location power, no ground

[alex!]

I did a search and couldn't find something completely relevant to my situation.

I'm doing a location recording in a church that I will not have to opportunity to see in advance and I am told the wall sockets are not grounded. I'm hoping that my furman will rectify any issues, I'm using the pl-plus series II. Should I need worry?

Additionally I am concerned that there will be no hole for the ground and I will need an adapter to plug the furman in. Should I expect problems?

Big thanks

alex

[Remoteness]

I assume you are referring to a location recording in the States.

If so, buy a 39 cent cheater plug to attach to the end of your Furman power unit plug.

Make sure you buy the AC ground cheater that has a short green cable for the ground. Grab some single wire to extend the cheater ground wire and connect it to a cold water pipe or something that is clearly mounted into the Earth.

You really should have a safety ground, but some folks have lifted the ground without any serious problems or issues.

Just come prepared to handle the options I mentioned and you should be fine.

[joelpatterson]

Once I did a session in a church and found that on the wall sockets, the hot and neutral wires were reversed everywhere but in the newly renovated, ground-fault adapted bathroom, so it was time for a loooooong extension cord.

Nice to have one of those gizmos to check for this kind of thing, in an unfamiliar venue.

[bishopthomas]

That is a handy tool to have. And for the original poster (or whoever may not be familiar with this) it plugs in to an outlet and 3 lights tell you the status of the outlet. Cheap and handy, a Rat Shack special.

[Remoteness]

Yeah, that handy device is not much larger than a cheater plug.

It can check for open ground; open neutral; open hot; hot/ground reversed; hot/neutral reversed and (believe it or not) correct connections.

We have them on every truck and all portable kits!

Originally Posted by joelpatterson

Once I did a session in a church and found that on the wall sockets, the hot and neutral wires were reversed everywhere but in the newly renovated, ground-fault adapted bathroom, so it was time for a loooooong extension cord.

Nice to have one of those gizmos to check for this kind of thing, in an unfamiliar venue.

Originally Posted by bishopthomas

That is a handy tool to have. And for the original poster (or whoever may not be familiar with this) it plugs in to an outlet and 3 lights tell you the status of the outlet. Cheap and handy, a Rat Shack special.

[mixedupsteve]

With the cheater that has the green pigtail and the tester you might be able to use the center screw of the outlet cover for ground. Check it first though. Alot of old buildings were wired with metal jacketed cable and the jacket provided a ground.

[bishopthomas]

How would you go about checking if that screw (or any other object) was providing a path to ground?

[mixedupsteve]

Originally Posted by bishopthomas

How would you go about checking if that screw (or any other object) was providing a path to ground?

Plug the adapter (cheater) in and attach ground wire to the screw. Then plug the tester into the adapter. See what the lights reveal.

[bishopthomas]

Oh, of course! Two tools are better than one.

[alex!]

incredibly helpful guys. I suppose I can grab one at home depot or do I have to go to a specialty electronics store?

[Remoteness]

You can get them at any electrical supply house, hardware store or any chain store...

I grabbed some from Home Depot.
They have a few different price ranges.
I picked up the less expensive one because they look and work the same as the more expensive one.