# Antique Wall Socket



## dspiffy (Nov 25, 2013)

I believe I've seen something similar posted on the forum recently?


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## BleedingLungsMurphy (10 mo ago)

120/240v receptacle?


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## joe-nwt (Mar 28, 2019)

Combo parallel/tandem blade socket, 1930's


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## dspiffy (Nov 25, 2013)

joe-nwt said:


> Combo parallel/tandem blade socket, 1930's


I dont think so. Notice all the holes are not the same size/shape.


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## joe-nwt (Mar 28, 2019)

Then google is a liar!


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## LGLS (Nov 10, 2007)

dspiffy said:


> I dont think so. Notice all the holes are not the same size/shape.


It is a 110/115 volt combination receptacle manufactured before there was any such thing as a standard or an NEMA. There were two competing platforms for electrical receptacles and plugs during this time the parallel blades and the tandem, this receptacle accommodated anything you could purchase.


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## joe-nwt (Mar 28, 2019)

LGLS said:


> It is a 110/115 volt combination receptacle manufactured before there was any such thing as a standard or an EMA. There were two competing platforms for electrical receptacles and plugs during this time the parallel blades and the tandem, this receptacle accommodated anything you could purchase.


Spiff doesn't like that answer.


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## LGLS (Nov 10, 2007)

joe-nwt said:


> Spiff doesn't like that answer.


Well all I have a fax just because he can’t handle the truth isn’t my fault.  In fact unless I miss my guess I don’t think there was any such thing as polarization back then either. And if I recall correctly just about every light socket in my grandfather‘s basement had an adapter screwed into it which held two lightbulbs and one tandem either parallel blade or vertical blade plug because plugging things into light sockets was the way everything was plugged in at the beginning.


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## dspiffy (Nov 25, 2013)

All the ones I have seen were symmetrical. This one is not. If multiple people are saying they have seen asymmetrical ones before, so be it. I cant find any other pictures to confirm.


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## joe-nwt (Mar 28, 2019)

Have you pulled it out of the wall and looked for rating marks?


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## dspiffy (Nov 25, 2013)

joe-nwt said:


> Have you pulled it out of the wall and looked for rating marks?


It's not mine. Customer sent me pictures.


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## LGLS (Nov 10, 2007)

dspiffy said:


> All the ones I have seen were symmetrical. This one is not. If multiple people are saying they have seen asymmetrical ones before, so be it. I cant find any other pictures to confirm.


Think of a 240 V 20 amp receptacle or a 120 V 20 amp receptacle in a Canadian kitchen or even an American kitchen that has the T-slot. Now picture a T slot on both sides of the receptacle and typically no ground prong. That is practically every receptacle in every apartment in all of the boroughs of New York City Chicago in that Chicago that’s a newer city Philadelphia Boston Hartford and so forth. These receptacles were designed and built before anyone ever had a specific receptacle specifically for 20 amp circuits to disseminate what you can plug into a 15 or 20 amp circuit and they were also designed and built before any consumer had ever seen anything that ran directly off 240 V because at the time nobody ever had a 240 V service and yet all the receptacles were tee slots . Also keep in mind these T-slot tandem receptacles do not fit any of our modern 240 V plugs or 20 amp plugs or 15 amp 240 V plugs which I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of those on any appliance in my entire life, but I usually see those two parallel blades know those two tandem flattened out blades receptacles in apartment complexes where they used to have through the wall air conditioners that ran on a 240 V 15 amp circuit.


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## dspiffy (Nov 25, 2013)

This is what I mean.

The two horizontal slots are not the same height.

The two vertical slots are not the same width.


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## BleedingLungsMurphy (10 mo ago)

I went down the antique socket rabbit hole. I'm not sure if there are rules about linking other forums but I found an old thread with this picture and a lot of different opinions. Everyone seems to think it's a parallel tandem receptacle that was used for appliances or antique wall clocks.


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## joe-nwt (Mar 28, 2019)

dspiffy said:


> This is what I mean.
> 
> The two horizontal slots are not the same height.
> 
> The two vertical slots are not the same width.


Well that's obviously a GEN2 parallel/combo/4 slot outlet with polarization.


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## emtnut (Mar 1, 2015)

dspiffy said:


> This is what I mean.
> 
> The two horizontal slots are not the same height.
> 
> The two vertical slots are not the same width.


I'm with you Spiffy ... the one you posted looks different than the tandem turn of the century ones.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

If you had two types of polarized plugs, one with the right / ungrounded bigger with the ground down, one with the left / grounded bigger with the ground down, this would still be a universal receptacle.


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## BleedingLungsMurphy (10 mo ago)

joe-nwt said:


> Well that's obviously a GEN2 parallel/combo/4 slot outlet with polarization


I think I actually found it. 1920 Hubbel Paraline or the competing Magnus Tandem receptacle


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## joe-nwt (Mar 28, 2019)

BleedingLungsMurphy said:


> I think I actually found it. 1920 Hubbel Paraline or the competing Magnus Tandem receptacle
> 
> View attachment 163724
> 
> View attachment 163725


The google-fu is strong with this one......


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## BleedingLungsMurphy (10 mo ago)

joe-nwt said:


> The google-fu is strong with this one......


You think Google is your ally. You've merely adapted the internet. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light of day until I was a man and by then it was only blinding.

Here's a couple more interesting photos I found in the rabbit hole


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