To start off: I was explaining to my friend that I don’t have a grounding point in my house (plumbing is PVC, outlets are gcfi protected only, not allowed to drive a grounding rod into the ground, etc…) and that I’ve just been handling sensitive electronics with just luck and preparation (humidity, moisturizer, no synthetic clothing, etc…) all this time. He told me to just wire myself to a good, multimeter tested, grounding point in a car and that will discharge any built-up static electricity. I’m not smart enough to argue with him on this subject but that doesnt seem the safest. Would that work or should I just keep doing my method? My understanding is that chassis grounding is essentially replacing wires with the frame so the outcome would just be connecting myself to the negative terminal of a car battery.
Tldr: I’m explaining my lack of a grounding point at home for sensitive electronics and is advised by my friend to wire myself to a grounded point in a car to discharge built-up static electricity. However, I’m uncertain about the safety of this suggestion and questions whether my current method of handling electronics with precautions is sufficient.
Edit: lmao people are really getting hung up on the no grounded outlet part. Umm my best explanation I guess is that its an older house that had 2 prong outlets and was “updated” with gfci protected outlets afterwards think the breakers as well. My understanding is that its up to code but I’m not an electrician. As for the plumbing I’m sure there’s still copper somewhere but the majority has been updated to pvc over the years. Again it’s not my house I don’t want to go biting the hand that feeds me. Thank you though, haha
Edit #2: thank you all so much for the helpful advice, I really appreciate all of you!
Why do people feel like grounding while handling electronics products is relevant? What is sensitive electronics? I have handled/soldered bare ICs, expensive GPU/CPUs, … and never had and issues with static (the things were not broken after installation) without any sort of grounding or any other thought spent on this topic. Note that I never get static shocks unless during very specific weather conditions when getting out of my car (maybe 4x per year).
Also, how can you be connected to the grid without any sort of ground? How is that not on breach of code(s)?
PS: obviously in a professional setting it makes sense
You probably live in a humid place. Try doing that in a desert.
Not really humid, no. But also not super dry. RH somewhere around 30…60 %.
It varies a lot with for example humidity, the kind of floor you have installed, the clothes you are wearing.
When I handle electronics in a personal capacity, I usually wing it. Professionally I always ground myself.
Yeah no question professionally I never even heard of any issues. ICs contain ESD protection anyway. They would not survive much without it. I assume that takes care of most things.
Many modern chips can tolerate a certain static discharge. Also if you’re like me, you have ~30% humidity indoors and engineered laminate flooring. I can’t remember the last time I experienced a zap touching a doorknob. I’ve also handled many dozens of ICs building boards and I can’t think more than a few times I’ve had a problem that might be attributable to ESD. I still take precautions when handling PC components just in case.
Three prong grounded plugs weren’t required by the NEC in new homes until the 70s so two prong, ungrounded outlets are common in old houses.
The thing is, it may not “break” them but may introduce difficult to localize unreliable operation - which you may even explain away as buggy software.
IC’s, especially small feature size CMOS, absolutely are subject to ESD damage.
Often there’s some circuitry to minimize the risk to sensitive components on a professionally designed board too.