"JK" wrote in message
oups.com...
Receptacle tester shows hot & ground reversed. No wiring changes have
been made since home new 25 years ago. Plugged in iron and power went
out but didn't flip breaker. All outlets in room also out. Later all
worked, plugged in iron and all went out, and breaker still not
flipped. Iron works fine elsewhere. Replaced breaker and outlet.
Still nothing. Outlet tester shows hot & ground reversed for all
outlets on circuit. Pigtail tester shows neutral and hot both hot for
all outlets on circuit. There is also a light switch and ceiling fan
on circuit. Suggestions appreciated. Thanks.

I assume you use those 3-neon lights receptacle tester like this:
http://www.eclipsetools.com/ProductP...gs/400-029.JPG

If it says hot ground reversed, it probably is.

By "pigtail tester", do you mean something like this:
http://www.mrtool.com/browse.cfm/4,469.html
And where do put the test leads?

It is not likely that neutral and hot are both hot. If they are, then
plugging in any device would not work.

What I don't quite understand is how the power went out and then come back
later. If you didn't do anything to make the power come back, then there is
either a hidden breaker (not likely), or there is a bad connection
somewhere.

The simplest explanation is someone miswired hot and neutral at the first
outlet or upstream of it, and there is also a bad connection. So check all
the junction boxes (fan, light switch, the most upstream outlet) to try to
locate the reversed hot-neutral. Hopefully that is also where the bad
connection is.