Back from vacation, had a wake up call!

[mrsbongo1]

Hi everyone, Just got back from a quick beach vacation on the California coast. Had a nice time Second night on the road, getting CPAP ready for the night, discover the entire motel room electric plugs are all 2 prongs! Not one was grounded. Everything I had with me was a 3 plug set up...Macbook Pro, iPhone, iPad plus every surge protector and extension cord I brought. The only thing I could plug in was my CPAP thankfully the cord reached. So my wake up call is to pack a non grounded extention cord in my bag. just when you think of everything well....that's a story for later.
Hope all you Fathers had a good Sunday!
Kathy

[jdm2857]

You'll need a two-prong to three-prong adapter for use at the outlet.

While a two-prong extension cord will plug into a two-prong outlet, your three-prong devices
will not plug into the two-prong extension cord.

The two-prong CPAP will, of course, work with a two-prong extension cord.

[archangle]

Hi everyone, Just got back from a quick beach vacation on the California coast. Had a nice time Second night on the road, getting CPAP ready for the night, discover the entire motel room electric plugs are all 2 prongs! Not one was grounded.

Be sure to give that motel a bad rating on yelp, yahoo, etc. over the outlets. 2 prong outlets are inexcusable in this day and age.

[John from Brookston]

Must be a really old place. I don't think ungrounded outlets have been Code since the early 60's.
Good idea to pack along a couple of "Ground Lifters".

[mrsbongo1]

Bed and breakfast, in Santa Cruz...The ocean was as loud as a freeway. Never again. Show me the Hilton please!

[Xney]

It's called a bed and breakfast because you lay awake in bed hoping for breakfast to arrive :p

just kidding, but I agree: two-prong outlets are ridiculous these days, and I think against the electrical codes. Means they've not needed to have it passed in years, I believe.

[RogerSC]

Bed and breakfast, in Santa Cruz...The ocean was as loud as a freeway. Never again. Show me the Hilton please!

Hey, Santa Cruz is okay, and some people even love the crashing of the ocean waves at night *smile*...or you could remember to pack a white noise machine *smile*. I live about a 1/2 block away from the ocean, and find the wave noises and seals barking and all to be nice to fall asleep to. The closest thing to a Hilton in Santa Cruz is the "Dream Inn", which also suffers from all that ocean noise, I suspect.

Although if you turn up your room air conditioner you might drown all that out, should that be your preference. Personally, I prefer the ocean sounds to an air conditioner droning along all night.

[Sheriff Buford]

Good advice!! I'll pick up one the next time I go to the hardware store. I'll keep it in my cpap case. Now... if I can only remember....

Sheriff

[mrsbongo1]

Hi Roger, the reason I was in Santa Cruz was to revisit the board walk, had been there 35 years ago and rode the "Giant Dipper" coaster. Wanted one more crack at it. Hubby has Alzheimer's, we are trying to revisit a few memories before its too late. I love the beach sound but It was loud!
Kathy

[RogerSC]

Hi Roger, the reason I was in Santa Cruz was to revisit the board walk, had been there 35 years ago and rode the "Giant Dipper" coaster. Wanted one more crack at it. Hubby has Alzheimer's, we are trying to revisit a few memories before its too late. I love the beach sound but It was loud!
Kathy

Yes, the amount of sound from the ocean varies quite a lot seasonally and from day to day. For most of the people that live here, the ocean and it's sounds are the background of their lives, and a big part of why they choose to live here. Glad you and your spouse got back to the Giant Dipper, it is a fun, memorable roller coaster. My favorite part is starting out in the dark *smile*. I'm not a big roller coaster fan, but I know several enthusiasts, and they really like this one.

[archangle]

By the way, the 3 prong to 2 prong adapters all have a lug that is supposed to be attached to ground. Either the center screw on the outlet, which may or may not really be grounded, or to a separate ground connection.

Yes, I know that 95% of the time, people who use these adapters ignore the ground lug. They usually get away with it. Sometimes, it's the difference between life and death.

I wouldn't be surprised if a place that provides lodging is legally required to upgrade their wiring. A complaint to the local authorities might do some good if you feel motivated to complain.

[Sir NoddinOff]

By the way, the 3 prong to 2 prong adapters all have a lug that is supposed to be attached to ground. Either the center screw on the outlet, which may or may not really be grounded, or to a separate ground connection.

My experience with the center screw on the cover plate being grounded to the electrical service in old houses (or B&Bs) is about fifty/fifty. It's easy to tell with a voltmeter but who carries those along on a vacation?

[Tipiford]

I wouldn't be surprised if a place that provides lodging is legally required to upgrade their wiring. A complaint to the local authorities might do some good if you feel motivated to complain.

Can't speak for other states, but in North Carolina, if you're within code when it's constructed, you're within code (Provided laws have not been enacted to reverse a particular situation). Had an issue many years ago with 'Orangeburg pipe'─plumbing─which was legal when it was installed, but illegal at the time I tried to force it's rectification (plus another issue that was illegal at the time, but was past the statutes of limitations).

[StuUnderPressure]

I wouldn't be surprised if a place that provides lodging is legally required to upgrade their wiring. A complaint to the local authorities might do some good if you feel motivated to complain.

Can't speak for other states, but in North Carolina, if you're within code when it's constructed, you're within code

I would assume that is the case in most, if not all, states.

You can't retroactively force code on someone who was in code when it was built.

My city's codes are much more strict than any state codes.
But, even they won't force new code on existing structures that met code when built.

The only way to get them to come up to code is bad publicity.

But, one may have to give up expectations of being up to code with an old B&B.
I just don't think it will ever happen.

[archangle]

I wouldn't be surprised if a place that provides lodging is legally required to upgrade their wiring. A complaint to the local authorities might do some good if you feel motivated to complain.

Can't speak for other states, but in North Carolina, if you're within code when it's constructed, you're within code

I would assume that is the case in most, if not all, states.

You can't retroactively force code on someone who was in code when it was built.

When you change from a single family residence to public lodging, you usually have to bring at least some things up to code.

Apartments and public lodging often have to update certain things even if they were always apartments. Once example would be smoke detectors or keyless deadbolt locks.