Good ideas for kitchen counter outlets

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JoeNorm

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Anyone doing anything really sweet with outlets above the kitchen counters?

Specifically interested in clean, modern looking ideas. This springs from seeing people using hardwired power strips, which I think could be pretty cool if done right.

Any other ideas?
 
I hate plud mold as it is a pita to install and the customer has to bend upside down and plug things in. People want them. There are a lot of interesting looking outlets out there. Lowes has a few but IMO, the decora is just fine.. or get Lutron device that have many different colors to match what you have.
 
Dennis Alwon said:
..... People want them. ........
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Probably because they haven't thought it through. They see it and think it's the schnizzle. But I usually talk 'em out of it once I explain it to them.

Much like putting motion sensor lights on 3-ways: You never really know if it's going to work after sunset.
 
Plugmold under the top cabinet is great from a design perspective, until you plug in the coffee pot and see the cord above it. I have put it in to satisfy code, but place a couple of "regular" countertop receptacles in locations that would definitely be behind a countertop appliance.
 
Hopefully they never need to plug a wall wart into one of these receptacles.

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plug it in.. at least the ones I used... because of certain equipment such as dishwashers and washers, pretty common to have a plug spot or two under the countertop, and usually a switch to it above the counter top... all of mine in Dagenham had pull out fuses and dp switches so if a problem happened, pull the fuse, and then pull out the appliance...
 
I use Legrand under-cabinet lighting/power strips; they come in titanium and white. If you go with this, thoroughly read through the CAD drawings to understand the rough-in dimensions. Also, the accessory circuit for USB devices is a shared neutral with the lighting circuit. I run a 12/2 & 14/3. They include spacers to drop down for clearing cabinet sides, but I always request the cabinet builder give me a completely flat bottom with a 1” recess to hide the lights.

https://www.legrand.us/adorne/products/under-cabinet-lighting-power.aspx

If they want receps in the backsplash, the Legrand Adorne line of devices are pretty stylish, and they have a wide variety of wall plates. The USB devices on all of the Adorne stuff is currently USB-A only; hoping for USB-C soon. They recently added it as an option on the Radiant devices.

https://www.legrand.us/adorne.aspx




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K8MHZ said:
I have never understood why women think receptacles are ugly and new born babies are cute.
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For the same reason they don't use mirrors to backup.
My wife disconnects her seatbelt, turns the radio down and twists halfway around to backup.
I can understand the seatbelt, but I don't get the radio part! :?
 
Plug-mold is definitely a real PITA !!! It can be installed easily if the cabinets don't have a reveal. However, if they do then the plug-mold has to fit within the respective cabinet size. Otherwise, you end up having to channel out the back sides of the reveal to get the plug-mold to fit. Then the job ends up looking like crap. Then they want UC lights. Where does the wire come from for that ? The other PITA is where to locate the GFCI device. The last kitchen I did with plug-mold I had to locate (2) dead-front GFCI's on the wall in the adjacent laundry room. I also had to run single # 12 roamex cables to JB's in the ceiling of the basement below because I couldn't cascade the wiring from plug-mold to plug-mold. Another of my gripes is that you give a GC a price to do a job based on installing receptacles in the back-splash. Then you get on the job and they tell you that they want plug-mold and they get ticked off when you tell them it's going to be extra to do that type of installation.

Women get these stupid ideas from fancy design magazines that don't show any receptacles on the walls of kitchens. Just because they're not shown doesn't make it right.:rant:
 
goldstar said:
...........Women get these stupid ideas from fancy design magazines that don't show any receptacles on the walls of kitchens. Just because they're not shown doesn't make it right.:rant:
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A home I wired was featured on the cover of one of those magazines. Every........ single......... image............. had the switches and receptacles edited out. Even the recessed lights on the exterior: gone.
 
goldstar said:
Plug-mold is definitely a real PITA !!! It can be installed easily if the cabinets don't have a reveal. However, if they do then the plug-mold has to fit within the respective cabinet size. Otherwise, you end up having to channel out the back sides of the reveal to get the plug-mold to fit. Then the job ends up looking like crap. Then they want UC lights. Where does the wire come from for that ? The other PITA is where to locate the GFCI device. The last kitchen I did with plug-mold I had to locate (2) dead-front GFCI's on the wall in the adjacent laundry room. I also had to run single # 12 roamex cables to JB's in the ceiling of the basement below because I couldn't cascade the wiring from plug-mold to plug-mold. Another of my gripes is that you give a GC a price to do a job based on installing receptacles in the back-splash. Then you get on the job and they tell you that they want plug-mold and they get ticked off when you tell them it's going to be extra to do that type of installation.

Women get these stupid ideas from fancy design magazines that don't show any receptacles on the walls of kitchens. Just because they're not shown doesn't make it right.:rant:
Click to expand...
If you need to AFCI protect them anyway, is easy and less cost to just go with dual function breakers. If it trips people are more likely to go to the panel to see if anything tripped than they are to go to the laundry room to look for something that tripped. Even if I was called to such place with said receptacles not working, I'd look at panel first, then I'd be wondering where a GFCI might possibly be located.
 
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