Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Greetings,

I live in an older home that, along with not having any grounded outlets (or wires to connect to a ground), we also rent, so doing anything to the house is often a hassle. I was wondering if there was an alternative, such as purchasing a power pack, charging it, and running the lights off of it? I don't believe a GFCI would work from what I hear.

The other solution is hiring an electrician, which... would hurt the savings a bit.

There is not really any alternatives for a properly grounded outlet. You can use a battery pack, such as our Vagabond line, that will provide a proper AC line. You may want to check the bathrooms and/or kitchen and/or garage/outdoor outlets for GFI outlets. These are often present as upgrades, even in older homes, due to safety reasons, and may even be required by codes (I dont know what your local codes are). You can ask if your landlord will install GFI outlets there. Otherwise, a dedicated battery pack or generator are your options.

*Edited to add*: A grounded outlet is not reqired for charging any of the Vagabond Portable Power system units.

Many older houses with 2 wire outlets (not all) contain a ground that can be accessed with $1.00 three prong adaptor with wire that attaches to the screw on the outlet plate, which is often grounded,