FREE TWEAK: Are your wall / power supply outlets upside down?

geez...welcome to the Mike Holt Code section of AG, where all the cool kids hang out.  

UL Testing for Plugs and Connectors

I’ve tried the plug plugged in both ways in one of a convenience 15 amp wall outlet in the house. I really didn’t notice any appreciable difference with the ground up.

Strong holding contact pressure of a receptacle will hold the blades and ground pin of the plug the best.

The old style, (hasn’t been made for years), Hubbell HBL8300/8200 slender compact body style hospital grade duplex receptacle had/has great holding contact pressure. Hard to push the plug in the outlet and just as hard to pull the plug out of the outlet.

My Son gave me an Audioquest 20A duplex outlet several years ago for my birthday. Its resists being plugged into with a passion. Worse, once a plug is plugged in, it’s heck to pull it out of receptacle outlet. There have been times I though I would have to set on the floor with with one foot on each side of the outlet and pull on the plug with both hands. Now that’s strong contact holding pressure!

You don’t want to install the Audioquest outlet behind your equipment rack. 

FYI, I would not recommend the Audioquest outlet for an old work deep switch cut-in box with ears where only the drywall and a pair of box drywall supports hold the outlet box in place. Plugging a plug in will probably push the outlet box back into the wall. OR pulling the plug out of the outlet will cause the box drywall supports to cut through the paper of the drywall on the backside and the front of the drywall, pulling the box out of the wall. If you use a  Audioquest outlet the outlet box needs to be firmly fastened to a wall stud.  

NRG Edison Duplex Wall Outlet

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I agree with point @gs5556 made, however there is a flipp side to it. If the plug does get pulled/pushed out to some degree, in the ground up position there is a chance that the ground disconnects and the flat prongs stay attached (someone to be unnamed, not yourself of course) steps on cord and partially dislodges the plug thus providing no ground protection. What is worse losing power, or losing ground and being unprotected. Both ground up and ground down have risks.  The best solution as many have said is hospital grade receptacles. The same risks exist, just a little less likely. 

Stunning that such a simple idea could become so convoluted.

I'll rephrase the original post and provide some clarification in the hopes that the next member of the code police that reads this post doesn't feel the need to correct it.

If you have a heavy cable (like my Voodoo PC) that is not satisfactorily secured by your outlet (hospital / audiophile-grade or otherwise) where the ground plug is currently down (at 6 o'clock), you may find the connection to be more secure by turning the outlet 180 degrees so that ground is up (at 12 o'clock). This worked very well for my particular situation. The cable is now perfectly seated. YMMV.

***Please turn off the power at the breaker and verify before attempting to adjust the outlet.***

Voodoo's FAQ stated that hospitals install plugs with ground up because the connection is more secure. This may be only partially correct, as others have pointed out, the primary reason may be related to dropping metallic objects in between loose plugs. I for one, am grateful this error & omission has been pointed out. 

Another member pointed out that 'ground up' may be more dangerous if someone steps on your power cord, pulls it loose, and doesn't mention it to anyone. There is no accounting for stupid. So please do not reorient your outlets if you, or people you know, are really stupid and prone to stepping on your power cords.