Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Ground Up or Ground Down

The age old argument of which is correct, ground up or ground down. A lot of electricians in the field get confused when deciding whether or not standard grounding receptacle should be ground up or ground down. The origins of this entire argument actually stems from a corporate officer in a McDonalds' corporation, according to sources there was a employee that did in fact accidentally drop a metallic tray down the back of the table which slid into a half seeded cord cap. A large flash occurred and the employee suffered some burns. The incident created a policy within the McDonalds corporation mandating that receptacles from that point on should be installed with the grounding terminal on the top, and receptacles to be mounted on a horizontal position with the grounded side, i.e. load side facing up. When facing the receptacle, the grounding terminal will always be to your left and the grounded terminal will be on top. The issue was brought to Pass & Seymour major manufacturer of receptacles and other devices. The debate however, began to rage back and forth between the two factions that we call the smile face group and the ground-up group. The issue was so large and important that at one point a proposal was submitted to NEC but it was ultimately rejected. It has never been adopted again, as such there is no actual code requirement, it is strictly just a preference. The only time it would be an issue that would cause you to fail an inspection would be if there is a city ordinance that is above and beyond the NEC requirement. Mitchell Tolbert

97 comments:

  1. Hey! I will be looking forward to visit your page again and for your other posts as well. Thank you for sharing your thoughts about electrician in your area. I am glad to stop by your site and know more about electrician. Keep it up! This is a good read.
    Most jurisdictions require qualifications to do work on any electrical apparatus with voltages above a specified electric potential to ground. This is normally anywhere from 24 to 100 volts depending on the governing body. Many companies have their own voltage limit rules as well.
    McCurdy Electric has over 3 decades of experience and brings those hard-earned skills to every project. Our teams' commitment to outstanding customer service and getting the job done right the first time has helped build a solid reputation among Boxford, MA customers who have asked McCurdy Electric to handle their toughest work.

    electrician boxford ma

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for posting this! I dont know the firs thing about this kind of stuff, and found this very helpful. I've been trying to find electricians san jose, but don't really know what to look for. If you had any insight, that would be great!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for sharing this. I've been wanting to find some electricians to help us out. Our lights are so messed up right now.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for sharing this information. I was looking for articles about electricians in Tallahassee, FL. Keep up the great posts.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Since everyone is asking questions about electricians. Then maybe I can get my question answered here. So me and my wife recently moved into our new home and the electrical wiring through out was a lot worse than I anticipated that it would be. And so me and my wife are both wondering if anyone knows of any good electricians in Hamilton that they would recommend.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you for sharing I found this post to be very informative. I just hired the best electrician in Littleton, MA. I will tell him to check out your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is very interesting. Thank you for the cool tips. It has helped me while looking for an electrician in Hamilton. Any advice on a good company would be great, thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you for this well written blog. My brother has been hanging around electricians in Tallahassee, FL and has recently decided that he might also want to be an electrician. This blog has been very helpful.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks for the post!! i have been trying to be an electrician in london, this helps me lot.

    ReplyDelete
  10. The information in this blog is extremely useful for the people. Colonial Elec

    ReplyDelete
  11. We need an electrician in Hamilton to help us out. Any references you could give me? I would appreciate it!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Sorry, I don't have any. I know some good electrical contractors in Salt Lake City, Ut but not in Hamilton.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for sharing! This page was very informative and I enjoyed it. Electrician Stowe MA

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'm considering a career as an electrician in Toronto. I hear the pay is good.

    ReplyDelete
  15. This is excellent. I will have to forward this to my friend who is an electrician in Glenwood Springs, CO.

    ReplyDelete
  16. The incident you mentioned described the real situation when people with no knowledge in this field don’t care about these small stuffs. Thanks for sharing this piece of article which was really helpful as it is a very difficult to get the right guy dealing with this.

    Posted by James Sullivan | Electrician in London

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hamilton is too far from my place do you have any recommended electrician in East Brunswick? Thanks for this blog anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I must confess I have a hard time knowing which grounding to use. This information will really help me fix my electrical problems that I've been having. I don't want to wait for my electrician friend to get back next month.
    http://www.chadwickelectric.com/services.html

    ReplyDelete
  19. i have just become certified to be an electrician and currently live in the Hunter Valley area. Can people please pass my name around so that I can start acquiring business? What are the best places to put my name out there on?

    bryanflake1984| http://www.vallec.com.au

    ReplyDelete
  20. I have always been told to Ground Down. I did not know that it was irrelevant as to which was done. Who would have thought this age old debate was started by McDonald's. http://www.runcornelectricalservices.com.au

    ReplyDelete
  21. My dad taught me both ways. I think it all comes to to your personal preference like you said. I personally prefer to work for the ground up. http://www.awirewiz.com

    ReplyDelete
  22. Thanks for sharing this. I didn't know there was such a thing as grounding up. That's an interesting concept. I'll have to ask my electrician more about it when he's here next week. Thiago | http://www.shieldselectric.com.au

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thanks for sharing this with me. I've been looking around for a good electrician to help me with my new house. My friend said I should try checking out this site http://www.shieldselectric.com.au/team .

    ReplyDelete
  24. My brother has been wanting to get his electrician license for a really long time. I showed him your blog so that he could see all of the helpful information that you give. Do you happen to know what it takes to be an electrician in Clinton, MO? http://www.helmplumbing.com

    ReplyDelete
  25. My brother in-law is an electrician and he has been teaching me things about it ever since he found out that I am interested in it. I have a long ways to go, but I think that I could become a fairly good electrician. It would be an awesome hobby and it is a good skill to get under my belt.

    Jason|http://www.narduccielectricphiladephia.com/Home_Wiring_Electrical_Violations_Services_Philadelphia_PA.html

    ReplyDelete
  26. Being an electrician is really complex. My dad built our house and he did all the electrical work in it. I was really surprised that he didn't hire an electrical contractor to help, but everything seems to be working just fine. http://electriciankc.com/

    ReplyDelete
  27. So there is no requirement for ground up or ground down? I guess it just comes down to personal preference. I like ground down, most electrical devices have that as the bottom anyways.

    Elisa Jed | http://www.aardvarkelectrics.com.au/our-services

    ReplyDelete
  28. I have a good friend that is becoming an electrician. I am expecting him to teach me a little more about how everything works. I'll be sure to ask him about this.
    Bill | http://www.raelectric.com/services

    ReplyDelete
  29. This is a very interesting argument. My brother is an electrician in Caulfield so I'll have to see what he thinks about this. Thanks for sharing!

    Wayne Deer | http://www.adlerelectrics.com.au

    ReplyDelete
  30. I think it's just a matter of which it easiest for the situation. That is what I have always done. If it's easier to ground up then I ground up, and vice versa. I think if it gets the job done then there's no dispute.

    Aaron | http://www.vallec.com.au

    ReplyDelete
  31. This is a great blog. I'm glad I found all of this information about electricity. I am thinking about going into this type of work. I want to learn as much as I can, especially about safety.
    Gary Puntman | http://www.ajcelectrical.com.au/commercial/

    ReplyDelete
  32. Well this has been the argument since a ground was first put in a plug. Ground on top or on bottom? I prefer on bottom. It is just to fit most electrical plugs. The funny thing is that it doesn't really matter. It works either way.

    Elisa Jed | http://www.shieldselectric.com.au/team

    ReplyDelete
  33. I have to admit, I don't the difference. Grounding is grounding to me, I've never heard of up or down. Of course, I don't do too much with electricity, I leave that to the electrician, who I trust to ground themselves. Thiago | http://nepeanelectric.com

    ReplyDelete
  34. I like your blog. I look forward to seeing it once. Keep up the good job.

    poway electrical contractor
    rancho bernardo electrical contractor

    ReplyDelete
  35. I have been trying to do my own electrical home improvements lately and they haven't been turning out so good. I am grateful for this article because it answered some questions that have been on my mind. Thanks for the tips!
    -Jesse White| http://www.nicholaselectric.com/Electrical-Repair-Pittsburgh-PA.html

    ReplyDelete
  36. I have tried to do a few repair jobs on my own before, but none of them have turned out well! I guess I am just one of those people who will always need to hire an electrician. Thank goodness for electricians though!
    Tzeitel | http://www.johnstoneelectrics.com.au/domestic.html

    ReplyDelete
  37. My friend is a believer in saving money and doing things herself, so she is determined to fix anything electrical in her home. I tell her that she is taking a big risk by doing it herself and not letting a professional handle it. Fixing around with electricity is a hazard and it would be better to hire a company to help you than to try it yourself and get severely injured.
    http://www.hoffmanelectrical.com/st-petersburg-electrician/

    ReplyDelete
  38. “Gareth has been providing electrical services to Hooke & MacDonald for the past 5 years, initially on our own offices on Lower Baggot Street, but this has now expanded into our Property Management side of the business and Gareth now works on a wide range of residential and commercial properties on behalf of our
    clients.

    GKR provides you with best electrical services for both commercial and home usage. Having your building done we can supply with quality electrical devices.

    href="http://www.gkrelectrical.ie">Electrician

    ReplyDelete
  39. It's so interesting that a common electrician practice started because of an incident at McDonald's. Thank you for clearing up whether a standing ground receptacle should be ground up or ground down. I run a restaurant and I had been hearing so many conflicting things. Now that I know that it's a matter of personal preference, I'll just have an electrician come in an tell me which is better for my establishment. Thanks again!
    http://www.copperheadelectric.ca/

    ReplyDelete
  40. This is quite a good post. It has always been confusing to me which is correct. It's good to hear from and experienced electrician who can give some solid rules of thumb to live by.

    Gerald Vonberger | http://lolloandallan.com.au/commercial.html

    ReplyDelete
  41. This is very good information to know. I'm not very familiar with this line of work, but I am trying to learn more about it. As for now, I hire someone if I'm having any electric issues. http://la-crosse.mrelectric.com/

    ReplyDelete
  42. I am looking for an electrician in Oakville that can do some work on my home. There are a few outlets and lights that don't work. This is very frustrating because we just moved into the home. It will be nice once everything starts working properly. http://www.crownelectricltd.ca/en/

    ReplyDelete
  43. My grandfather is an electrician and he is really good at what he does. My parents had our house re-modeled and my grandfather did all of the electric work. I never knew about this debate before though. I thought there would be a specific way set by some electrician agency on what is the right thing to do.

    http://www.mrsunshineelectric.com

    ReplyDelete
  44. I am going to be building a house from the ground up. I will be needing to hire myself an electrician for this. I would do the wiring myself but I would rather trust that to someone with a lot more experience than me. I know of one here in Calgary that I could go to. http://www.profxservices.com

    ReplyDelete
  45. That's actually really interesting. I never knew where that all started but I have heard a lot of people say to do it both ways. I've always wondered which way was better. When you are doing your work which way do you prefer to do the grounding?
    http://www.carverys.com/en/electrical.html

    ReplyDelete
  46. This is why I would never be an electrician. I know I would forget which was ground up and which was ground down. I think electricity can be really difficult to understand. You can see in this example of how perfect you must be when working with the wiring of a building.

    Zach | http://www.crelectric.net

    ReplyDelete
  47. I'm not afraid to say there are a lot of electrical things I just straight up don't know. There are just so many different terms and what not, it gets confusing. That's why I call in an attorney to help me out with everything. http://www.shieldselectric.com.au

    ReplyDelete
  48. I have a lot of respect for electricians because I saw what they have to do on a daily basis. We recently built a house and we needed to get some electrical work done and I watched the electrician work for a few minutes and it can be an extremely dangerous job. I have never really thought of how the electrical work gets done and now I have a general idea.

    http://www.plumbingandelectricalhoboken.com

    ReplyDelete
  49. It is stories like this one that make me wonder how true the situation like that was. It would seem strange for an electrical subject to come from a fast food incident, but truth is stranger then fiction. My dad taught my somethings about working with wire and such through out the years. I think that has helped me be able to help myself.
    http://www.electrical-source.net/

    ReplyDelete
  50. This is really a remarkable topic close to my heart thanks. Keep up the good working! become an electrician

    ReplyDelete
  51. This is really a remarkable topic close to my heart thanks. Keep up the good working! become an electrician

    ReplyDelete
  52. I had no idea that there were testing guides that electricians could use for their jobs. That would make their job so much easier and would make it so they didn't have to know every specific component to every model or system out there. I wish I had something like this at my job to help me out.
    http://www.ajpalmer.com.au

    ReplyDelete
  53. Great read. Definitely something I will be looking into a lot more. Thank you.

    http://www.nfelectrical.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  54. I wondered where this debate actually started. That's interesting that it started from something as simple as an accident at McDonald's. I also like the nicknames for each group. http://www.easthawthornelectrical.com.au/

    ReplyDelete
  55. PasadenaElectrician services residential and commercial customers. Electrician in Pasadena

    ReplyDelete
  56. PasadenaElectrician services residential and commercial customers. Electrician in Pasadena

    ReplyDelete
  57. I really had a great time reading this informative content. I learn a new stuff. Thanks!

    Accredited Energy Auditors Newcastle

    ReplyDelete
  58. For a long time me & my friend were searching for informative blogs, but now I am on the right place guys, you have made a room in my hea san jose electrician

    ReplyDelete
  59. Hmm that’s so pleasing; carry on the excellent work I’ll again visit your blogs to learn more. Columbia electrician

    ReplyDelete
  60. Valuable information you got here! I would like to thank you for sharing your thoughts into the post!! we also Provide Electrician Hurstville at affordable price.

    ReplyDelete
  61. I got great information from this blog.It is very informative..

    electrical

    ReplyDelete
  62. Thanks for sharing your post and it was superb .I would like to hear more from you in future too.

    Electrician Newcastle

    ReplyDelete
  63. I will add this to my blog as well. Thank you for the informative.

    ReplyDelete
  64. have read many blogs in the net but have never come across such a well written blog. Good work keep it up
    watts lighting

    ReplyDelete
  65. have read many blogs in the net but have never come across such a well written blog. Good work keep it up
    electrical wholesale online

    ReplyDelete
  66. I Really want to Thank you Electrical Testing For sharing these knowledge. it always be confusing while doing wiring before but now i know these through your blog. Thank you for Sharing these.

    mycleanhut

    ReplyDelete
  67. Thanks for the update you have nicely covered this topic. keep it up
    health and safety sign

    ReplyDelete
  68. I wanted to thank you for this great blog! I really enjoying every little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post.
    video wall

    ReplyDelete
  69. Thanks for the post. Im a big fan of the blog, i've even put a little bookmark right on the tool bar of my Firefox you'll be happy to find out!
    Led video screen

    ReplyDelete
  70. You have some honest ideas here. I done a research on the issue and discovered most peoples will agree with your blog.
    monthly subscription

    ReplyDelete
  71. This is a very useful post. Certainly some things that can be applied for the team at Graham & Sons

    ReplyDelete
  72. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  73. The article was up to the point and explained the information very properly. Thanks

    Electrician Eastern Suburbs

    ReplyDelete
  74. This is one of the most incredible blogs Ive read in a very long time. The amount of information in here is stunning, like you practically wrote the book on the subject. Your blog is great for anyone who wants to understand this subject more. Great stuff; please keep it up!
    commercial electrician sydney

    ReplyDelete
  75. Small works electrician for houses and flats in Bristol and Bath.
    Source: Electrical Work Bristol

    ReplyDelete
  76. Your post is awesome. You have shared very valuable information to us. Thank you so much for sharing this.
    electricians

    ReplyDelete
  77. Such an amazing blog about the licensed electricians and I really appreciate you work which you have done well.
    licensed electricians

    ReplyDelete
  78. Great job....You have beautifully presented your thought in this blog post. I admire the time and effort you put into your blog and detailed information you offer.
    visit this link

    ReplyDelete
  79. I have gone through and found this blog very helpful for me and i have found many useful information from here..
    electrician blog

    ReplyDelete
  80. Nice blog and also very informative.. Thanks for sharing it.


    electrician los Angeles

    ReplyDelete
  81. Thanks for sharing useful information. I like your blog.!!

    electrician

    ReplyDelete
  82. this blog very helpful for me and i have found many useful information from here.. How to light up a Jack-O-Lantern – An Electrician’s Guide

    ReplyDelete
  83. Great information shared very useful for the people, Keep sharing

    S K Electrical Works

    ReplyDelete
  84. The article was up to the point and explained the information very properly. Thanks
    Electrician

    ReplyDelete
  85. Emergency electrician 24 hour epsom


    You are looking for Available Emergency Electrician 24 hours in Epsom? We provide Professional and Reliable 24 hour Emergency Electrical Service.


    to get more - https://www.gripelectric.net/electrician-in-epsom.html

    ReplyDelete
  86. Sparktrizity provides expert domestic and commercial electrical works including inspection and surveys. Based in Greater London, we are equipped with advanced equipment which enables us to have the ability and resources to provide circuit board installations, fire alarm testing, fire alarm certificates, electrical certificate (s), appliance testing, to rewiring, PAT testing, emergency call-out and fault diagnostics. We are an equal opportunity company and have employed professional and highly skilled team of NICEIC registered electricians.

    ReplyDelete
  87. Very informative post, really appreciate the efforts of blogger. Electrical service agency offers commercial, industrial electrical service in Orange County, Anaheim. Call Today!
    Orange electrical contractors

    ReplyDelete
  88. Thank you for this post! It was very informative and helpful. Find more on our services in the website https://electricianprincegeorges.com/

    ReplyDelete
  89. Thanks for sharing this amazing blog, it is really helpful & informative too..!!
    Electrician Rose Bay

    ReplyDelete
  90. Thank you for sharing I found this post to be very informative.
    best electricians Fullerton Irvine

    ReplyDelete
  91. Nice blog, Thankyou for sharing such as informative blog. keep it sharing it will helpfull for me.
    best electricians Tustin

    ReplyDelete
  92. thanks for sharing this information if you are looking for best electrical wire brand here in the philippines I highly recommend amwire you can visit there website https://amwire.com.ph/

    ReplyDelete
  93. Hats off to the author for crafting such a comprehensive and informative piece on electrician services. The step-by-step guides and practical advice make it a must-read for anyone looking to understand and navigate the world of electrical services. Thank you for sharing your expertise! we are also best Electrician in Balmain

    ReplyDelete

Popular Posts