Proper outlet orientation

[Eigenvector]

This might sound like a dumb question, but is there a proper orientation for an outlet? I'm looking at the replacement outlet that I am going to install and I notice (based purely on the text stamped on the outlet face) that the text on the outlet is upside down if you put the ground prong on the bottom, but the text on the outlet is rightside up and readible, the ground prong is on top of the hot and neutral prong.

Does the orientation matter so far as code is concerned? Is there a reason why having the ground tap on the top would be necessarily a bad thing - if only because the cords wouldn't stay in the outlet or you'd have to always twist the cord 180 degrees when you plugged in.

[Rich]

Ground lug up, for the reason that if a metal cover plate comes off it hits the ground first. Left to right orientation the hot goes up.

Rich

[Eigenvector]

Alright, I hadn't thought of that.

[Eric in North TX]

Most molded "wall hugger" plugs are orientated with the ground on the bottom, i install the outlets to comply + the look like a face going ooooh, which I prefer/

[George E. Cawthon]

This has been discussed many times here. You can orient the plug any way you want including horizontally. Most plugs seem to be oriented with the hole (ground) on the bottom, but other houses have the ground on the top. Flat plugs are often formed so that a plug with the ground on the bottom is best. Orient it any way you want, you can always turn it over later if you want a different orientation.

[Jeff Wisnia]

I've heard that "ground pin up" (for the metal wallplate reason) is required on new work in some parts of Canada.

Can anyone confirm that?

Jeff

[Tekkie®]

Eigenvector posted for all of us...

And it is because once again you have done NO research on this often asked question. WHEN WILL YOU LEARN?????

[Eigenvector]

When will you stop responding to posts you don't like?

That's what I thought.

[RicodJour]

I can confirm that the metal cover plate reason makes no sense, regardless of who's bought into the logic and written code to comply.

By the time the ground prong is far enough out of the receptacle hole to make contact with the cover plate, the other two prongs are far enough out that the cord is no longer energized.

R

[Tazz]

I dont think the NEC stipulates either way. Authority having jurisditction could answer that.

If you have the ground down and the receptacle is loose and the cord end starts to fall out the ground will still be in. First make last break.

If you have the ground down and some how or another something metal falls across the hot and neutral if the cord is not plugged all the way in it will obviously short it.

6 of this and half a dozen of the other.

[dooofuss]

I change mine every week. I like changes in my life and this is my way to achieve change.

I think I like the ground down better though. It looks more like a face.

[Mark Lloyd]

Are you sure about that last thing? It seems inconsistent when orienting it for safety. You want the metal cover plate to touch hot?

[Mark Lloyd]

Even a really thin metal cover plate? Some of these might make contact even if the plug is only an eighth of an inch out.

[Goedjn]

There are a lot of people with habitual ways of doing it, and a lot of rationalization to support those ways, but no particularly compelling reasons.

Ground up means falling conductors hit the ground first. Ground down means that if the plug falls out under it's own weight, the ground is the last to go. Ground down means it looks like a smiley face and attracts children. Ground up means that the short prongs are on the bottom where it's harder to see them when plugging things in.

I go with ground down because that's what I'm used to.

If you're not consistant about it, it looks sloppy and irritates the end-user. Was it me, I'd pick one direction for normal convenience outlets, and flip them upside down when I wanted to signal some special-case ones. (Like switched outlets, or outlets on a generator, or something.)

next time you grab a grounded cord to plug it in, look at it and see which way you've turned it. That's how the recepticle should go.

--Goedjn

[RicodJour]

The cover plate has nothing to do with the orientation. Nothing. The grounding plug is a bit longer than the other two. Like the other guy said, first to make, last to break.

Unless there's a new and stupid plug with flexible prongs, the hot and neutral can't be made to touch the cover plate unless the receptacle is recessed well behind the face of the plate.

Why is it that nobody's mentioned a polarized plug? Since there's no ground, does that make the plug more dangerous?

This whole thing is like someone complaining about the dangers of an air bag while they're driving around drunk. The mechanical/electrical systems aren't to blame, it's the nut behind the wheel.

R

[Edwin Pawlowski]

I was told by an electrician that the practice was changed to ground up a few years ago. The reason is that if a plug is not all the way into the receptacle, something dropped, like a paperclip off a desk, will not cross the two prongs and come to rest. It would most likely slide off.

I've also notice that a lot of new appliance cords, as air conditioner, are made in such a way that they will hang better ground up.

[Malcolm Hoar]

Now *that* makes sense!

However, I don't think I'm gonna reinstall/invert all of the outlets in my home.

[Jeff Wisnia]

So think about what you just wrote, RicodJour.

With the most often seen "alien face" receptical orientation, if the plug were pulled out of the receptical maybe 1/16" and if a metal plate securing screw was missing and the moon was in its correct phase, vibration might cause the plate to move away from the wall and drop down so the upper edge of one of it's holes fell across the still connected hot and neutral plug prongs. That could cause arcing and possibly a spark ignited fire.

If the receptical were installed in the "cowgirl position" AND a grounded plug was "slightly uninserted", the loose plate would fall onto the plug's ground pin and no problem would ensue. Of course, that would only happen if the plug HAD a ground pin. It wouldn't help squat with a two prong (ungrounded) plug.

Capice now?

Jeff

[RicodJour]

You left out the tinder under the receptacle from a nearby pencil sharpener, Jeff.

Why wouldn't the circuit breaker wouldn't trip in that situation? If that's not safe enough, put the receptacles with the loose cover plates and near the paper clip dispenser on a GFI. Hell, put the whole house on a GFI - that would actually do something to improve safety.

I could dream up a scenario that would compromise any system. Doesn't mean that it's going to happen, ever did happen, or that my time dreaming was well spent. This is the alt.home.repair version of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.

R

[Mark Lloyd]

I had forgotten about that, but just checked about a dozen cords and found that to be true for all of them.

Even if the receptacle is installed with the ground hole up, and the cord is falling out (plug angled down as far as possible)?

If does seem like a small thing to worry about. I suppose if the screw holding the plate on came loose, and the plate slipped.

Sounds like you're comparing non-grounding and grounding plugs. There would be some difference in safety if the appliance had any exposed metal parts.

Considering non-grounding receptacles, I suppose there's no real safety advantage. There would be a convenience advantage, considering that if the receptacle was installed upside down, you would have to turn the plug differently than you thought.

Of course, that doesn't mean that air bags are of absolutely no importance.