# Router Without a Ground?



## smc (Dec 19, 2008)

I don't know how long it has been broken, or if it was the last time I used it, but the ground prong on the power cord just came off. I noticed it was bent a couple of times before, but I have always been too busy to really think about it. Kind of like when I am too busy to take pictures of the progress.

I have a project I need to use the router on really soon. Will it be safe if I use it without the prong? I've used a cheater adapter on high amp drawing devices before, but never a power tool, and I've seen horrible cords on a jobsite that one of the safety officers said that he would cut off if he ever saw one. Should I just wait until I get it repaired and not take any chances?


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## The Warthog (Nov 29, 2010)

I would get it repaired, as I did recently with my circular saw. I'm not a gambler.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Pretty well all (hand) power tools are double insulated these days. They are fairly safe without the ground. In fact, many don't bother including the ground prong anymore. If you use it in dry conditions you would be fine provided the tool is in good working condition. With that said, it is very easy and cheap to cut off the old plug and put a new one on.


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## wbh1963 (Oct 11, 2011)

Given the choice, I would spring for the replacement plug before using any motor based power tool with a metal housing. I'm just too paranoid to give the metal housing any chance at being the 'electrode' that zaps me!.

I usually have one or two of the plugs in stock at the ready because they are so in-expensive.

I'm far from perfect when it comes to safety and discipline, especially if their is some advantage to cutting a corner. When there isn't an advantage to the 'more risky way' and the 'proper way' is straightforward and simple I play it safe to begin with..

I have also seen a few cheap power tools where the ground plug was just there for show and didn't connect to anything in reality! With a router, this probably isn't the case as it was with the drills that had thin metal plates over a plastic frame. I guess my point is, the presence of a ground plug doesn't absolutely guarantee that a tool is designed to be as safe as 'it should/could' be electrically.


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## jimward5 (Feb 19, 2012)

Hello I'm a retired electrician, the ground wire is the most important wire of all. Without this wire the frame can, with an internal fault, become live and the path to ground is then through the person touching the frame. Don't tempt fate fix the plug.


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## darsev (Feb 3, 2012)

Sean,

as has been said, a lot of equipment these days is double insulated and doesn't need an earth. In the absence of other details, I would say because double insulation is so widely used, if your router has an earth prong then it is highly likely that it does need it. Manufacturers look for anything to save money. Therefore I, personally would get it repaired before using. 

Not having an earth is only a problem when there are other problems which bring the earth into play, so it is theoretically possible that you could use you router for the rest of its useful life without getting a zap if you are somehow able to prevent electrical problems from occurring. Depends on how much of a risk you want to take. Me? I would get it repaired fairly quickly. One of the consequences of getting an electrical shock is that your muscles tighten up, which means you end up holding the router even tighter and get more of an electric shock, tightening your muscles even tighter, and so a dangerous cycle begins. It may well be there for show as has been mentioned, but if the router is double insulated it will say so somewhere on the label, either with words or a symbol which looks like one square inside another, representing the two layers of insulation.

HTH
Darryl


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## argoknot (Dec 7, 2009)

A few dollars is a small price to pay for your safety.


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## pretender74 (May 27, 2011)

Hi as the man says. Manufacturers always go on the cheap so they went to the trouble to put a ground on it ,replace it . When bad things happen with electricity it can be to late to say I guess I should have. Gary


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## OPG3 (Jan 9, 2011)

Get it fixed, or your nickname might become "Sparky". Don't chance it. The ground wire and prong was there for a reason. It will not cost much to get it repaired to original specs! Be safe, as so many have told you above. Using it compromised is like going on a long trip with a bad tire - asking for trouble.


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## Cochese (Jan 12, 2010)

Don't use anything, ANYTHING, without the proper plug. Don't assume.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Sean


I know you know what it should be ,the key words are " on the job site" now would be a good time to make the cord longer just cut off the plug and pickup a power cord and wire it into the old one...the older routers always came with a short cord..I just about always cut off the power cord on equipment b/4 I put in the trash can and save them for that type of job...you don't want to become the 3rd. wire for your router.. 


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smc said:


> I don't know how long it has been broken, or if it was the last time I used it, but the ground prong on the power cord just came off. I noticed it was bent a couple of times before, but I have always been too busy to really think about it. Kind of like when I am too busy to take pictures of the progress.
> 
> I have a project I need to use the router on really soon. Will it be safe if I use it without the prong? I've used a cheater adapter on high amp drawing devices before, but never a power tool, and I've seen horrible cords on a jobsite that one of the safety officers said that he would cut off if he ever saw one. Should I just wait until I get it repaired and not take any chances?


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## rwl7532 (Sep 8, 2011)

Of course we are all assuming your outlets are grounded and not just wired up with an outlet that has a hole for the ground prong. This is often the case with older homes and garages. Original wiring was for two prong and later replaced with three prong outlets as a convenience and are not grounded - they just look that way.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi

Many of the older home had 3 wire system,the box was grounded the norm and when you use the adapter for the grounded type plug, that is screwed to the face plate the tool is grounded..or some used the white wire as a ground in the main box if they didn't have a 3 wire system..

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## Red Stick (Sep 7, 2011)

Of course your question has been answered quite well. However, no one brought up the subject of where is the ground plug that was once there? Probably it's in the last outlet it was plugged into! Be sure to turn off the breaker before reaching in there with your needlenose pliers to remove!


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## walowan (Jan 21, 2011)

If any tool has a ground wire that means it is not double insulated, get it fixed!


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

I'd strongly recommend against using it without fixing the plug. As others have said, if there is a short the electricity can cause your muscles to contract and you wouldn't be able to let go or control it if your contracting muscles were pulling the bit towards your flesh. 

A router is a highly sharpened cutter making many cuts per second. Look at how fast it removes hard wood and then think about how much faster it could remove human flesh. Just ask a few here who have learned first-hand the danger of a skin-router bit collision!!

YMMV... but, for whatever it's worth, I'm a "tenured" (another word for old <g>) Electrical Engineer who deals with electricity and grounding all day long. Why risk life or limb, literally???


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Right now HF has two nice replacement plugs for $5, not a bad sale price.


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## smc (Dec 19, 2008)

argoknot said:


> A few dollars is a small price to pay for your safety.


Yep. I am not a gambler either, and I have put my project on hold until I can at least take the router apart. I have had no "quality time" to put forth, and I just figured out today the fundage situation and cut sheet. Heck, I just remembered this thread now! It's so easy to replace the cord and much easier than staying in the hospital. Still, it is nice to know that the router will work without the earth, and now that I think about it there is really no contact with metal while the router is running. 

I am still not sure that the prong was very well attached - I have people telling me that their Porter Cable routers have had problems with cords and had to be serviced or replaced them. Maybe a bad batch of cables and stress sheaths? One or a few people can only speculate.

Thank you for reminding me that safety comes first! (Duh, I'm a low-voltage telecom tech by trade - I should know better!) :nono:


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