Quick Wiring Question. Power Mains.

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That indeed is a compact question.

In slightly more elaborate UK English:
Here (Europe) the phase is either black, brown or even red. Return/neutral is blue. If you only have a single pole switch, it goes in the phase/hot wire. For better safety, use a double pole switch and disconnect the return as well.
 
That indeed is a compact question.

In slightly more elaborate UK English:
Here (Europe) the phase is either black, brown or even red. Return/neutral is blue. If you only have a single pole switch, it goes in the phase/hot wire. For better safety, use a double pole switch and disconnect the return as well.

You cant rely on the electrician wiring live to right socket terminal so better to use double pole switch.
 
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We have little devices here we use to check whether or not the outlet is wired correctly.

While switching both sides of the 120V mains is not illegal it is discouraged, very few devices made for sale here in the U.S. will have double pole switches. (I've never seen any)

This is not case with devices intended for operation on 240V mains here where both sides are always hot.

FWIW no one should ever rely on the power switch to assure that there is no mains present unexpectedly in something they are working on. Best practice is to disconnect the mains.

Please make sure that advice you give is consistent with electrical codes in the country the OP lives in.

Here for example our color codes are BLACK or RED for hot (red generally on 240V circuits as a part of a pair), WHITE is neutral, and solid GREEN is safety ground.
 

PRR

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.... in hopes to rid it of some hum.

Then you want Green to Chassis.

Black/White SHOULD NOT matter to hum.

If the power transformer is defective, it might. As it gets more defective, it will try to shock you; a proper Green to Chassis will blow the cellar fuse first.

Hum is SO many possible causes that I'm not sure I'd even start with chassis grounding. It is more important *for hum* that all gear in a system is bonded together.
 
A high liability for an electrician to wire an outlet backwards due to the use of polarized plug cords, to which I dislike :rolleyes:, due to electrocution risk. However, a lot of homeowners many do their own repairs and may not know what they are doing.:whazzat: if unsure, there are polarity testers you can use, or pop the outlet out and look...just flip off breaker before hand.:tongue:
 
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