Upside down receptacles?

[Dan Hintz]

NECA 130-2010 specifies the neutral pin is on top.

"Gounding-type receptacles mounted vertically should have the grounding conductor opening at the top. Receptacles mounted in the horizontal position should be mounted with the neutral conductor (long slot) up."
NECA 130-2010 5.5.3.e.

Just to clarify, though... NECA is not the same as NEC rules. NECA are voluntary "standards" the org would like industry to adopt. As I said (and I'm happy to learn otherwise), I'm aware of no such NEC rules specifying ground plugs on top.

[Patrick McCarthy]

It is actually faster to plug a cord into a receptacle with ground-up.

Huh? 3 pins in 3 holes?
Phil, so if I mount it sideways, will my speed be halfway between ground up and ground down?

Never really considered that the slowness of some my projects is because of all the extra time spent inserting plugs, hmmmm . . . . . . yet another reason for me to favor hand tools . . . . . .

[David Falkner]

I've always thought they were suppose to be ground pin down, too. And I guess I've seen and thought this long enough that ground pin up just looks wrong. Besides, my 40 year old tester is made this way and if the plug were 'upside down' then the 'OK' on my tester would be upside down - my OCD kicks in at that point and says it's wrong.
Ground pin down.jpg

[Val Kosmider]

My electrician informed me that the code does not specify.

He puts them in with the ground up, which admittedly looks "odd" to the eye, but has a rational explanation, which has already been discussed.

I could not find a link but evidently there was some commercial fire (in a Burger King?) some years back where exactly what has been discussed here happened: something fell, and it landed on the "hot" prong of a plug and started a fire. Had the ground lug been "UP" arguably whatever it was that fell would have landed on the lug and the fire might have been averted.

Urban legend, or real life example, it seems to make sense. Enough to me that I install them "upside down" with the ground lug UP.

[Dave Richards]

Phil, you are correct about the way cords run out of transformer/power supplies. It can sometimes be a pain when we have a number of things to plug in close together. Sometimes though, if the receptacle is lower than the thing that the transformer is powering, it can be nice to have the cord lead running up.

[Dave Richards]

Just to clarify, though... NECA is not the same as NEC rules. NECA are voluntary "standards" the org would like industry to adopt. As I said (and I'm happy to learn otherwise), I'm aware of no such NEC rules specifying ground plugs on top.

If you read my entire post, you'll see that I also said they aren't the same thing. I don't know of anywhere in the NEC that the orientation of receptacles is specified one way or the other.

[Mel Fulks]

I once heard a radio show DIY host give some scenario where ground up would be better ,but I did not absorb much of
the answer ,and he described it as pretty arcane stuff. Something about a fire and arcing out.

[Phil Thien]

Huh? 3 pins in 3 holes?
Phil, so if I mount it sideways, will my speed be halfway between ground up and ground down?

Never really considered that the slowness of some my projects is because of all the extra time spent inserting plugs, hmmmm . . . . . . yet another reason for me to favor hand tools . . . . . .

I know, it seems insane, but I have discovered that it is just easier because the ground is the longest prong and it has to go in first no matter what. And if you can SEE the prong and the hole, it is just easier/faster/more positive.

I'm not saying a ton faster. But I have noticed a slight difference with ease/speed of installation.

[Dan Hintz]

If you read my entire post, you'll see that I also said they aren't the same thing. I don't know of anywhere in the NEC that the orientation of receptacles is specified one way or the other.

I was clarifying. Your post mentioned a potential fire-causing incident that might have been avoided with a plug-down scenario, you quote me saying no NEC code exists to my knowledge, then you quote an NECA code. The way it read may have led others to believe such a code existed, I was incorrect, and your disclaimer didn't happen until several posts later.

[Brian Elfert]

Years ago I was installing one of those six outlet adapters where you remove the outlet plate screw. The outlet plate was stainless steel and fell off and shorted across the hot and neutral of the adapter. It would not have happened with the ground up. I still expect ground down on outlets.

[Stan Calow]

my electrician told me that ground up was so that the cord would more readily pull out if something hit the cord downward (like someone stepping on it) versus breaking the outlet. Interesting to read the different answers on this.

[Myk Rian]

I really upset the electrician working on our house addition when I insisted that he install the outlets ground side up. It really offended him it seemed, though he couldn't explain it. t think there's good reason to do it and no reason not to.

Did you also ask him to clock the screws?

[roger wiegand]

Did you also ask him to clock the screws?

I insist on doing it when I'm rebuilding a piano or organ, never occurred to me to do it on the switch plates. Now you've done it!

[Mike Lassiter]

Interesting using reason of something dropped on top of plug shorting out on hot and neutral as the reason the ground should be on top. If the plug is out far enough for something to contact the prongs it could still hit the ground and the hot and short out.

[Jim Koepke]

If the plug is out far enough for something to contact the prongs it could still hit the ground and the hot and short out.

In most situations a ground fault breaker, most likely used in hospitals and kitchens, would trip. The current going through a small piece of wire could possibly cause a fire before tripping a standard breaker.

Also a couple of posters mentioned metallic box covers falling on the ground plug or across the line.

jtk