Hi,
When I was a kid in the 60's I distinctly remember measuring the
line voltage at the wall sockets with my Simpson 260 and it measured 117
- 120 volts AC. I measure pretty much the same where I am now. Line
voltages vary from place to place. the voltages have been called 120,
115, 117 and 110 in my lifetime. 220 has been called 220, 230 and 240.
I always check outlets in at least a couple places when I move into
a new house. One thing that will make me check every outlet is if they
are in upside down (single ground hole up, two long thin holes down).
Every now and then I run into an electrician who puts all the sockets in
upside down, claiming that 'if a knife or some thin object fell down the
wall, it would not cause a short. Uh DUUUH! like there isn't a 50 50
chance it is going to slide the wrong way and short ground to hot?
Usually, these guy's work is ass backwards. It gets real hinky when they
do 220. Your plugs are hanging upside down with the cord dropping off
the wall at an odd angle and out into the room or appliance's back.
Kind of like a plumber who puts the hot water control on the right.
It works, but it is clumsy at best to use. Anyway, the only time I have
seen hot and neutral reversed is when I came across sockets that were
installed upside down.
You are correct in that they sell real cheap testers which can save
you a lot of headaches by alerting you to improper wiring.
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