Re: Electrical appliances and "grounding"
Posted by
ukcompbits on
URL: https://www.es-forum.com/Electrical-appliances-and-grounding-tp3309893p3322946.html
Appliances are "grounded" to earth for safety/
If an appliance isn't earthedd then if the appliance suffered some damage that caused a short circuit between the mains power and the case of the appliance, the damage would make the case live and it would cause an electrical shock to anyone who touched it.
If the case is earthed, if that same damage occurred the mains would be shorted to ground and in theory cause the fuse to blow or circuit breaker to trip, thus eliminating the danger of a live case.
Many items nowadays have entirely plastic cases and thus the risk of electrical shock due to short is nil thus its perfectly reasonable for manufacturers to not provide an earth as there is no need from a safety perspective.
Regards
Mike
--- In
[hidden email], "svetaswan" <svetaswan@...> wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> It's not difficult to notice that many electronics and electrical appliances that are sold today come with 2-prong power cords (ungrounded) - as opposed to the 3-pronged cords that have a prong that connects to "ground". Even some relatively-large, major electronics - like TVs, and VCR-DVD combo players - are manufactured with 2-pronged cords. Why are so many electronics manufacturers opting for the 2-pronged power cords over 3-pronged cords? Is it simply a matter of cost-cutting?
>
> Are there reasons other than cost-related ones why manufacturers would opt for the 2-prong power cord? Are there actually any benefits to having a 2-prong cord?
>
> I recently bought this VCR-DVD-recorder combo that - unfortunately - I often feel when it's in operation (or when it's simply powered on). Back in the "good old days" - I would have 2 VCRs in my room at the same time (and one of those VCRs was a dual-deck one) with no obvious problems - so I didn't really anticipate that this VCR-DVD player would give me symptoms. And I noticed, despite it being a relatively-large device (by today's standards) that I guess uses a fair amount of power - it has a 2-pronged power cord. I'm wondering if figuring out some way to "ground" this device would make a difference.
>
> But I don't want to do anything to harm or shorten the lifespan of these devices. Would "grounding" a device that isn't "supposed" to be grounded (that wasn't manufactured with a grounded cord) be harmful?
>
> Thanks,
>
> ~Svetaswan
>