Comments on: Reversed Polarity Outlets

By: Reuben Saltzman

Reuben Saltzman — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 11:02:29 +0000

John B – it would be the neutral-ground fault causing a problem, not reversed polarity.

By: John B

John B — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:37:49 +0000

You are wrong about RP not affecting electronic devices. In a computer setup, if the CPU is plugged into one circuit that has RP, and other connected equipment such as printer, router, etc are on a normal circuit, and there is a neutral-ground fault somewhere, you can fry your stuff.

Also for some reason a lot of professional photography flash equipment doesn’t like RP.

By: Philip Parkinson

Philip Parkinson — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 02:03:57 +0000

Hi, As an electrician I am still amazed that people put metal utensils into a pluged in electrical device. If it is still plugged in expect the the damn thing to be HOT (and not hot as in warm). It should be common sense to unplug a device before you operate on it. Philip

By: Reuben Saltzman

Reuben Saltzman — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:06:20 +0000

Maureen – thanks for reading. I agree about the toaster, I pulled the plug before taking a picture of that!

By: Maureen McCabe

Maureen McCabe — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:40:12 +0000

I came from your ActiveRain post on Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters, which I am going to Re-Blog, probably later today. Thanks.

I like the way you handled Chris’s comment. He got one thing right though…

“one should NEVER put a fork in a toaster”

By: Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs), Part 1 | Reuben's Home Inspection Blog

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:04:51 +0000

[...] a quick refresher. In my blog about reversed polarity outlets, I explained that there are two wires that conduct current – one get connected to the earth [...]

By: Top Ten Home Inspection Defects For Old Houses | Reuben's Home Inspection Blog

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:14:22 +0000

[...] Improperly Wired Outlets Ungrounded three-prong outlets and outlets with reversed polarityare very common defects. These are shock hazards. You can check the outlets in your own home [...]

By: jenny

jenny — Fri, 08 May 2009 07:50:41 +0000

i got a very bad shock the other day while i tried to clean my toaster with a knife while it was still plugged in. nice tips

By: Reuben Saltzman

Reuben Saltzman — Fri, 08 May 2009 02:08:11 +0000

Chris – I debated posting your comment because most of what you have to say about this matter is just plain wrong, and I don’t want to give any readers the wrong impression, but I also don’t want to censor any comments other than spam… so I posted your comment. If you’re writing this as a practical joke, good one. You got me.

Some corrections are in order here. With alternating current both wires, white and black, are equally “hot”.

True, they’re both equally “hot”, but the ungrounded conductor is the one that is commonly referred to as “hot”, because there is potential between it and the earth.

The third slot on some recepticals is the only one connected to the earth.

That’s just plain wrong.

The white wire is connected to a common bus in the circuit box and therefore is often referred to as the “neutral” wire.

It’s called the neutral because it is a grounded conductor, and there is no potential between it and the earth.

Electricians have arbitrarily chosen the white to be the common “neutral”.

That’s just plain wrong.

By: Chris Ruston

Chris Ruston — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:55:04 +0000

Some corrections are in order here. With alternating current both wires, white and black, are equally “hot”. The third slot on some recepticals is the only one connected to the earth.
The white wire is connected to a common bus in the circuit box and therefore is often referred to as the “neutral” wire. This is really a misnomer because it is not neutral. Because of this one should NEVER put a fork in a toaster that is still plugged in regardless of the polarity of the receptical. The fact that the white wire is connected to the common bus necessitates that the polarity of the wiring is consistent throughout the house. Electricians have arbitrarily chosen the white to be the common “neutral”.