Ungrounded outlets a pain in my ass

TL DR

Hi, and thanks.
So my UPS has an indicator on it that is telling me that there is a ground fault. I live in an ancient apartment building, and a bit of research has shown that this means that the outlets are most likely not grounded. As a result, my computer (everything plugged into the UPS) will shut off either at random (just me watching Hulu with nothing else on but a lamp) or when I run the vacuum (and only the vacuum, not the electric oven or dishwasher).

Questions:
-Is my computer in danger?
-Is there a solution that doesn't involve rewiring the entire apartment?
-Is this a fire hazard?
-Is this in violation of building code? (I'm in Ohio. There are GFI outlets by the sinks)

matt has a problem

This sounds more like you're tripping a breaker somewhere. Or is it just the UPS that shuts off? What makes everything come back on? Our apartment has the same problem, they put everything on just 3 breakers. If the refrigerator comes on while we're microwaving something and the dishwasher is running, it trips the breaker. Or if we have a computer and the TV on and we start to vacuum, it trips another breaker.

A GFI outlet is just an outlet with its own breaker, that will trip quicker and under lower pull, so when you drop your toaster in the sink you don't die. They're only for hazardous areas.

As long as your computer is plugged into the UPS it's fine, although, if the computer is shutting off and it's plugged into a UPS, your UPS isn't doing its job and charging.

TL DR

Running the vacuum from the kitchen or the GFI outlets across the apartment will still only shut off the UPS. Nothing else goes out, though the vacuum will dim the lights a bit.

matt has a problem

So it sounds like you're not tripping the breaker, but you are pulling enough amperage to make the UPS think there's a power outage. Basically causing a brown-out in your apartment. The good news is it sounds like the oven and dishwasher are on their own breaker, the bad news is it sounds like every other outlet in the apartment is on just one breaker too. It's not something you can fix on your own unfortunately, it would involve rewiring things at the breaker box. I don't know Ohio code, but general rule of thumb is that the outlets in each room should be on their own breaker. Unfortunately there's a lot of grandfathering when it comes to building code, due to the age of buildings. Usually if the building is rehabbed it requires the wiring to be upgraded, but otherwise they can just ride along on old wiring.

Midshipman

Grounding is there to protect you from getting electrocuted, it doesn't really have much to do with protecting electronics.

KeyScourge

I should have looked at the other words in the title besides "ass" before clicking on this

EggyToast

My UPS used to shut off on its own when I was pulling too much current through the battery backup portion. I scaled it back, plugging in ONLY my computer, and it stopped shutting off.

If it's only happening on the UPS, then that's what it sounds like. Either get a bigger battery, or only use it for things you really need to backup.

Gdiguy

EggyToast wrote: »

My UPS used to shut off on its own when I was pulling too much current through the battery backup portion. I scaled it back, plugging in ONLY my computer, and it stopped shutting off.

If it's only happening on the UPS, then that's what it sounds like. Either get a bigger battery, or only use it for things you really need to backup.

Yeah; the entire point of the UPS is that it shouldn't be randomly shutting off your computer even if the power goes out. What's your UPS rated for?

I had a crappy UPS that I was having problems with, bought a bigger one and haven't had issues anymore.

(Now, this doesn't fix your wiring problem, but it should at least prevent your computer from dying due to it)

(Unless you're using UPS to mean power strip and not actual battery backup, in which case.... buy a real UPS)