50-60’s strange electrical box
I replaced a bad receptacle in a house that I guess was built in the 50-60’s, I am guessing, and it had a very strange box in it.
It was wired with the cloth sheathed “romex”.
The box was a light weight die cast zinc. Beside the receptacle being worn out it was not attached to the box and because the tabs for the scews where broken off.
When I tried prying it a little to see how and what it was attached to it just crumbled. Was able to get it out in pieces with a few yanks with a neddle nose pliers.
It has cable clamps in the back like steel boxes. There where 1 by’s running from stud to stud above and below the box and the box has some mounting ears on it. I was able to knock the 1 bys out of the way and put in an old work box.
I have never seen a box like that, all of the ones that I have seen where either steel or plastic.
This is the 2nd houe of that era that I have worked on. And in both it appeared tha they would wire on box and install the receptacle and then pull the slack out of the cable and run it to the next box. I don’t know how they even installed the receptacle with the short stub of wire that they left in the boxes.
Replies
They wired the recepticals first and pulled the slack wire back through the clamp and tighten the clamp. Rough in and final inspections weren't as defined back then, as they are now.
Most likely the walls were 3/8" plaster lath board with a finish white coat over it, right?
I have seen that wiring method in 50s and early 60s era homes here, but not the boxes you described. I ussually have to pigtail new wire on the little stubs left when replacing old recepticals. Of course the boxes are also small, so a feed through setup is a real PITA to get everything back in the box. I always wrap the new device with a couple of turns of electrical tape, just to add a little insulation between the screws and the wires in the box.
Dave
"Most likely the walls were 3/8" plaster lath board with a finish white coat over it, right?'No, both house had DW.The house that my friend has had DW with AL foil on the back and no insulation. But it had been remodel and added on at least once, we supsect twice. And the only place that I did major work where the DW was ripped off was the master bedroom, which had been the orginal living room. I did cut a hole in the kitchen behing the cabinets and it was plain DW. And in one bedroom I ran a new circuit and had to cut out the old boxes and enlarge the holes and I suspect that it was orginal and it was DW.BW, the basement ceiling had DW on it. It was 3/8" and very hard and dense Reminded me of tempered masonite. The house with the zinc box was also DW. Don't know if it has been remodeled or not. Did not look at the bones, but when done in the basement to shut off the circuit and it appears that the foundation might have been in two parts like it was lengthed.But that is good reminder. I am not thinking about plaster and as I do more of this I will have to watch out for it.PS, that box was full of black, dirty lint. I am guess that since the tabs for holding the receptacle was broken off and the receptacle hanging out about an inch that the box provide a pathway to the attic and had a nice chimmey an caught all of the dust going by.
Edited 7/31/2005 8:12 am ET by Bill Hartmann
Bill,
Sounds like a zinc or pot metal FS or FD box.
What did the cable entry look like? If an FS or FD, there'd be threaded bosses for an MA connector (or the threaded end of some heavywall). If it was a KO or pryout, with internal cable clamps, then it sounds like a hybrid beast.
Anyway, I've never seen a box like you describe used inside.
Interesting...
Cliff
It was much thinner than an outdoor box.It did have a knockout on the side, but no boss or threading. By the time I got it out it was too busted up to tell for sure, but I thing that the holes in the back for the cable where molded in.It had the size and shape of a Raco 471. Except the box was one piece zine. With a separate mounting ears and cable clamp.http://www.hubbellcatalog.com/raco/RACO_datasheet.asp?PN=471I have tried a couple of places and no one had heard of it, but some one suggested that it might have been a WWII substitue.
> ... some one suggested that it might have been a WWII substitue.
That could be, given the loomex wiring. Loomex dates from the 1930's - 40's, and was pretty much gone by the early 50's. There was also a copper shortage during the Korean war, but I don't know about steel.
-- J.S.