How to Protect Canadian Laptops/Electronics

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
1

Hi!

We are moving to Taiwan very soon. Is there any specific power bar/circuit breaker that should be purchased to protect our Canadian laptops and other Canadian electronics? I have read a lot about there not being grounded sockets etc…

We have 2 laptops, an external hard drive and a small mixer which all need to be plugged in.

Is everyone just breaking off the 3rd prong on their power bars, or is there a safer solution to protect laptops?

Any help would be appreciated!

2

you can find power bars here with the third prong hole that plugs into a two socket plug.

3

[quote=“bradandjack”]Hi!

We are moving to Taiwan very soon. Is there any specific power bar/circuit breaker that should be purchased to protect our Canadian laptops and other Canadian electronics? I have read a lot about there not being grounded sockets etc…

We have 2 laptops, an external hard drive and a small mixer which all need to be plugged in.

Is everyone just breaking off the 3rd prong on their power bars, or is there a safer solution to protect laptops?

Any help would be appreciated![/quote]
There are some adapters that go between the 3-pin plug and the 2-hole socket. Those adapters have a grounding wire attached to them, though obviously you would need a ground near to it (which usually is not the case) to make a connection. Anyhow, you can also use the adapter so that you don’t need to break of the 3rd prong.

4

if we did plug our computers into a power bar that had a two prongs, wouldnt that put the computers in quite a bit of danger??? surely this is a common issue… is this what everyone is doing?

thanks

5

[quote=“bradandjack”]if we did plug our computers into a power bar that had a two prongs, wouldnt that put the computers in quite a bit of danger??? surely this is a common issue… is this what everyone is doing?

thanks[/quote]
Not using a grounded outlet for devices that should be grounded usually puts us humans at risk, not so much the equipment. However PCs usually use that ground for the EMI filters (to filter out noise from the power line).
In case of a laptop with its enclosed power adapter I wouldn’t worry to much but with a desktop/tower PC it’s a safety risk as you can easily touch the conductive surface. Even more though with a washing machine etc.

But yeah, it’s a common issue but then again nobody really seems to care. You will soon find out that this applies to many things in life here. :wink:

6

[quote=“bradandjack”]if we did plug our computers into a power bar that had a two prongs, wouldnt that put the computers in quite a bit of danger??? surely this is a common issue… is this what everyone is doing?

thanks[/quote]

The ground is there to protect you, not the equipment. That said, most laptop power supplies use isolating transformers (no direct connection to the electrical supply) and are double insulated (there will be a logo with one smaller square inside a larger square) so either use the ground for RFI suppression or don’t even connect it at all. Bear in mind that I’m Mr. Anal Electrical Safety Guy so If I Do It, It’s Probably Safe ™.