Hi all,
I'm seeking an opinion: Is there any reason that wiring my metal workbench to the "neutral" line in my wall outlet (verified to be neutral and not hot) for ESD is a bad idea in the absence of a true earth ground?
I'm in an apartment and hammering a new spike into the ground or cutting new holes in the wall in search of a better earth ground aren't real options.
The wall outlets in this apartment are ungrounded. However, they are protected by a GFCI, which is required by California law for homes (or at least rentals) without grounded outlets.
I'm wondering if I ground the bench to neutral (which I've already verified not to be hot), am I going to be turning the bench into some sort of huge antenna for broadcasting EMI or something? Or perhaps are random blobs of static charge now going to be capable of tripping the GFCI when I ground myself to my bench?
(oh, and yes I am planning on putting a high-value resistor inline with the ground link for safety reasons in case I accidentaly touch a hot wire)
Any thoughts? Hidden gotchas that would make this a bad idea that I'm overlooking?
I'm seeking an opinion: Is there any reason that wiring my metal workbench to the "neutral" line in my wall outlet (verified to be neutral and not hot) for ESD is a bad idea in the absence of a true earth ground?
I'm in an apartment and hammering a new spike into the ground or cutting new holes in the wall in search of a better earth ground aren't real options.
The wall outlets in this apartment are ungrounded. However, they are protected by a GFCI, which is required by California law for homes (or at least rentals) without grounded outlets.
I'm wondering if I ground the bench to neutral (which I've already verified not to be hot), am I going to be turning the bench into some sort of huge antenna for broadcasting EMI or something? Or perhaps are random blobs of static charge now going to be capable of tripping the GFCI when I ground myself to my bench?
(oh, and yes I am planning on putting a high-value resistor inline with the ground link for safety reasons in case I accidentaly touch a hot wire)
Any thoughts? Hidden gotchas that would make this a bad idea that I'm overlooking?