pizza
Well-known member
i was looking at receptacles for projects and to replace worn out ones at home, and i decided to start at hospital grade.
generally, it seems the manufacturers make a (regular) "heavy duty" (HD) hospital grade and an "extra heavy duty" (EHD) hospital grade. going deeper than that requires looking at each manufacturer. leviton, for example:
leviton.com
the HD has an
the industrial, non-hospital-grade is similar:
the main difference i'm seeing is between the EHDs: the hospital grade's strap is plated.
so, in this particular case, is the hospital HD actually better than the industrial HD? there are additional tests, yes:
but will the industrial version actually wear out first or something? i don't think that's an easy question to answer, but i shop for hospital grade just in case.
of course i looked for hubbell first, but they were harder to find at places i'm used to shopping, and they seemed too expensive even at electrical supply house websites... especially the "HBL" models (what hubbell calls EHD) which could easily be $30 or more.
the levitons seemed the most available to me in my search. i just picked up four red EHD 5-20R receptacles (
i got them from amazon for $14/ea. they were about a dollar cheaper on home depot, but it's not an item they stock in store, so i would've had to get it shipped. i would have gone for 15A ones, but my desk doesn't have to be to code, and for whatever reason i found that 20A hospital grades are cheaper than 15A excepting perhaps one specific color. this was true on home depot's website as well. this seems weird to me because i'm used to 20A always being more expensive than 15A, but i guess normal pricing rules don't apply to specialty stuff like this – whatever they buy in volume is cheapest.
i've seen EHDs as cheap as $8.50 on amazon for the white ones (
which brings me to the thread title... Legrand P&S's HD 5-15R duplex in ivory is $5.50 on amazon and menards. i picked up two of them to replace worn out outlets in my garage.
and ****, this one's $4.70 at lowe's:
so what's up with these inexpensive hospital grade receptacles? reading old threads on here, i thought they were like $10 minimum, and that was pricing from like 10 years ago.
generally, it seems the manufacturers make a (regular) "heavy duty" (HD) hospital grade and an "extra heavy duty" (EHD) hospital grade. going deeper than that requires looking at each manufacturer. leviton, for example:
Straight Blade Receptacles | Commercial Switches | Leviton
Industrial Spec Grade, Back and Side Wired/Wire Lead Receptacles, Impact-resistant thermoplastic nylon cover and body, Smooth face does not collect dirt, , Back and side-wiring options.
leviton.com
the HD has an
H added to the model number, whereas the EHD does not. e.g. 8300-HW and 8300-W are white 5-20R duplex (the latter is the top of the line EHD).the industrial, non-hospital-grade is similar:
the main difference i'm seeing is between the EHDs: the hospital grade's strap is plated.
so, in this particular case, is the hospital HD actually better than the industrial HD? there are additional tests, yes:
but will the industrial version actually wear out first or something? i don't think that's an easy question to answer, but i shop for hospital grade just in case.
of course i looked for hubbell first, but they were harder to find at places i'm used to shopping, and they seemed too expensive even at electrical supply house websites... especially the "HBL" models (what hubbell calls EHD) which could easily be $30 or more.
the levitons seemed the most available to me in my search. i just picked up four red EHD 5-20R receptacles (
8300-R) because red looks cool. i'm putting them in my desk as like a flush-mount, built-in power strip basically.i got them from amazon for $14/ea. they were about a dollar cheaper on home depot, but it's not an item they stock in store, so i would've had to get it shipped. i would have gone for 15A ones, but my desk doesn't have to be to code, and for whatever reason i found that 20A hospital grades are cheaper than 15A excepting perhaps one specific color. this was true on home depot's website as well. this seems weird to me because i'm used to 20A always being more expensive than 15A, but i guess normal pricing rules don't apply to specialty stuff like this – whatever they buy in volume is cheapest.
i've seen EHDs as cheap as $8.50 on amazon for the white ones (
8300-W), which seems very reasonable to me.which brings me to the thread title... Legrand P&S's HD 5-15R duplex in ivory is $5.50 on amazon and menards. i picked up two of them to replace worn out outlets in my garage.
and ****, this one's $4.70 at lowe's:
so what's up with these inexpensive hospital grade receptacles? reading old threads on here, i thought they were like $10 minimum, and that was pricing from like 10 years ago.
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... but I've seen bad results happen from situations like this even if originally intended to be used like your setup. do as you please and good luck.
