What kind of damage does having electricity flow in the wrong direction

[alanwest09872]

Ok I went through 4 different dish network recievers (the 922) the guy came out and said that my plugs where plugged in the wrong direction. Like the positive side was plugged into the negative and vice versa. Now thats how all my plugs where done. He said that is what was causing all my recievers to go bad.

So I went through and changed all of them. To the way that they where supposed to be. I also purchased a little tester that told me everything was good now.

I am wondering what kind of damage this could have caused to my actual computer.
I have gone through many many video cards/hardrives over the last few years.
Now I am curious is this the reason why.
The wiring in this house is very very old. I believe it was done in the 1950's. and a little bit of maintance was done in the 1970.

Also I have no ground wire in my computer/bedroom.
Now my uncle said i could just run a wire to the metal box from the outlet and that would give me a little bit of ground. He said it isnt the best but its better then nothing. Is this true?

Overview of post
1. Does electricity flowing in the wrong direction affect electronics
2. Does a ground wire from the outlet to the outlet's metal box count as a ground. (there is no ground wire going from the metal box to the fuze box

 

[HeXen]

As a utility worker, I know good ground is essential for any DC/AC current flow. A ground grid/ring or at least an 8' ground rod with 8 guage OFC wire should be placed outside and surge protection used. I don't know if swapped wires effects electronics however I do know that poor grounding and old house wiring can and will cause various types of electronics to go bad, some stuff made with high quality components are more tolerant than others..etc.
Some electronics are just poorly made, but electricity is like the tires on your car, their kinda the most important part yet the most overlooked and neglected.
Same for your car, few people take notice of resistance and do further damage from improper procedures just because it "seems" to work fine.

 

[rolli59]

1 AC electricity does not have a wrong direction since it flows both way's, therefore AC.
2 When you say metal box are you meaning the metal box that the outlet is mounted in? If yes it will provide ground if the electricity is run in a metal conduit which was common in older installations. Problem is though as with any thing old if the conduits are have lost metal to metal connection (pulled out along the way) on its way to the main panel the ground will be broken.

 

[Matt1970]

In sort the guy made something up to get you to go away.

 

[lagokc]

AC doesn't have a flow direction, it just jitters back and forth. Any receiver is going to convert that into DC before using it anyway. If someone told you that you plugged something in backward he's either incompetent or having a laugh at your expense.

Wait... which plugs did he say were backward? The wall power to receiver, or the speaker wire from receiver to speakers?

 

[alanwest09872]

I wasnt talking about a home audio reciever I was talking about a dish network 922 reciever.

he said something about hot reverse neutral.


rolli59 He took the ground plug from the actual outlet and screwed it into the metal box that houses the outlet. But theres no ground going from the metal box to the fuze box.

 

[Matt1970]

Your dish network reciever has an internal power supply that converts the AC into a DC inside the component. The first thing the AC passes through is a Diode Bridge also known as a a Bridge Rectifier. The Bridge Rectifier does not care which side is which as far as input goes.

 

[denis280]

all electronic should have a ground.then make sure the power in the house is in the range. like 115v to 125v. if it is lower or higher it is not good.and also use a power surge bar.

 

[C1]

If you have any doubts then buy an inexpensive UPS for the receive(s) as that should act as an isolator regarding ground issue plus it will stabilize/filter line voltage.

 

[rolli59]

I wasnt talking about a home audio reciever I was talking about a dish network 922 reciever.

he said something about hot reverse neutral.


rolli59 He took the ground plug from the actual outlet and screwed it into the metal box that houses the outlet. But theres no ground going from the metal box to the fuze box.

It only works if the box is grounded to your main panel either with separate wire or metal conduit.

Either he does not know any better or he was pulling one on you, as an example European round pin plugs can go in either way with no way of distinguishing which is hot and which is neutral.