ECN Forum Forums Photo Discussion Forums Electrical Nostalgia 1928 5 point outlet

That picture would make a good addition to the Wiki article on obsolete power outlets,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unusual_and_obsolete_plugs_and_sockets
I could upload it to there if okay by you.

At least it's polarized!

The black tandem outlet on that page looks like it'd be able to nicely seat two wallwart transformers side by side.

At last the answer to the question I've wanted to know for a long time; as I've suspected all along, the Australasian three pin plug has the same pin spacing as the 'obsolete' US counterpart on which the design of it is based.

I have one of those obsolete US counterparts (it has a UL marking on it) in service in my mom's house, wired to 240V 60Hz, so it can feed some of my radios in my collection: Foreign radio sets in my radio collection

When did the whole polarized plug thing come about? I find it hard to believe that is from 1928. Because I have a old lamp I got a garage sale a Nice old floor Takes the big Street light style bulbs on the top and has 3 sockets around the edges that take a standard bulb. and the plug is not polarized neither is the plug on my Moms old iron or Stereo. Oh I rewired that lamp because it had cloth cord which was in very bad shape. and the plug was also missing the deadfront Cover (It was one of those plugs where you can see the terminals while looking down at the prongs)

Recepticals were probably polarized way back then. Plugs on appliances and lamps didn't begin to be polarized until the later 1970s, at least what I've seen. Shortly after that two wire extension cords began to be polarized also.

I have one of those 5-outlet receptacles. I have other ones that are 3-outlet. They are all integral with the plates, like that one.

You can't plug very much into the 5-outlet one, unless they are super skinny plugs.

I have recently acquired a 1926 GE wiring device catalog, and I can definitively say that polarized receptacles not only existed back then; they were the standard.

Polarized plugs existed, too. They were the "pony cap" variety, which you may have found on some antique table lamps. (You know, the kind that are easier to unplug if you have long fingernails, and the receptacle is deenergized.) They were infrequently ordered, of course. My dad says he never saw a polarized plug until he bought a new TV in 1978 (the year they first saw widespread use). The oldest one I've seen was part of a NuTone heater-fan that I removed from my 1971 house.

For that matter, the grounding T-slot pattern that I have referred to as the NEMA 5.5-15R was available at least as early as spring of 1950, and these would take a 5-15 plug.

The "circle m" logo means this quintuplex device is the Monowatt brand, seen in a 1950 catalog. The GE equivalent is found in their 1936 catalog, but neither it nor the corresponding slimline plug is found in the 1926 catalog.

So does the quintuplex date to 1928? Maybe. But my house is full of electrical materials that didn't exist in 1971.

I found three of these in the theatre I work in. The theatre itself was built 1926-1928 (it took ~2 years), and the receptacles were in the projection booth... still wired with the original wiring. I would say the 1928 guess is the best bet.

As for 1920's wiring, anyone have any online resources they really like? I'm finding a bunch of oddities, and would like to know their history.

This is about it. If you've found any old catalogs, codebooks, or textbooks, by all means share what you know. It's kinda DIY. I recommend any old books by Terrell Croft as a starting point (e.g. early editions of the American Electricians' Handbook). You might also check out Kilokat's site.

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