I want to use this adapter to charge a laptop of mine's but after reading the back of the product and seeing that I need a grounded outlet, I am worried and wondering if it's possible to find out without buying something else. Half of the house has all 3 prong outlets while the other half has 2 prong with an occasional 3 prong outlet. The residential building I am currently in was built in 1963, so is this enough information to determine the outlet is grounded? Or should I buy a doohickey to fully determine? I ain't tryna spend money and I might just plug it in and pray I don't explode the house honestly.
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\$\begingroup\$ Wrong site, DoubleL. This one is for electronics design questions. Please copy your post over to diy.stackexchange.com and delete this post to save the moderators a job. \$\endgroup\$– TransistorAug 5, 2021 at 17:27
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\$\begingroup\$ @user253751 That's a dangerous statement. If you connect a thing such as a computer which requires a grounded outlet to an ungrounded outlet, the metal chassis of the computer that is supposed to be grounded tightly at 0V will float capacitively at half mains voltage due to filter caps from Live to ground and Neutral to ground. That is enough (60VAC in US) to give a tingle and connecting that PC to another device that is grounded causes the capacitors to discharge via the grounded device, with nothing to limit current. It can damage equipment such as USB ports, even if nothing explodes. \$\endgroup\$– JustmeAug 5, 2021 at 19:00
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3 Answers
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That adapter will not convert a 2 prong plug to grounded 3-prong plug, not unless you provide the ground wire to this adapter.
If you don't connect a ground wire to this adapter, all it does is it allows you to plug in a 3 prong device that needs ground to a 2-prong outlet without ground, which is obviously, not recommended due to potential safety issues.
If your laptop or any other device comes with a 3 prong plug, connect it only to a 3 prong outlet.
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Buy a tester and verify that you have a valid ground. It is possible the outlets that have the ground pin are not grounded, check them as well. Check everything around water sources such as bath and kitchen. I have seen many times where DIYers would use the 3 prong outlets to replace two prong ones without ever connecting or maybe not even knowing about ground. I have seen some that connected that pin to the white wire (neutrial) which is dangerous. The ground pin is there for a good reason. It provides a ground to shield the electronics reducing or eliminating EMI. It protects you from an electrical shock. I believe the adapter you are talking about is or shortly will be illegal. it only provides a ground if the green tab is grounded.
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Using that adapter is an assumption that the frame of the receptacle is connected to ground. The tester can not really reliably determine that. I lived in a circa 1963 house that had all 3-prong receptacles which I discovered had the ground prong jumpered to neutral inside the box. If you open the boxes, you can see what the ground prong is connected to. If the box does not have a separate protective ground wire, it may not be properly and reliably grounded. Conduit or metal-enclosed cable may provide acceptable grounding, but I don't recall the details about that.