old style outlet

[PLUMBER RICK]

i was at a clients house today for a gas leak and a slow shower. after fixing both the owner in his late 70's asked if i could change the 2 prong outlet to a 3 prong grounded outlet for his new flat screen tv. since i know him fairly well i said i would look at it. he already had the outlet and tools laying there.

what was interesting is the cover plate had 2 screws, sort of like the newer decora style. turns out the oulet was part of the cover plate. they were 1 piece. i have never seen one of these. the house was built in the mid 50's.
were they common or unique? of course they were made in the usa.

please no lectures on the plumber doing electrical. i've done electrical as long as plumbing. still do hook ups to pumps and equipment. even know how to check for proper rotation on 3 phase.

rick.

[BILLG]

I just bought a house with a outlet that's just a light-socket with a flip cover mounted in the baseboard just begging for little fingers. I guess life was cheep back then.

[Rocky Mountain Sparky]

i was at a clients house today for a gas leak and a slow shower.
I hope you turned the fan on when you were done! :eek: :D

Can you post a picture? I don't think I've seen that. (S'pose you didn't bring a camera. :( )

[Polar Sparky 1224]

I haven't seen that before in an older home. I do have a few no aggressive, curios questions though. Was the wire for this outlet ran in conduit and if so have you checked to make sure it is grounded?

There are some new outlets and switch's that are close to that but they have a cover that snaps on to cover all the screws. This kind is better if you want to paint your cover plates to match your walls. (which is a good way to have your laughs when guests can't find the light switch's!)

O and i have done some plumbing myself so we're even!:D :D

[PLUMBER RICK]

polar, this is original 1950's with metal flex. in fact i even found original 300 ohm antenna wire (flat brown 2 wire) in the box that was not hooked up. it ran between the box and wall, not in the conduit. i cut it off and pushed it back under the house. i guess they didn't know about satellite tv in the 50's:D

the owner is a collector of art. i guess i should have kept the outlet, but when i was amazed at what i saw, he kept it. even the 2 screws that held on the cover/ outlet were kind of decorative. sort of a sloted screw with extra slots.

the rest of his original house is the same. maybe i can swap out another 1 next time:confused:

i'll ask an old time local hardware store that i worked at 30 years ago if it rings a bell:eek:

ps. i even side wired it. don't like the back push ins.

rick.

[Polar Sparky 1224]

I sometimes hate using 14 AWG and just pushing it into the back of the switch. It's great for saving time trimming out a House but if you ever have to change something you end up with 60 switch's with the wires stuck in there. (a house we did in a little place called Francis the lady after we had all the switch's in decided she wanted decora!)

[wwsmith]

Plumber Rick, was that home a mobile home or "trailer house"?? If I think I understand your description correctly, I have seen those types of outlets often in older mobile homes quite often up in MT (back in my telco days). I have also seen another kind that is an all in one type deal where the whole box is a single piece. So if you change them out to standard outlets, it is necessary to put in a new box as well.

WWS

PS: I have only seen these types of things, never touched one before. That is of course why I am alive today. :rolleyes:

[PLUMBER RICK]

wws, this was a house that was built in the 50's. i can go under and look for some wheels:D

it's possible that the outlets were meant for a mobile home. this is not a mobile home.

thanks for the input.

rick.

[FINER9998]

Was the outlet a single or a duplex? If it was a single, was the outlet recessed relative to the cover plate? Could it have been a clock outlet?

[PLUMBER RICK]

Was the outlet a single or a duplex? If it was a single, was the outlet recessed relative to the cover plate? Could it have been a clock outlet?

no, but good guess. i've used a recessed clock outlet for my built in microwave. i needed the extra room to get the cord plug in and push the microwave in all the way.

the microwave has a clock, so it's technally legal:D

ok, you guys have 18 more guesses:confused:

rick.

[BILLG]

Here's a example of a fixture that both a plumber and an electrician can install together.

http://roundhead.4t.com/images/im000257_edited.jpg

[Minuteman]

No comment :eek: