Home Improvement Stack Exchange
Home Improvement Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [socket]

178 questions
27
votes
3 answers

Can anyone tell me what this little white box on my outlet is?

Recently bought a house that's about 40 years old. The previous owner was clearly very fond of doing the wiring himself and has left me some idiosyncrasies to work out. One is this box in one of my bedrooms. No idea what it is, or is supposed to…
Misanthrope Meanguy
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19
votes
4 answers

Buying a home with 2 prong outlets but the bathroom has 3 prong outets

I'm looking at a home for my family and trying to assess the amount of work needed (no home-inspection is present). I saw that most of the electrical ports have 2 prong outlets and am worried that I might have to add grounding to the entire home…
gran_profaci
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12
votes
3 answers

Are CAT 5 sockets compatible with CAT 7 cable?

I am planning to add Ethernet wiring to my house (semi-detached three-storey town house). I will be using this network to connect several (4-6) computers together in a typical (geek) home setting. I have worked out the topology and most of the…
Lightsider
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10
votes
1 answer

What are the dimensions of US outlet holes?

I am specifically referring to the standard NEMA 5-15 three hole outlet that is used in North America. What are the dimensions of the holes in the outlets? Surprisingly, I am having difficulty in finding this information on line.
BenA
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8
votes
3 answers

What outdoor lightbulb is this?

The light bulb died. I haven’t come across this type before and honestly I am also unsure how to take it out. It seems like I might need to take out the plate.
Lucas Kauffman
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8
votes
3 answers

How do I change a bulb from my recessed lighting fixture?

A light bulb went out in my storage room and to my surprise its socket and peripheral looks quite complex and all bolted into one piece, meaning I couldn't find screws which I can loose to open it. Anyway it looks like the pictures below. Can anyone…
J.E.Y
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6
votes
4 answers

Replacing outlet: six wires and three screws?

I am replacing an outlet in what it seemed a quite straightforward procedure. This is the original wiring: As you can see, it's two blues, two browns and two yellow/green ones wired in six different bolts. What I bought is this: Featuring just…
Trikelians
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6
votes
1 answer

Meaning of socket connector labelled 'A'

I have disassembled a (single phase) mains outlet and found the usual L, N and ground cable connectors but to my surprise there is also a 4th connector labelled 'A': Green/Yellow is ground, blue is neutral, black is live, but what is orange? Symbol…
Yanick Salzmann
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6
votes
3 answers

What are these connectors on UK plug socket internal wiring?

My friend is renovating an old house in the UK. I was interested to notice that all of the (removed) mains sockets had these plastic terminals on the ends of the wiring coming out of the wall. I've never seen these before - I would have expected…
Riot
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5
votes
5 answers

What are these male sockets called, and what are they used for?

This has taken me an embarrassingly long time to figure out, but how the heck do male sockets work? Or, what are these different tools called? A socket wrench is usually male. A socket usually has two female ends: But I also have some of these male…
Raystafarian
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5
votes
3 answers

Why is this outlet required to be installed on at least 10 meters of wire?

I am looking at a 20amp wall socket from Leviton (5380). It has surge protection at the socket. I noticed in the description that it says "Do not install this device if there is not at least 10 meters (30 feet) or more of wire between the…
MC1219
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5
votes
2 answers

Can I split a single washing machine outlet for a lamp?

I have a single three prong socket in my wall for my washing machine. I would like to put a small lamp on the counter next to the washer but there are no other sockets anywhere in my laundry room. If I use a heavy duty splitter can I plug my washer…
Normand Hébert
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5
votes
6 answers

Load on one socket

I have one electrical socket at home on which I put a plug multiplier (with a very small cord) and I plug two machines on it : a wahsing machine and a tumbler dryer. I was about to ask a company to add a water heater on that same plug, but I tought…
DevShark
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4
votes
3 answers

Is there any reason to prefer non-impact sockets?

Most manufacturers of sockets produce two varieties: impact, and chrome. As far as a I know the only difference is impact can be used in impact wrenches. Why would you ever get a socket set that isn't useful for impact wrenches? The price difference…
Evan Carroll
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4
votes
1 answer

Baseboard socket plug replacement

So up in the attic guest room of our century home, there’s a baseboard electrical outlet that looks like a light socket (see picture below). I’m not sure what exactly to call it, and various Google searches don’t turn up anything like it (probably…
Eric A. Meyer
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