Furman polarity?


I have two Furman RI 1220 line conditioners which I bought at different times. I happened to check one of the outlets with a circuit tester. The hot and neutral are reversed on all the outlets. The same goes for the second Furman. I would like to hear from anyone with any information. Also if any other balanced Furman models have the same reversal. Thank you in advance.
jessmar

Showing 2 responses by gbart

I agree with Rayooo. I have been running balanced isolation transformers for almost 8 years now. Those little AC outlet testers will not work properly with balanced power because the two 60V poles are the same (i.e., neither "hot" nor "neutral"). Plug-in testers are meant to work on standard circuits, where the neutral is grounded.

Polarity on standard household circuits is important because devices like lamps often have the neutral tied to the metal structure. If power at the outlet is reversed, that would make metal parts of the lamp HOT with respect to ground, and present an electrocution hazard. Therefore you want to make sure poles are not reversed. Also, in devices where the power switch in on the HOT side, when polarity is reversed, the neutral side inside the device will be live, even when the power swicth is in the off position.

Balanced power presents the same risks, however, the use of lighting equipment on balanced power is prohibited. Balanced power equipment also usually comes with GFCIs to help prevent protection from shock. There is no need to use circuit analyzers on balanced power equipment.
Edit: This forum needs post editing capability. Sentence two of the last paragraph should read "Balanced power equipment also usually comes with GFCIs to PROVIDE protection from shock".