife died in exactly those circumstances.

Late 1950's, earning my way through engineering school, The practice was to install romex with the ground wire wrapped around the cable and captured under the clamp screw of the steel box. There were no grounded outlets, no devices with ground screws. none of those awful green ground clips.

If you have an old house, fixing this is a problem. You can only do the best you cant, box by box. Like me. Today.

The Only time I use this is when I'm doing A/V work, interfacing a laptop or video piece to an external audio/video distribution/display system.

I use it to get rid of an audio or video ground loop.

And I try to avoid doing that with humbuckers first and use the ground lifter adaptor only as a last resort.
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Looking for 1939 Indian Motocycle

Agree with the others, here's how I'd proceed:
- Test the three prong outlets to see if they're at least showing a ground on the ground prong. Note that the installer could have jumped the neutral to the ground screw at the outlet, the tester won't show that, but "at least" it will show as OK.
- Anywhere I need a ground for safety I'd put in a GFCI outlet, marked with the "no ground" stickers (they come with the outlet). That will at least save your life if need be.
- Realize that there's likely no way I'll ever get a ground to protect against surges, etc. where there are two prong plugs, but investigate one step further:
- Remove one of the two prong outlet covers and outlets (pull the breaker or fuse first!) and see if a grounding wire is present in the metal box. If it is, test it to see if it's hooked up and, if it is, replace the outlet with a quality three prong device and cover.

\

It's a passive DI box that converts high impedance signal to low and unbalanced to balanced. It also has a ground lift.
DI boxes have been around for years and are incredibly useful for inserting a line level signal (+4 dBu) into a mic level input (-30 dBu).
EDIT: Went back and re-read Jan Janowski's post. It appears that he's interfacing line level to line level, not line level to mic level. My mistake.
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Fast. Cheap. Safe.
Pick two...

Ground loop can be either Video or Audio related, or both....

Isolation transformers on audio are one solution... Removing power ground tab if on video, and Video "Humbucker's" sometimes work, and sometimes not....

I've seen a solution work on one product, that doesn't work on the next product.

My "ToolKit" I bring when I get a trouble call that mentions "Hum" is:

Video Humbucker
Composite Video DA with differential (Ground isolated) input
(The two above is only good for composite, which you don't see much anymore)
Audio Isolation transformer box (with switches for attenuation/ground lifting)
Audio "Matchmaker" (Active box, with switches as above)
6 outlet Plugstrip with Ground lifter option
Couple Ground Lifter ("Cheater") plugs

And a history of troubleshooting ground loops, which at times can be maddening !.
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Looking for 1939 Indian Motocycle