Why are my outlets upside down?

[@dgood3265]

WOW! Thank you! I live in an old house, with numerous halfway done repairs, and I just thought the inverted plugs were part of it. You are AWESOME! Thank you for educating us! Keep it up! BTW: I saw the 214ac; Dallas? Hook 'Em Horns I'm a UT Alum.

[@rachaelb9164]

lol I ran into this problem. Had to replace a loose receptacle. Couldn’t figure out why the switch wouldn’t work. I had to do a deep internet dive before I realized there was a little tab on there.

[@shanesmaineshop]

Great video, lots of people do not know this stuff.

[@kenshinro7]

So basically its so someone can control the plug and make it lose power whenever they flip a switch?

[@abrelectric]

To control a lamp for instance, yes

[@kenshinro7]

@abrelectric Thank you. So.eone is using it for something else. I just can't seem to find the switch. Where could they run it too? 🤔 O ce I find the switch then I can call the proper authorities. Because they are using it to switch off my security camera.

[@paolaval6761]

My husband replace a broken switch. Now the top part of the upside down oulet does not work. We dnt knw how to fix it.

[@abrelectric]

Please check the wiring on the switch. Do the rest of the plugs in the room work?

[@mintesinotmeshesha6243]

THANK YOU! You just leveled me up!

[@kimb4723]

How do you remove the tab?

[@abrelectric]

With a pair of needle nose pliers. Just bend the tab up and down until it breaks. It is fussy :)

[@garbo8962]

For over a hundred years the NEC never had rules or recommendations on ground up or ground down. At a large hospital that I retired from they used nothing but stainless steel wall plates so it was policy to install all receptacles ground up. Several tines a year a screw would fa!l out of receptacle in patient rooms due to people losing up screws. Plate would fall on ground pin of the make plug. For the few horizontal mounted receptacles policy was the neutral ( now called the grounded conductor in code books ) side up. Wish they made it mandatory for all house hold appliances to use all the same ground configuration on right angle plugs. Too many tines have saw refrigerator with right angle plugs have to do a 180 degree turn due to this problem. Will often cause a right angle plug to cone loose.

[@realtyrocks1969]

That didn't happen. But cool story

[@djijspeakerguy4628]

All the plugs at my school are installed “upside down.” (Actually referred to as “ground up”) The thing is, there’s no rule for how to install them, and putting the ground hole on top is actually safer! Reason: if you dropped a small metal object like a paper clip and it landed between the plug and the outlet, it would SHORT THE CIRCUIT if you had the outlets installed “right side up.” If you had it installed with the ground facing up, then the paper clip would just land on the ground pin and not do anything. This is why some schools do it this way, and could also be good for those of you with kids, seniors, or even just obsolete breaker panels, to know this.

[@ianmontgomery7534]

If they were like plugs in other countries then the terminals would insulation on the first 8mm. In Australia our sockets are installed with the earth facing down so it is the last to disconnect. (our sockets have switches)

[@robertwatson818]

Put the ground on the BOTTOM!! Placing it up causes a binding of the cord when it is plugged in!! Either way works just fine and the "falling metal object" BS is just that--BS.

[@abrelectric]

I agree. However, it's a preference that doesn't hurt anything in the long run.

[@stevelopez372]

@@abrelectric Like you said it’s an easy way to identify the switched plug in a bedroom. I have seen it in more recently built homes . And I have been hearing this old wives tale about safety for decades, lol. No offense to old wives of course. The Code is silent. Do your own thing.

[@EmanuelsWorkbench]

I've got a double switch in my bathroom - one is for the light, and the other for the ceiling fan. For whatever reason, the ceiling fan switch is OFF in the UP position and ON in the DOWN position. I tried reversing the wiring just on that side of the switch, but no success ... Any idea how I can fix that? (The second switch works normally, OFF on DOWN)

[@abrelectric]

Possible to send a picture?

[@djijspeakerguy4628]

Flipping the wiring will not work in this case. The switch just makes and breaks the circuit, so you have the same effect wiring it either way. The real fix for this issue is installing the switch with the current top end on the bottom. This is a very common issue with the larger decorator (paddle type) light switches, because none of those say ON or OFF, which means they look the same if they are installed upside down. This almost never happens with toggle switches because of the on/off lettering. It is also possible that the fan is controlled by some other switch in another area. If your switch has 3 screws, (and no on/off lettering in the case of a toggle switch,) this is the case. The other switch could be anywhere in your house, and is probably in the on position, which reverses the switch movements for the switch you actually use. Turn it off and your problem will be fixed.

[@CarlosFlores-cz4gy]

Thank you for that information

[@Higherup1018]

Thank you. 👵

[@paulallen7122]

Great training videos. Just subscribed. I'm near McKinney TX I'm always looking for good contractors to hire.

[@abrelectric]

Thanks, Paul! Trying to be useful and fun.