Upside down outlet receptacle requirements?

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Doctor Electric

Doctor Electric

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Location
United States
I was talking with a fellow electrician today and he had mentioned upside down outlets required in certain areas for the simple fact that if the two prongs are face up and the female plug end of whatever is plugged in , might be pulled downward thus exposing the energized female plug end for it to be susceptible for an object falling down like a " coat hanger " was the example used that it could create a possible hazard . I asked him what section of the code book this falls under and he wasn't sure, so sensing a little fibb I looked around in my 250 and I can't seem to find anything that mentions this has anyone heard of this. Any thoughts would be great guys thanks
 
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user 100

Senior Member
Location
texas
Coppersmith said:
You are allowed to install the receptacle in any orientation except face up on a counter.
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Nuh uh- always ground down, ground DOWN!!!:p

No seriously, to the OP, there is no NEC requirement that specifies that.

A quick search of the forums search function will reveal endless debate on this one.:)
 
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vincentvigil

Member
Location
Longmont, Colorado, US
I had a service call once where the woman said her tv all of the sudden went dead. I found the TV cord pulled out slightly from the receptacle and a penny firmly tac welded to the prongs. Breaker had tripped.

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Coppersmith

Coppersmith

Senior Member
Location
Tampa, FL, USA
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Electrical Contractor
Doctor Electric said:
I was talking with a fellow electrician today and he had mentioned upside down outlets required in certain areas for the simple fact that if the two prongs are face up and the female plug end of whatever is plugged in , might be pulled downward thus exposing the energized female plug end for it to be susceptible for an object falling down like a " coat hanger " was the example used that it could create a possible hazard . I asked him what section of the code book this falls under and he wasn't sure, so sensing a little fibb I looked around in my 250 and I can't seem to find anything that mentions this has anyone heard of this. Any thoughts would be great guys thanks
Click to expand...

Having the plug pull out just enough to expose the prongs and then dropping a coat hanger so that it skims the wall and contacts both prongs simultaneously to cause a short sounds just as likely as Richard Nixon's secretary accidentally erasing the Watergate tape. (A penny yes, coat hanger no. :p)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_Mary_Woods
 
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GoldDigger

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FWIW, this topic is on the taboo list, along with other political and religious matters. :)
For every person with one deeply held opinion, there are two who equally sincerely hold the opposite opinion.
[paradox]
Now if there is a contract requirement you go with that.

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petersonra

Senior Member
Location
Northern illinois
Occupation
engineer
GoldDigger said:
FWIW, this topic is on the taboo list, along with other political and religious matters. :)
For every person with one deeply held opinion, there are two who equally sincerely hold the opposite opinion.
[paradox]
Now if there is a contract requirement you go with that.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
At first I thought you meant the ground up or down discussion was what you're calling taboo.
 
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Carultch

Senior Member
Location
Massachusetts
user 100 said:
Nuh uh- always ground down, ground DOWN!!!:p

No seriously, to the OP, there is no NEC requirement that specifies that.

A quick search of the forums search function will reveal endless debate on this one.:)
Click to expand...

The original intention of the design for the three prong plug was for the ground pin to be on top, such that any metal object accidentally falling in to a partially engaged plug would hit the ground pin first. As a result of the pareidolia that we all have, people instinctively prefer it to look like a face the way that we are accustomed to seeing faces. So it became tradition to install the receptacle upside down from the way it performs best for safety. There is no NEC requirement to choose safety over pareidolia, or pareidolia over safety, when it comes to the orientation of your vertical receptacles. Some local codes may require it ground pin up in commercial applications, or in applications with metal faceplates.

Wall wart DC Power supplies and other plugs with immediate turn cords are designed with the assumption that the receptacle will be installed ground pin down, since it is so common to install it that way. Flip it back to the original intended orientation, and you will drive users crazy when they have to plug in the wall wart in an orientation that doesn't work. The cable would need independent support. I had to put a cable strap on such a cord for a hot tub, because the receptacle was immediately above a stone shelf. I had to turn the receptacle ground-socket-up, for geometric reasons, to fit the hot tub plug.
 
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jaggedben

Senior Member
Location
Northern California
Occupation
Solar and Energy Storage Installer
Coppersmith said:
Having the plug pull out just enough to expose the prongs and then dropping a coat hanger so that it skims the wall and contacts both prongs simultaneously to cause a short sounds just as likely as Richard Nixon's secretary accidentally erasing the Watergate tape. (A penny yes, coat hanger no. :p)
Click to expand...

Actually I've seen it happen. Well, something similar.

At an organization I belong to there is a long plug strip installed along a wall under a shelf. Someone had stored some small size (0.035") stiff steel wires on top of the plug strip. Well, one night I was reaching around in the area for something else and bumped one of the wires off the plug strip and it rolled off and onto the prongs of a plug that wasn't quite plugged in all the way. Just dropped right into a space less than 1/8" wide. The wire blew itself in half without tripping the breaker. There were also some thin metal rulers sitting in the same place that could have caused a much more sustained short. I removed all the metal pieces that were stored on top of the plug strip and left a note not to store them there anymore.
 
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