Shocked

rookiejk

I am having a serious issue with electrical current shocking me every time I touch my receiver.

I run a B&K AVR505, Denon 3910, Sony 5-disc CD Player, Scientific Atl. HD DVR Cable box, a Toshiba 53'' RPTV, and use a Monster HTS3500 MKII power conditioner. Speakers are Lsi's all the way around.

Everything is on 5 shelf-heavy duty glass stand, which rests on your average living room carpet.

The power conditioner is not grounded.

Would grounding the power conditioner resolve this problem? If so, how do I do it. I know there is a wire input for a ground on the HTS3500, but where do I run it to? I live on the 7th floor of an apt building, and it is almost all drywall and carpet.

The only component that rests on another is the cable box, which rests on the power conditioner.

Please help!
Thanks.

F1nut

It's probably static electricity caused by the carpet, so it's you that needs to be grounded. Try to discharge yourself by touching something metal before touching your gear.

Frank Z

Add a whole house humidifier to your furnace, assuming you have one. This is the one that I recommend and sell more of than any other type or brand. It's the ****.
Aprilaire700

Zen Dragon

Rookie:
Is the shock you are getting a single short zap when you touch the equipment? If you leave your hand on it after the zap is there any further shocking? If this is the case then as stated the easiest solution is a humidifier. Since you live in an apartment a portable on would be best.
Most things in your house can build up electrical charges over time. When humidity is low the charge just stays on the unit until it finds a path to ground, or a different level of charge. Sort of like if you rub your feet on the carpet in dry weather, then touch your buddy.
A humidifer keeps enough moisture in the air that these charges can bleed off rather than build up.
If the shock your receiving is not a quick zap, but a steady shock, please post back as you have other potentially serious issues to resolve.

rookiejk

Thanks for all your help! The shock is a quick zap, not a stream of current. I think I will pick up a humidifier this weekend and see if it helps. I was hoping it wasn't something going haywire with my setup. I suppose this is a fairly common problem.

Thanks again.

Zen Dragon

Good. Humidifiers have other benefits as well. Extremely dry air will age your furniture faster. It will aggravate allergies, allow dust and pet dander to float more freely, and cause you to wake up with dry nasal passages. Also a room with good humidity actually feels a little warmer than a dry room at the same temperature which can help on heating bills. It's a good idea to throw an capful of bacteriastat in the humidifier water to prevent bacteria biuldup in it. Portable humidifiers and bacteriastat can be readily had at places like Sears, or Wally world.