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#4952 10/24/01 05:35 PM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 7,520
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pauluk Offline OP
Member
I hope I'm not going to be responsible for another "ground up, ground down" punch-up, but here goes nothing:

When you wire a bedroom duplex so tgat one receptacle is always hot and the other switched from the wall, which is normally the switched one - Top or bottom?

Is there an accepted convention on this?

I can't remember which way round those I saw during my time over there were.

#4953 10/24/01 07:13 PM
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 507
G
Member
I don't know if this is convention.....but I have always put the switched receptacle on the top.

GJ

#4954 10/24/01 07:23 PM
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,392
S
Member
I would simply keep them the same throughout the home....
[Linked Image]

#4955 10/25/01 12:22 AM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 2,236
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Top... no real reason why...

Seems that putting the switched on the bottom would be more convenient in that the more "permanent" lamp plug would be less in the way when one bends over and plugs something more temporary in...

Make sense?


-Virgil
Residential/Commercial Inspector
5 Star Inspections
Member IAEI
#4956 10/25/01 03:24 AM
Joined: Aug 2001
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pauluk Offline OP
Member
Sounds like another personal preference thing, I guess.

Keeping them the same throughout the home definitely sounds like a good idea.

First one of these I came across I had my clock plugged into one side of a duplex on the opposite side of the bed to the light. I thought the clock had gone faulty for a couple of days until I suddenly realized what was happeing!

Duplexes here have only one set of terminals, so this split isn't possible.

#4957 10/25/01 10:56 AM
Joined: Oct 2000
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Virgil,

I'm with you. That makes the most sense to me, but it doesn't seem to matter otherwise.

Paul,

I don't see much of this around. Coincidentally, I just got a request for it the same day you posted this Q! I can probably count the # of requests I've had for this on 1 hand for almost 20 yrs. I do volunteer it ocassionally as a solution to unsure usage of a room, but not as a general rule.

Bill


Bill
#4958 10/25/01 03:41 PM
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pauluk Offline OP
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It's found occasionally here, mostly n older property, but usually in a living room in addition to a ceiling light rather than in place of it.

With 5A branches dedicated to lighting, the standard method was to fit the old round-pin 2A outlets for lights to plug into. It's rare on anything rewired in recent years though.

#4959 10/28/01 07:24 PM
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 1
G
Junior Member
After reading all the posts I figured I would put my 2 cents in. Figuring 9 times out of 10 there will be something plugged into a switched side of the outlet it would only make sense to put the switched part on the bottom. Because if it was on top there would always be a cord dangling over the open outlet. Makes sense doesn't it???

#4960 10/28/01 07:35 PM
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pauluk Offline OP
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Yep, I certainly see the logic of this as Virgil (sparky66wv) said earlier. The lamp is probably more-or-less a permanent fixture, so the switched on the bottom makes a lot of sense.

#4961 10/29/01 05:51 PM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 142
B
Member
I always leave the top one hot so that if there is something plugged into the bottom it is already out of the way, and doesnt have to be moved to get at the receptacle.


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