On Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:13:51 -0700, David Nebenzahl wrote:

On 8/28/2008 3:07 PM Steve Barker DLT spake thus:

Ground down. the other way looks stupid.

That's probably as good as answer as any (basically, "it's completely
arbitrary, so orient it the way 99% of other outlets are oriented".)

However, there are good reasons to put them in "upside down" (i.e.,
ground pin up). Last time I was in a hospital, I noticed that almost
all the outlets were "upside down", and later heard/read that this
is to prevent sparks and shocks should a metal implement fall down
along the wall and contact a plug in an outlet. Makes sense. I'm
even starting to put in some outlets this way.

Oh, and I've also noticed that having the ground pin on top tends to
hold 3-prong plugs in the outlet more tightly and resist the plug
falling out, like when you're using an extension cord and tug on it.

Ground up is industrial code and this year's revision also calls for
ground up on residential.


SAY what? Please cite section/para. Proposed changes, anything to
verify that from any good source.

IEEE thinking is ground down, so if it "falls out"the ground is the
last connection to break. And at work wherever I've worked I've never
noticed plugs installed in any particular orientation. In fact, that's
where I got my idea to check what's going to plug into it, and orient it
to what the plug might suggest. Another bldg I saw, they used cable
ties to tie the cord to the conduit so it couldn't be pulled on/out etc.

TIA for the references; it'd be nice if they did settle that out once
and for all,

Twayne