Not Grounded -- What will happen? Does anyone know what will happen if I use a surge protector to plug in a floor lamp, a laptop, a phone (& maybe a printer) in a wall socket that's not grounded? Will I start a fire? Will I electrify my apartment? There's only 1 grounded socket in my apt, & it's for the AC in another room. Thanks, Arlene Not Grounded -- What will happen? Does anyone know what will happen if I use a surge protector to plug in a floor lamp, a laptop, a phone (& maybe a printer) in a wall socket that's not... » Read More Not Grounded -- What will happen? Does anyone know what will happen if I use a surge protector to plug in a floor lamp, a laptop, a phone (& maybe a printer) in a wall socket that's not grounded? Will I start a fire? Will I electrify my apartment? There's only 1 grounded socket in my apt, & it's for the AC in another room. Thanks, Arlene « Show Less
798051
in electronics, when a live wire comes loose it can electrify the entire casing. the ground plug for electronics help ground the casing so that it causes a short protecting anyone that touches the case.it could be fairly deadly/dangerous depending on the equipment and power draw, but most of the time it should be fine. I would definitely worry about using ungrounded plugs if you have pets or small children.
798052
Try touching your refrigerator at the same time you are touching your faucet - use the back of your fingers so the fingers will contract AWAY from the device when you get shocked.It would be interesting to see inside the wall outlets to learn whether the WIRING is 3-wire and just not connected to the grounding screw of the receptacle.Ungrounded - you can check with a tester such as UL -U-ground Outlet Wiring Tester (110 Volt) the 'surge protector' will NOT protect. It will still function as a glorified multi-tap device. Try touching your refrigerator at the same time you are touching your faucet - use the back of your fingers so the fingers will contract AWAY from the device when you get shocked.It would be interesting to see inside the wall outlets to learn whether the WIRING is 3-wire and just not connected to the grounding screw of the receptacle.Ungrounded - you can check with a tester such as UL -U-ground Outlet Wiring Tester (110 Volt) the 'surge protector' will NOT protect. It will still function as a glorified multi-tap... » Read More Try touching your refrigerator at the same time you are touching your faucet - use the back of your fingers so the fingers will contract AWAY from the device when you get shocked.It would be interesting to see inside the wall outlets to learn whether the WIRING is 3-wire and just not connected to the grounding screw of the receptacle.Ungrounded - you can check with a tester such as UL -U-ground Outlet Wiring Tester (110 Volt) the 'surge protector' will NOT protect. It will still function as a glorified multi-tap device. « Show Less
798053
If you have a ground fault indicator on your surge protector, than the surge protector offers no real surge protection. The ground wire from the wall outlet serves to pass current into the frame of the house, as opposed to the electronic device. I learned this the hard way, because my apartment didn't have a ground wire on the plugs. A power surge fried my router and battery backup, and upon reading the fine print, I learned that this is necessary for any surge protector to work properly. So, I got a 8 gauge wire, and hooked it directly from the new GFCI wall outlet ground to the box in the wall. The metal from the box will ground out, so long as you securely attach the wire using a bolt or screw. If you have a ground fault indicator on your surge protector, than the surge protector offers no real surge protection. The ground wire from the wall outlet serves to pass current into the frame of the house, as opposed to the electronic device. I learned this the hard way, because my apartment didn't have a ground wire on the plugs. A power surge fried my router and battery backup, and upon reading the fine print, I learned that this is necessary for any surge protector to work properly. So, I got a 8 gauge wire, and hooked it directly from the new GFCI wall outlet ground to the box in the... » Read More If you have a ground fault indicator on your surge protector, than the surge protector offers no real surge protection. The ground wire from the wall outlet serves to pass current into the frame of the house, as opposed to the electronic device. I learned this the hard way, because my apartment didn't have a ground wire on the plugs. A power surge fried my router and battery backup, and upon reading the fine print, I learned that this is necessary for any surge protector to work properly. So, I got a 8 gauge wire, and hooked it directly from the new GFCI wall outlet ground to the box in the wall. The metal from the box will ground out, so long as you securely attach the wire using a bolt or screw. « Show Less
798054
pen and paper-Never, never, never plug a three-pronged device into a two-pronged socket. How do you know that your wall socket is not grounded in the first place?Jim
798055
Well, update, my sockets are 'grounded'; that is, they have 3 holes, 1 round. But the red light indicator on my Belkin is lit & says not grounded.So, I don't know. I'm using it, & will ask my building manager if it's really grounded or not.
798056
Nothing will happen; it will work fine. But IF one of the AC wires shorts to a metal part and IF that metal part is exposed and IF you touch it and IF you are also touching some other piece of grounded metal at the same time you'll get shocked.
798057
according to the nec , if you have an existing 2 prong, 2 wire outlet, you must change to a gfci receptacle, you can install in the first receptacle from the panel and wired correctly will upgrade the rest of the outlets on that circuit.
1459327
It has a three prong plug so it is grounded. Other then that you would have to contact the company. I've seen no issues with it so far.
81023
Because it is in your attic, it doesn't need to be grounded. There will be something higher - the roof and chimney - that lightning will hit first.
1807324
Any electrical device can cause fire even your laptop power adapter, I'm not aware of any outstanding safety issues with this product and I've been using it in the past few months while it's connected continuously to the power supply with no issues. If you want to be extra cautious you can turn it off when you are not using the lamp and in any case 25W is not even a concern from power outage and heat dissipation.
774067
I'm not sure what whole house surge protection is. I know that they have to be plugged into the wall outlet and not into a surge protector, but I'm not sure if you're referring to regular surge protector strips or to a special type of surge protection. Sorry that I can't answer your question
1804816
You only need one of these, attached to the main cable that comes into your house. That will stop any electrical surge that may come through the cable itself. It doesn't function like a "ground" for everything, though... The power cord of each device (TV, computer, etc.) will still need to be plugged into a wall outlet or power strip that's equipped with surge protection in order to stop surges that may come through the regular house wiring.
672119
It may depend on how your outlet is configured. All of my outlets are horizontal with the two prong and ground holes facing the same direction. I have the Surge Protector on the right side (maybe your top outlet), and there is enough room for another three prong (grounded) plug to fit in the left side (maybe your bottom outlet). In your scenario, this is assuming that the third prong (grounded) hole is on the bottom for each outlet. Now if you are only plugging in a two prong in the other outlet, this appears to be a non-issue. Hope this helps!
95058
Egads, people. These devices shunt a surge to ground, they aren't a fireball trap. Virtually all problems encountered will be a result of inadequate grounding, or some other installation problem.
1799066
I don't know for certain but I would expect that would happen. If the power surge is large enough to disable/destroy other electronics in your house then I suspect it would damage this device as well.
593327
No it should not you may have bigger problems check to see if you have power or your surge protector is tripped
1637818
I don't have an answer for you. My guess is your unit is "fried". I had two friends who had surge protector power strips, not Sidesocket, catch fire. I'm glad they were home!
1113685
When switched off, no power gets to your appliance, so I cannot see how a power surge would effect the appliance. However, the Belkin switch may be *fried* after a power surge.
1201337
Well, I guess the question was - IF a surge appears on line and burns up the protective circuitry, will this item still continue to provide power to equipment connector to it? The problem with it doing so is that the equipment hooked to it now unprotected. I'm looking for an answer myself, so more info from owners is welcome..
2141521
Make sure that you use a power cord rated for 20 Amps. I used a cheap old 15 Amp cord at first and it got hot and flexible. I would recommend a well ground outlet that is rated for 20 Amps, not just a simple 15 Amp lamp socket. You will most likely pop your breaker or could catch fire.
1347895
Hey - ground wires are always a wise thing with electronics. You can get away with a 3 to 2 prong adapter.Life Suggestion - If your house only has two-pronged outlets, you can (if you are able or ask a knowledgable friend/family to help) replace an outlet with a grounded outlet and the grounding wire can be grounded into the housing of the outlet. Consult a knowledge handy person if you do not understand how to replace an outlet in a wall like this. AND ALWAYS TURN OFF THE CIRCUIT BREAKER BEFORE OPENING OR INSPECTING AN OUTLET!If you are renting, you should give your landlord a hard time that they only have 2 prong outlets. Hey - ground wires are always a wise thing with electronics. You can get away with a 3 to 2 prong adapter.Life Suggestion - If your house only has two-pronged outlets, you can (if you are able or ask a knowledgable friend/family to help) replace an outlet with a grounded outlet and the grounding wire can be grounded into the housing of the outlet. Consult a knowledge handy person if you do not understand how to replace an outlet in a wall like this. AND ALWAYS TURN OFF THE CIRCUIT BREAKER BEFORE OPENING OR INSPECTING AN OUTLET!If you are renting, you should give your... » Read More Hey - ground wires are always a wise thing with electronics. You can get away with a 3 to 2 prong adapter.Life Suggestion - If your house only has two-pronged outlets, you can (if you are able or ask a knowledgable friend/family to help) replace an outlet with a grounded outlet and the grounding wire can be grounded into the housing of the outlet. Consult a knowledge handy person if you do not understand how to replace an outlet in a wall like this. AND ALWAYS TURN OFF THE CIRCUIT BREAKER BEFORE OPENING OR INSPECTING AN OUTLET!If you are renting, you should give your landlord a hard time that they only have 2 prong outlets. « Show Less
515696
Hi, If there are no devices connected to the surge protector, the Protected light would be off. It would just turn on if there are some devices connected to it. However, if there are no lights are turned on from the surge protector even though there are devices connected to it then it means that there's a problem with the surge protector. Thanks, Belkin Support http://www.belkin.com/us/support
1891903
Your house would immediately burn down! Just kidding. It would likely never cause a problem especially if a heavy duty extension cord with good insulation was used, but it is, as you know, against code. Best to just suck it up and get the Datacomm kit with the power outlet and install that, or have it installed.