Grounding question

[KBD]

I have one of those anti-static wrist straps and i know they have to clipped to an unpainted metallic object for the grounding to work properly. What i'd like to know if this includes aluminum, will i be properly grounded if i attach the strap to this material?

[freaksavior]

i believe any metallic object that will hold an electric charge will work

[Kursah]

i believe any metallic object that will hold an electric charge will work

Yep I agree, I no longer have my strap, I gave it to a buddy that started a PC shop. I just keep constant contact with the frame of the CPU, but the strap is the safest way to go.

Good to see people out there taking good precautions and asking questions to ensure they're doing it correctly! :toast:

[SkylinGTR26]

hmm, i never worry about grounding myself.
I always just touch the case before i start touching the components anyway.
Im sure i dont hold a strong static charge cause i mostly do everything on hardwood. So yeah..

Dont be so anal about grounding yourself. Just touch a case and your good :D

[KBD]

Cool, thanks guys!

[kwchang007]

yeah that should be fine. however it probably would be better if you did something like plug yourself into the ground of your socket (find a metal thing that fits there and clip it to that) but then you have to turn off the whole breaker box to make sure you don't get fried from something going crazy in your house, and you have to make sure there's no lightning etc....(jeez i got carried away for such a simple question)

[keakar]

yeah that should be fine. however it probably would be better if you did something like plug yourself into the ground of your socket (find a metal thing that fits there and clip it to that) but then you have to turn off the whole breaker box to make sure you don't get fried from something going crazy in your house, and you have to make sure there's no lightning etc....(jeez i got carried away for such a simple question)

ooooh wow, telling someone to stick metal into the socket???????????????

did your mom let you play with sharp objects when you were a kid?

seriously haven't any of you shocked your little sister with static electricity?

the charge doesn't need to go to ground, it is like a capacitor discharge, that is why you can shock someone wearing shoes like your sister or the dog who gets shocked sitting on the sofa not grounded to anything at all.

static electricity only needs a conductor to flow into as in metal or water or human body.

as for hooking yourself to the cpu, this would only ensure you fry it if you got a static charge.

only hook yourself to the frame of the case of you use the strap but touching the case first will safely discharge any static electricity in your body. unless you shuffle your feet on carpet you will be totally safe for hours as long as you stay put. if you walk away, then just retouch the case when you return. if you are a foot shuffler with carpet then wear the strap.

[kwchang007]

ooooh wow, telling someone to stick metal into the socket???????????????

did your mom let you play with sharp objects when you were a kid?


only the ground socket :D

[DanTheBanjoman]

Dont be so anal about grounding yourself. Just touch a case and your good :D

Only works when your case is grounded, in that case you actually ground yourself by touching it, so you're basically telling people not to be anal about grounding but still do it. Great logic.

[Jonnycat]

If you're going to plug yourself into the ground socket, it is important to insert a resister in series with your body to prevent electrocution. You'll still bleed off any residual static charge, but a megohm resistor will help keep you alive in case there is a wiring fault.

[PuMA]

only the ground socket :D

yeah the ground socket is the metal thingy in ur socket, NOT the two holes...
(please dont plug anything into these:eek:)

btw, some info about static: It can hold up to 10 000 volts, but only has about 1-2 ampers of current:wtf::wtf:

and to the above post, best thing is to wear sneakers with rubber bottom, to keep u away from the ground.

[keakar]

and to the above post, best thing is to wear sneakers with rubber bottom, to keep u away from the ground.

no no no, that protects you from nothing and rubber sneekers or even bare socks can cause friction on carpet or rugs to make static electricity.

what i have been trying to tell you is that you need to stop thinking like this is electricity because it is a static discharge of electrical current.

it is not electricity and needs no ground to zap you. it needs direct contact only.

you could hang in thin air touching nothing and rub your hair real fast and touch your finger to a metal spoon on the table and zap!

the strap is to let this charge "zap" or "discharge" to the metal case and not any of the components in your case. the strap is not a "ground" in the same sense as electrical components need to be grounded.

[KBD]

Wow, i had no idea it worked like that, thanks for clearing this up!

[W1zzard]

in all the years i handled computer components i havent ever knowingly grounded myself nor have i ever damaged anything to static electricity.

[keakar]

in all the years i handled computer components i havent ever knowingly grounded myself nor have i ever damaged anything to static electricity.

well this is true for most people and the average person who works on the computer does it by picking up the case to open it, and guess what... you just discharged any static charge to the metal case so now you can safely work on it lol.

cpu, ram, pci cards, video cards and motherboards are the only things that static electricity can hurt because the amperages are so tiny it will only fry sensative electronics.

[mixa]

w1z you`ve got a scary avatar :P

about the grounding....most of the electrical systems out there are using only 2 wired solutions (null and phase), where the proper ones should use 3 (null , phase and ground).So basicly if your outlets are using only 2 wires then you`re nullifing yourself by touching the case/PSU, but not grounding.
Anyway I never burned anything with electrical discharge caused by me.

[D_o_S]

First thing I do is connect a grounding cable to my case (just a piece of wire, connected to a metal part on the radiator), and then ground myself by connecting the grounding strap to the case...

However, I have noticed that even though I wear a grounding strap, I still have static electricity in me (happened to me once) - I was about it install a video card, when the hairs on my hands stood up as I got closer to the metal parts of the case... I'm thinking of getting a thick piece of copper wire (say 10AWG) and grounding myself with that... but then there is a risk of getting electrocuted if something goes wrong, so I'm not so sure about that...

[Wile E]

Meh. Never have, and never will, use a grounding strap. Like others have said, just discharging the static to a metal object has always proved sufficient for me.

[penguin]

ha you should be ok but you can clip them to the computer case but there is also another way you just have one hand on the computer case at all times but make sure that the computer is unpluged and all the power is srained out of it. but allimunium should be fine m8.

[ex_reven]

Guys just be aware, static discharge might not damage your components in a way that will be noticible but they can still occur and cause damage. Just because your hardware still works doesnt necessarily mean it hasnt been damaged or degraded. Just thought id throw that thought in, I forgot where I read it.

I myself never really ground myself other than touching the case before touching stuff. If im just changing cables or something, sometimes I dont even bother touching the case. Usually I only ground myself when removing the RAM or video card.

On first installation of the mobo (putting HS and spacers on) however, I used gloves. I believe its cotton or something that doesnt discharge static. I forget the exact material.