# Found this...



## sarness (Sep 14, 2010)

220v 20A


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## BuzzKill (Oct 27, 2008)

sarness said:


> 220v 20A


It's in this teeny tiny, itsy bitsy bathroom, no less.


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## sarness (Sep 14, 2010)

I'm only taking a guess, haven't come across a lot of vintage stuff.

Sure someone will either correct my answer or confirm it.


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## BuzzKill (Oct 27, 2008)

sarness said:


> 220v 20A


yeah, didn't have my tool belt!  I'd a ripped that sucker out and disected it like a frog! :laughing:


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## retiredsparktech (Mar 8, 2011)

BuzzKill said:


> It's in this teeny tiny, itsy bitsy bathroom, no less.


Probably for an electric heater. It gets cold in Alabama once in a while, especially in winter.


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## jbfan (Jan 22, 2007)

BuzzKill said:


> yeah, didn't have my tool belt!  I'd a ripped that sucker out and disected it like a frog! :laughing:


I'm sure the wife would have loved you doing that!!!!:whistling2:


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## tufts46argled (Dec 23, 2007)

Is it still functional? If so what is the voltage?


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## rdr (Oct 25, 2009)

I pulled this one out of the basement of a house I was living in a few years ago to replace it with a regular duplex. It was a trick to find that picture. :laughing:


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## 3xdad (Jan 25, 2011)

probably just a 120v with no question about polarity.:thumbsup:


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## cguillas (Jun 25, 2009)

I've seen those used for 300ohm aerial wiring I think…


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## sarness (Sep 14, 2010)

300 ohm aerial didn't use blades, was two pins.


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## dg1871 (Feb 5, 2012)

rdr said:


> I pulled this one out of the basement of a house I was living in a few years ago to replace it with a regular duplex. It was a trick to find that picture. :laughing:


You found a joint?


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

sarness said:


> 300 ohm aerial didn't use blades, was two pins.


http://www.electrical-contractor.ne...s/151793/all/Ever_see_anything_like_this.html


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

sarness said:


> 300 ohm aerial didn't use blades, was two pins.









​


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## sarness (Sep 14, 2010)

I stand corrected! LOL!


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## Big John (May 23, 2010)

BuzzKill said:


>


It's a Variable Voltage Receptacle: 

Rotate it to the right and you've got 120 volt 20A outlet, rotate it to the left and it becomes 240. :whistling2:

-John


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## Podagrower (Mar 16, 2008)

480sparky said:


> ​


Slideshow, really? How do you get any electrical work done? You must know more about how this interweb thingy works than Al Gore.


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## cortez (Oct 23, 2011)

The more arcane the hardware shown on this forum the better electricians we become-- keep them coming!!! :thumbsup: 

By the way bakelite is thermoplastic mixed with fine silica and this is why these items are rated for 660 volts and can withstand high heat without melting.


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

Podagrower said:


> Slideshow, really? How do you get any electrical work done? You must know more about how this interweb thingy works than Al Gore.


Animated gifs are a piece of cake.


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## oldtimer (Jun 10, 2010)

cortez said:


> The more arcane the hardware shown on this forum the better electricians we become-- keep them coming!!! :thumbsup:
> 
> By the way bakelite is thermoplastic mixed with fine silica and this is why these items are rated for 660 volts and can withstand high heat without melting.





Fixed your spelling of bakelite, before someone finds fault with it!

There were many items made with bakelite, it was pretty sturdy stuff. 

It even shows up on Antiques Roadshow, once in a while.

I believe it was an early form of plastic, probably discovered by accident.

It is a good insulator.


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

oldtimer said:


> ..........I believe it was an early form of plastic, probably discovered by accident.........



 The inventor of Bakelite was Leo Hendrick Baekeland, who was born at Gand (Belgium) on November 14, 1863. At the age of twenty-six, he was professor of chemistry at the University of his town. Having gained a scholarship, Baekeland spent a few years in various British Universities. But he did not like very much the academic milieu, and, in 1891, he emigrated to the United States. 

Initially, he worked with Anthony & Co. - an industry of photographic material - then he established the Nepera Chemical Co. which was then purchased by Eastman Kodak for US$750,000, a large amount of money at that time. This made it unnecessary for the 36-year-old Belgian chemist to earn his livelihood. 

But he was no character to rest on his laurels. About 1900, he began making experiments with the electrolytic cells. At once, he realized that replacing the sheets made out of paper and asbestos with another material would neatly improve the yield of the cells; thus, he tried to obtain, from phenol and formaldehyde condensation, a resin product similar to shellac and Ebonite. The result was Bakelite. 

"Before the end of 1907", wrote Baekeland, "I had started the limited-scale production of the new material but, in 1910, I established the General Bakelite Company for the production of the new synthetic resin. From the United States, the new industry spread very quickly to the other industrial countries". 

In 1936 over 90,000 tons of Bakelite was being produced yearly all over the world, whereas the total volume of plastics (Celluloid, casein, phenolic resins) was about 250,000 tons. When Baekeland died, in 1944, the world production of phenolic resins had risen to 175,000 tons.


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## brian john (Mar 11, 2007)

cortez said:


> The more arcane the hardware shown on this forum the better electricians we become-- keep them coming!!! :thumbsup:
> 
> .


 
Speak for yourself:laughing:


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## dmxtothemax (Jun 15, 2010)

BuzzKill said:


> ...in a cabin recently in the Alabama mountains: Ideas? Maybe the first prehistoric a/c window unit outlet?


Those type of outlets are used in australia for low voltage
applications of less than 32v ac.
most commonly used on the back of utes for 12v spot lights.


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## RICK BOYD (Mar 10, 2008)

*plug in catalog*



480sparky said:


> ​


http://ia600305.us.archive.org/3/it...logueNo.7ElectricalSupplies/CCA52993_text.pdf page 407


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## kaboler (Dec 1, 2010)

Seen a lot of bakelite on old VW parts. And of course billard balls!!!


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## oldtimer (Jun 10, 2010)

kaboler said:


> Seen a lot of bakelite on old VW parts. And of course billard balls!!!


 Only on male Billards! :laughing::laughing:


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