Thomas writes:

Can anybody help me with this problem?

I have someone living in my apartment while I am away. He has rung me
up to say that in the last ten months THREE computers have "died" on him
due to being connected to a socket in my apartment. (I think he's
trying to make me feel guilty so that I will compensate him somehow.)

He says that on each occasion his computers have been hit by a power
surge. He says that on the first two occasions he wasn't in when the
surges hit, but that on returning home he found the computers dead. He
says that for the third computer he fitted a surge-protector between the
socket and his computer, but that last week he was at home when his
printer started "smoking". He says this last power surge must have been
really bad.

Today I rang my electricity network provider and they assured me that
there have been NO major surges in my area in the last year, and that if
there had been then the whole apartment would have been knocked out, the
fuses would have blown in the fuseboard, and other equipment and lights
would have been damaged too.

In a couple of days' time I am going to visit the apartment with a
socket-tester - it's a small plug which shows if the socket is wired
correctly. The only thing I can think of which might have caused the
death of three computers (if, in fact, they DID really die) is that the
"live" and the "neutral" wires to the socket (from the fuseboard) might
have been attached to the socket the wrong way round.

If this is the case, I know this wouldn't injure a lightbulb, but my
question is: would this injure a computer? A friend tells me that
current is "alternating" and that it therefore shouldn't matter whether
the live and neural wires to the socket are reversed. But does this
situation ring any bells with anyone?

Or is the guy in my apartment either just someone who has bought three
faulty computers in a row or someone who is just trying to take me for a
ride?

Reversed Hot and Neutral should not damage computers or any other modern
electronics or appliances, nor is it an inherently unsafe condition.
Anything that plugs into the wall must be designed to be safe if H and N
are reversed.

I agree with another post - ask to see the damaged equipment.

There could be other wiring issues like a loose Neutral at the service
entrance causing large variations in voltage but you'd most likely see
other symptoms like changes in lamp brightness,

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