hot & neutral reverse in outlets

Originally Posted By: jacaron
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Using the A.W Sperry Instrument for checking outlets found 90% of the outlets in a mobile home showing Hot/Neutral reverse. Any comments? Is that correct?


Originally Posted By: lkage
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John,


I am not familiar with your tester but "hot and neutral reversed" is not correct.

But, let me say this, one inspector shared his experience with me and that was that he wrote up a whole house as "reversed". Then went to the next inspection and found the same problem in that house.

He thought that was strange so he ran out and bought another tester and sure enough his first tester was bad.

I carry 3 or 4 with me all the time now.

That may not be your case especially with a mobile home but worth checking.

Hope this helps.


--
"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him."
Galileo Galilei

Originally Posted By: jpope
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Reverse polarity (H N reversed) is common but not “correct.” You may want to reconsider your testing equipment. icon_wink.gif





--
Jeff Pope
JPI Home Inspection Service
"At JPI, we'll help you look better"
(661) 212-0738

Originally Posted By: tbering
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Hello John,


I ran into this enough times to also doubt my testers. One quick way to determine your testers reliability would be to remove one of the plates screw and see how the 'leads' are attached to the receptacle, remember to observe and don't probe ![icon_smile.gif](upload://b6iczyK1ETUUqRUc4PAkX83GF2O.gif)

Ted Bering
Retired


Originally Posted By: cbuell
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some times whole circuits of two-wire systems get reversed (even right at the panel) due to the difficulty of determining which wire is “white” and which wire is “black”. In this case the wiring of the receptacle in the circuit would appear wired correctly.


Originally Posted By: rbennett
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Back to basic electrical


The hot is the one that will bite you if you have one hand on a ground ie cold metal water pipe and the other on the "hot"

In reality if you take a $2.00 neon tester and follow the directions it will tell you which is hot (you use your body as the ground)

Same trick with a hi z volt meter

-- All test equipment has to be tested now and then --

You know something is wrong when you had 20% test good

Regards

RLB


Originally Posted By: gmickes
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just to add a lilbit, don’t ever get between a neutral w/ a load on it , it will do more than bite. also i had an instructor say there is no hot or neut. you have a grounding ( green / bare copp), grounded ( white/ natural gray) and the ungrounded conductor( hot).


Originally Posted By: rbennett
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George


I do not understand - would you please run that one past me one more time

thanks

RLB


Originally Posted By: gmickes
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i’m just adding my 2 cent’s about being shocked, you can get bit alot worsed off the neut. if not dead. example … you have a 2 wire circuit, the current carrying conductor is intact but the neut. joint is broke and you happen to get between the neut. connection under load you become that part of the circuit , carrying back the unbalanced load.


another example.... i had afriend on a job( construction) w/ me he was still learning he was running temp. lighting working it hot, i told him to be carefull (temp. lites had a string of 200 watt bulbs) for some reason he broke the neut. and grabbed the two end's lol, he got the beegeezies knocked out of him.

more than likely as an inspector this won't happen, i was addin my 2 cent's


Originally Posted By: gmickes
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i forgot to add, this can also apply when morons tie in ground wires to neuts. as well