Grounding plug for laptop charger came out, how to charge my laptop?
November 5, 2013 8:36 PM Subscribe
I was using a replacement adapter with my laptop, but the grounding plug came out of the adapter and was stuck in a wall socket tonight. Is it safe to use this adapter for a few days while I wait for a new replacement adapter, or should wait to charge my laptop util the adapter comes?
The replacement adapter was questionably cheap (less than $10 from an Amazon reseller), but worked well for the half year that I used it with this laptop. Before that, I used it with another laptop that had the same voltage as this one for over a year.
The replacement adapter was questionably cheap (less than $10 from an Amazon reseller), but worked well for the half year that I used it with this laptop. Before that, I used it with another laptop that had the same voltage as this one for over a year.
Best answer: Totally safe. most laptop bricks aren't grounded anyways, and several brands(including apples) have cords with both 2 and 3 prongs. The only things i've really seen them help with is houses with improper wiring causing buzzing on the audio outputs when connected to powered speakers/an amplifier or with slightly potential felt on the metal parts of the laptop case(like a "buzzing" electrical feeling)
My advice though, would be to buy a "refurbished" real OEM brick on ebay for a similar price to the knockoff ones. I've had stuff not only like this happen with the knockoff/brandless ones, but i've had at least two fail. probably more like 4 if i really strain my memory.
One melted itself to my carpet, and burned my hand when i realized what was happening. It also almost killed my fairly high end unusual laptop i had spent months hunting down on ebay :|
I've never had a real brand name charger fail in an electrical way, only from the cord physically falling apart. The brandless ones on the other hand have three failure modes i've seen. They either silently die, the cord falls apart, or they short out in a blaze of F&*$#&$# GET THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER and or OH NO THAT SMOKE IS THE DC BOARD IN MY LAPTOP COOKING. It's just like buying a $20 desktop power supply.
posted by emptythought at 9:42 PM on November 5, 2013
My advice though, would be to buy a "refurbished" real OEM brick on ebay for a similar price to the knockoff ones. I've had stuff not only like this happen with the knockoff/brandless ones, but i've had at least two fail. probably more like 4 if i really strain my memory.
One melted itself to my carpet, and burned my hand when i realized what was happening. It also almost killed my fairly high end unusual laptop i had spent months hunting down on ebay :|
I've never had a real brand name charger fail in an electrical way, only from the cord physically falling apart. The brandless ones on the other hand have three failure modes i've seen. They either silently die, the cord falls apart, or they short out in a blaze of F&*$#&$# GET THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER and or OH NO THAT SMOKE IS THE DC BOARD IN MY LAPTOP COOKING. It's just like buying a $20 desktop power supply.
posted by emptythought at 9:42 PM on November 5, 2013
Best answer: You're power brick is most likely entirely safe but probably no longer meets EMC requirements. This might cause weird behavior in other nearby electronics.
Here's a fun little article on how cheap power adapters behave when tested for proper EMC emissions.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 9:47 PM on November 5, 2013
Here's a fun little article on how cheap power adapters behave when tested for proper EMC emissions.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 9:47 PM on November 5, 2013
I have a Macbook Pro. When I use an ungrounded adapter, you can feel a very small current on the aluminum unibody. The metal feels "furry." I've been told this is totally normal. If I'm wrong, somebody tell me before I accidentally kill myself.
posted by phaedon at 11:32 PM on November 5, 2013
posted by phaedon at 11:32 PM on November 5, 2013
That's normal phaedon. I actually kinda like the sensation from an ungrounded aluminium MacBook...
posted by Packed Lunch at 12:22 AM on November 6, 2013
posted by Packed Lunch at 12:22 AM on November 6, 2013
Best answer: You should probably give some thought to the outlet that is now unable to accept a three-pronged plug. Before you do any work on it, make sure you trip the appropriate breaker and that the outlet is unpowered. Once you've done that, you could try to pull the severed prong out with needle-nosed pliers, but there's probably not enough of it exposed to allow a good grip. If that's the case, you should replace the outlet. It's a simple job, requiring only three connections. Again, make absolutely sure the power is off before attempting it.
posted by dinger at 4:58 AM on November 6, 2013
posted by dinger at 4:58 AM on November 6, 2013
phaedon and Packed Lunch, that's not a good sign. The output side of a modern power supply should be completely de-coupled from the input side, if there's enough differential in the case for you to feel it, something is wrong.
posted by straw at 8:18 AM on November 7, 2013
posted by straw at 8:18 AM on November 7, 2013
Response by poster: Thanks for information and answers, everyone! My wife's laptop adapter is the two-prong sort, and I figured it shouldn't be an issue, but general internet searches weren't giving me any real confidence.
dinger - we did just that (tripped the breaker, pulled out the grounding plug). I don't think it was so much an issue of the outlet being too tight/small for normal grounding plugs, but rather an inexpensive plug that was worked loose over time, as I don't think it took much effort to pull out the detached grounding pin (I was outside at the breaker, so I can't vouch for the effort needed to remove the pin).
And my laptop is a Toshiba, made of a good bit of plastic on the case, and I haven't noticed any weird behavior so far.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:20 AM on November 7, 2013
dinger - we did just that (tripped the breaker, pulled out the grounding plug). I don't think it was so much an issue of the outlet being too tight/small for normal grounding plugs, but rather an inexpensive plug that was worked loose over time, as I don't think it took much effort to pull out the detached grounding pin (I was outside at the breaker, so I can't vouch for the effort needed to remove the pin).
And my laptop is a Toshiba, made of a good bit of plastic on the case, and I haven't noticed any weird behavior so far.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:20 AM on November 7, 2013
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posted by straw at 9:08 PM on November 5, 2013