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Thread Number: 69377
/ Tag: Other Home Products or Autos
Odd vintage electric center? |
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Post# 922468 2/19/2017 at 21:42 (2,614 days old) by Volvoguy87  (Cincinnati, OH) |
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Some friends of mine in Durham, NC are looking at a house in Durham, NC and came across this thing. What on earth is it? The house is supposed to date from 1940, but I have no idea if that is accurate.
Dave
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Post# 922483 , Reply# 1 2/20/2017 at 00:22 (2,614 days old) by petek (Ontari ari ari O ) |
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Post# 922506 , Reply# 2 2/20/2017 at 06:24 (2,614 days old) by turquoisedude (.) |
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Post# 922557 , Reply# 4 2/20/2017 at 11:06 (2,614 days old) by cuffs054 (MONTICELLO, GA) |
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Whatever it is, it's neat! One of the joys of old home (think 1890's) is finding interesting wiring ideas. | ||
| Post# 922588 , Reply# 5 2/20/2017 at 12:46 (2,614 days old) by repair-man (Pittsburgh PA) | ||
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But if you look at how the mounting screws are configured it looks as if the odd angled one is part of the normal 15 amp one. It has a single center screw like any typical duplex outlet would. And of you look closely they have the same emblem between the two slots. The two 20 amp outlets do not. | ||
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Post# 922613 , Reply# 6 2/20/2017 at 14:20 (2,614 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay) |
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 I'll have to check out my electrical books and see if there's an example of that slanted one.
I agree that the two pin receptacle on the far right was likely for a TV antenna. We had them in our house growing up. I just removed a couple of defunct ones recently.
Editing with additional info:
My books showed nothing, and there's a reason. Per a couple of forums on line, that slanted slot receptacle is for a radio aerial and isn't connected to A/C power. Makes sense if the far right one is for TV, although such an option for television seems quite state of the art for a '40s home. There probably wasn't any such thing as a combo A/C and antenna receptacle for TVs yet, but apparently such a pairing was common for radios. This post was last edited 02/20/2017 at 16:55 | ||
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Post# 922707 , Reply# 8 2/20/2017 at 19:28 (2,614 days old) by CircleW (NE Cincinnati OH area) |
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Combination power and radio antenna receptacles used to be popular. The 1930's Arrow-Hart catalog in the link is Canadian, but the same devices were used in the US, see pg. 44. The setup pictured is fancy with extra jacks all in one plate. CLICK HERE TO GO TO CircleW's LINK | ||
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Post# 922851 , Reply# 9 2/21/2017 at 12:50 (2,613 days old) by cuffs054 (MONTICELLO, GA) |
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Perhaps the odd outlet could be for the antenna rotor? | ||
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Post# 922859 , Reply# 10 2/21/2017 at 13:38 (2,613 days old) by turquoisedude (.) |
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Post# 922870 , Reply# 11 2/21/2017 at 14:32 (2,613 days old) by Supersuds (Knoxville, Tenn.) |
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I'm glad Ralph determined it was for a radio, because I never would have figured it out. I was looking at charts of NEMA receptacles and nothing seemed to match up. Good thing, because you wouldn't want to plug your radio antenna into a live socket!
It's also a bit odd to have a 15-amp receptacle in the same strip as a 20-amp, isn't it? | ||
| Post# 922871 , Reply# 12 2/21/2017 at 14:33 (2,613 days old) by classiccaprice (Hampton, Virginia) | ||
Grounded Arial Antenna
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Post# 922876 , Reply# 13 2/21/2017 at 14:46 (2,613 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay) |
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Some neighbors of mine bought a craftsman style home as a rental back around 1970, and it still had a radio aerial mounted to one of its peaks. I really wanted it, but there was no way to safely get up there and remove it. I'll bet short wave radios could pull in a lot more stations via outdoor aerial than with just some wires hanging off the back of the cabinet.
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Post# 922996 , Reply# 15 2/21/2017 at 23:21 (2,612 days old) by Volvoguy87 (Cincinnati, OH) |
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Thank you all! | ||
| Post# 923022 , Reply# 16 2/22/2017 at 04:03 (2,612 days old) by cehalstead (Charleston, WV) | ||
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round jack The round jack could also possibly be an early telephone jack. Before 4 prong jacks and then later the modular jacks we use today, the Bell System used a single pole plug for extension telephones. I'm not sure about this being a jack, but it's likely. | ||
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Post# 923062 , Reply# 18 2/22/2017 at 09:09 (2,612 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains) |
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John, While the rules are clear - you can't have a 20 amp outlet on a 15 amp circuit, there's nothing about the reverse situation in the code. In point of fact: Nearly all GFCIs are 'pass through' 20Amp but only 15 amp duplex outlets.
I had quite a fight on my hands several years back with that at the homo depot - needed to plug in a 20amp commercial light-duty microwave into a GFCI and wanted a 20amp device. Know-it-all insisted I didn't. Sigh. Finally got the damned thing, but to this day I avoid eye contact in the electrical aisle of all box stores.
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