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The Official Electrical Violation Photo Thread

bill1952 said:
I will forever require around pin up, or if horizontal, neutral up. More than once I've seen something metallic drop into the gap between cord cap and receptacle.
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Under what code section? While I personally prefer ground prong up, there is nothing to require it other then personal preferences or job specs. If anyone says either way is the only correct way, they are both wrong.
 
Norcal said:
Under what code section? While I personally prefer ground prong up, there is nothing to require it other then personal preferences or job specs. If anyone says either way is the only correct way, they are both wrong.
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My use of "require" is as a designer/specifier, not as a building official/ahj. So no code section, just drawings and specifications.
 
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That it required an update to get in the way of children dancing with death is proof that nobody is paying attention to what they are doing to society. Well that's nobody other than the owner of TikTok.

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I guess my circuit tester was manufactured wrong! When I test with a push in circuit tester I would have to crawl around on the floor to see the two little lights that indicate the receptacle, (Plug), (Outlet) is correct and the ampacity.

Thanks a bunch!, I'll have to buy knee pads or a new cord type tester from Ideal.

I will say this, if you look in the NEC handbook it list numerous receptacles in Article 210 with the ground up, diagrams through out the handbook indicate ground down. I will also say we will not let a new house have the receptacles both up and down, you ask what code would you enforce when this happens? It's a stretch but 110-12 workmanlike installation, if called out.
 
SCBO1 said:
I will also say we will not let a new house have the receptacles both up and down, you ask what code would you enforce when this happens? It's a stretch but 110-12 workmanlike installation, if called out.
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That's ridiculous. The "workmanlike" language in 110.12 is unenforceable per the NEC Style Guide.

Cheers, Wayne
 
Wayne,

What would you do if an electrician installed receptacles around the kitchen counter with grounds up and grounds down and the homeowner tells you that's not right!
 
wwhitney said:
Tell them to take it up with the electrician--it's not a code issue.
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We don't talk to our residents that way here, that might be done that way elsewhere.

No worries, the electrician did the right thing and switched them around and asked the homeowner which way she preferred them?

"We raise our pints to thee!"
 
Mike Holt's Comment from 1999

I hope that by having this on the Internet this issue can be resolved. To me, the bottom line is:

  1. Specifications should require receptacles with metal cover plates to have the receptacle installed so the ground up.
  2. Specifications should indicate that the orientation of the receptacle should be in such a manner that stress will not be placed on the cord. If the grounding terminal is installed down, then plastic plates should be used.
  3. In health care facilities, the ground should be up. (Mike Holt's Comment: IEEE Std. 602-1986 Electric Systems in Health Care Facilities does contain this as a recommended practice.)
  4. In all other installations it just doesn't matter. Do what the customer wants. Me personally, I want my grounds down in my house and I used plastic plates, but if I used metal plates, I would have the ground up.
P.S. My wife said she would prefer the ground up! I asked her why and she said that it would be easier to plug in the cord (better leverage) when the receptacle was low because the ground guided the other two prongs into the device. What about the kitchen counter top receptacles? She said it didn't matter if the ground was up or down (I'm still blown away because she is so picky on how the house matches, coordinates, and all that stuff.) So if I ever move and build a new home, the ground will be up (if she's not happy, nobody is happy). I really don't want to discuss this issue unless you have something new to add. I just hope I can put this "puppy" to sleep.

God Bless,

Mike Holt
www.mikeholt.com

Mike Holt Enterprises - the Leader in Electrical Training.

Mike Holt worked his way up through the electrical trade from apprentice electrician through electrical contractor, to become one of the most recognized experts in the world as it relates to electrical power installations. He was a Journeyman Electrician, Master Electrician, and Electrical...
www.mikeholt.com
 
mtlogcabin said:
Specifications should require receptacles with metal cover plates to have the receptacle installed so the ground up.
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Interesting. I have never seen this idea but in fact, I used steel plates in all my design work (theatres and stages) and happened to use them in my 1904 house - metal with a krinkled brown finish. Maybe I should rethink now doing a project with plastic in my new house.
 
SCBO1 said:
We don't talk to our residents that way here.
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Oh, sorry, that was shorthand for "I agree with you that it doesn't look right, but it's a design issue and not something specified by any of the applicable codes, so it's not something I can issue a correction for. I suggest speaking with your contractor to have them rectify it." : - )

Cheers, Wayne
 
Look lady, I didn’t do it, so I ain’t fixing it.

I see my role as working for the owner and by extension, the public at large. Many contractors were surprised at the degree of involvement that entailed. Mismatching receptacles is not even on the way to the ball park.

Oh, I was teasing about the receptacles being upside down… that got more attention than the serious stuff that I post.

The job was a wall furnace. The house was two story and the second story was opened up in a stairwell. One stud-bay was all it takes to witness the B-vent. The work was done by a County grant program. The contractor and the County program manager were waiting outside for my final approval. The couple that owned the place were sitting on the living room couch. There was the wall furnace and the job was complete.

Thing is, the woman was crying. Not sobbing but when our eyes met I caught a look. Tear filled eyes were asking for help. Well I had to ask….. the husband pointed around the corner where there was a stairwell. The drywall patch for the second floor stud-bay was bad … in a really bad way…. Sometimes it’s so bad as to be an insult… this was such a time.

I wrote this correction: “The Lady is crying”. The contractor had the balls to ask me why she is crying. I got a call from some person associated with the County grant program. She wanted an explanation. I told her to call be again when the lady is not crying.
 
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I see appliance cord plugs that are 90 degrees. If the ground is down on the receptacle the cord hangs down. If the ground is up on the receptacle the cord bends out from the wall and makes a tripping hazard which can damage the plug and receptacle. This would make it safer to have the ground in the down position.

In my own home I prefer the receptacles to be sideways.
 
Rick18071 said:
I see appliance cord plugs that are 90 degrees. If the ground is down on the receptacle the cord hangs down. If the ground is up on the receptacle the cord bends out from the wall and makes a tripping hazard which can damage the plug and receptacle. This would make it safer to have the ground in the down position.
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Agree.

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Why does it matter if the receptacle cover is metal or plastic … which way the ground is oriented? The only risk of the metal plate touching the blades would be if the plate screw was missing and the cover was flopping around.
 
Screws do come loose. There are other metal objects and toys kinds play with. And then there's the tik tok penny challenge....

Luckily the NEC committee people must be just as divided and as a result we have choice.
 
I've dropped a tape measure blade across some partially engaged prongs whilst measuring for a dropped ceiling...no biggie, but I do like the ground up technique...
 
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