When I was a brat, we lived in older houses with woefully inadequate wiring and of course, we had way more appliances in the kitchen than we had outlets for, so we'd use something like this....
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And like poor Lisa Douglas, we couldn't plug in a '6' with a '2'.
But that's all in the past now!
Look at what I picked up from my mailbox in Vermont this weekend...
Look at what I picked up from my mailbox in Vermont this weekend...
I've always wanted one of these units and thanks to a collector friend in Albany, I found this one.
Very sleek, indeed, with two regular outlets and three retractable cords for small appliances. I was kinda surprised that there wasn't one of the medium-sized connectors but I guess by the time this was made, those old 'iron and toaster' plugs were not seen on modern appliances.
Very sleek, indeed, with two regular outlets and three retractable cords for small appliances. I was kinda surprised that there wasn't one of the medium-sized connectors but I guess by the time this was made, those old 'iron and toaster' plugs were not seen on modern appliances.
I was a little puzzled by these controls, though...
So, being a good junior electrician, I had to take it apart to investigate.
WOW! This thing must never have been installed!
As you can see it's a 1957 model. Bonus!!
WOW! This thing must never have been installed!
As you can see it's a 1957 model. Bonus!!
And although I am not supposed to mess around with electricity, especially when Hubby's away and not supervising with a fire extinguisher, I thought 'HA!' and connected one leg of the wiring to my handy-dandy test cord.
I found out in a few minutes the clock and that countdown 'time to cook' timer both work! At the end of the cooking time, a chime sounds.
But, I have no literature or other information about this unit... I am assuming (yeah, I know...) that the unit could be used like a kitchen range outlet - set the clock to the time to start and then set the 'time to cook' dial to the number of hours or minutes to send power to circuit 1, 2, or 3 (selected by the other dial). I found that, like a range clock, if you have set the clock the wrong way, there will be no power going to the desired circuit. I am also assuming that power was always on to the outlet and small-appliance cord on the left side of the unit.
Soooo, if anyone knows anything more about these units, please let me know.
I found out in a few minutes the clock and that countdown 'time to cook' timer both work! At the end of the cooking time, a chime sounds.
But, I have no literature or other information about this unit... I am assuming (yeah, I know...) that the unit could be used like a kitchen range outlet - set the clock to the time to start and then set the 'time to cook' dial to the number of hours or minutes to send power to circuit 1, 2, or 3 (selected by the other dial). I found that, like a range clock, if you have set the clock the wrong way, there will be no power going to the desired circuit. I am also assuming that power was always on to the outlet and small-appliance cord on the left side of the unit.
Soooo, if anyone knows anything more about these units, please let me know.
gusherb
Well-known member
Paul
Those powerstrips like you pictured were all over my grandmothers home at one point. A corner of the basement had some that spanned about 30 feet across two walls, and then she had a short one in the Christmas tree. The one in the tree was very handy as it didn't have "outlets" in it but just that long strip that you could plug into anywhere that had free space.
Those powerstrips like you pictured were all over my grandmothers home at one point. A corner of the basement had some that spanned about 30 feet across two walls, and then she had a short one in the Christmas tree. The one in the tree was very handy as it didn't have "outlets" in it but just that long strip that you could plug into anywhere that had free space.
warmsecondrinse
Well-known member
Do those power strips have a name? I'd forgotten all about them. There weren't very popular but at the same time not so rare as to be exotic. Are they still made?
What are 'these units' (the 57 Westinghouse) called, generically?
<melodramatic sigh> ... you guys are going to be my ruination. I boot up my laptop to do some actual work and of course the browser opens to the last window I looked at (aw.org). A thread title caught my eye and here I am, lol.
What are 'these units' (the 57 Westinghouse) called, generically?
<melodramatic sigh> ... you guys are going to be my ruination. I boot up my laptop to do some actual work and of course the browser opens to the last window I looked at (aw.org). A thread title caught my eye and here I am, lol.
Most, around here of the even not real older homes are not connected to the 21st century with outlets or even having a breaker box, alot of times a screw fuse one. I lived in an older apartment once with 7 outlets in the whole place on one 30 amp Buss fuse. Every time the refrigerator kicked on the tv screen would close up, surprised it never burned down. I did my place I'm in now to code 20 years ago but added on and I never seem to have enough outlets and I am running out of circuit breaker space in the box. But not one has tripped in all that time. In that rotten apartment, I had extension cords connecting everything. But none here.
Jim, that powerstrip in the first photo is Fedtro Oct-O-Let; I think they stopped making them in the 70s after all those fires... LOL There were also models called the Tap-A-Line which seemed to be made up until the mid-90s! Units like the '57 Westinghouse I just got were sometimes called 'control centers' or 'power centers' I think...
Tim, a lot of apartments in Montreal sound just like what you had! Scary.... I have to admit that when we redid the kitchen in Ogden, we wound up having to upgrade the main electrical entrance and service panel to accomodate the 16 (yes, 16..) circuits I planned on using in the 'new' 1956 kitchen!
Tim, a lot of apartments in Montreal sound just like what you had! Scary.... I have to admit that when we redid the kitchen in Ogden, we wound up having to upgrade the main electrical entrance and service panel to accomodate the 16 (yes, 16..) circuits I planned on using in the 'new' 1956 kitchen!
gusherb
Well-known member
None of my grandma's were like that one in the picture, and they never caught fire, so I guess they were perfectly safe. But I'd assume they disappeared because they weren't UL compliant or some such. I honestly wondered how they could've been safe with that "plugless" channel they had for plugging stuff into.
Her house, built in 1950 only had 4 circuits total originally with a 60 amp service. I learned this when we re-did every inch of wiring in the place after a catastrophic flood in 2008. I did a full out autopsy on the electrical and to say it was interesting is an understatement. I learned an incredible amount about 1950s wiring techniques and about all the add-on jobs that came along after that. By the time we gutted the electrical the house had a total of 12 or 13 circuits, and a Federal Pacific sub panel for the 1960 Carrier furnace and some part of the basement. But anyway, the original 4 circuits were done much like the wiring in my dads 1915 apt building was, with 2 circuits staggered across the house. Then the other two circuits were; a dedicated 20 amp small appliance outlet in the kitchen, and one for the basement or furnace or something.
There were so many electrical additions done to that house between 1950 and 1975 that it was crazy IMO. Since it was built, central air had been added in the 60s, a room addition put on in 1960, the basement got finished and wired with outlets out the wazoo, the porch got enclosed into a year round sunroom. etc etc etc. By the early 70s somebody finally threw in the towel and upgraded the original fusebox to a Square D QO breaker panel, but never did bother to upgrade it from a 60 amp service. We wound up upgrading it to 100 amps in 2008. Of course all these additions to the wiring meant there were alot of unsafe modifications done, that is almost a story all in itself.
I could keep going on about her house, and not to mention the other places I've worked on but I think I'll save it for later.
There are two things I would never want to live with in an old building, one is electrical, and the other is those old brass gas connectors. Those two things absolutely terrify me. Like, so much that I wouldn't even move in until the electrical has been thoroughly inspected and all devices replaced/checked and the gas connectors replaced with stainless steel ones along with all piping checked out.
Her house, built in 1950 only had 4 circuits total originally with a 60 amp service. I learned this when we re-did every inch of wiring in the place after a catastrophic flood in 2008. I did a full out autopsy on the electrical and to say it was interesting is an understatement. I learned an incredible amount about 1950s wiring techniques and about all the add-on jobs that came along after that. By the time we gutted the electrical the house had a total of 12 or 13 circuits, and a Federal Pacific sub panel for the 1960 Carrier furnace and some part of the basement. But anyway, the original 4 circuits were done much like the wiring in my dads 1915 apt building was, with 2 circuits staggered across the house. Then the other two circuits were; a dedicated 20 amp small appliance outlet in the kitchen, and one for the basement or furnace or something.
There were so many electrical additions done to that house between 1950 and 1975 that it was crazy IMO. Since it was built, central air had been added in the 60s, a room addition put on in 1960, the basement got finished and wired with outlets out the wazoo, the porch got enclosed into a year round sunroom. etc etc etc. By the early 70s somebody finally threw in the towel and upgraded the original fusebox to a Square D QO breaker panel, but never did bother to upgrade it from a 60 amp service. We wound up upgrading it to 100 amps in 2008. Of course all these additions to the wiring meant there were alot of unsafe modifications done, that is almost a story all in itself.
I could keep going on about her house, and not to mention the other places I've worked on but I think I'll save it for later.
There are two things I would never want to live with in an old building, one is electrical, and the other is those old brass gas connectors. Those two things absolutely terrify me. Like, so much that I wouldn't even move in until the electrical has been thoroughly inspected and all devices replaced/checked and the gas connectors replaced with stainless steel ones along with all piping checked out.
warmsecondrinse
Well-known member
Thanks for the info. I've yet more reading to do
dynaflow
Well-known member
Hans has
the Sunbeam version of this I gave him for christmas one yr
the Sunbeam version of this I gave him for christmas one yr
norgeway
Well-known member
Yes..
The way mine works is you connect one 30 amp fused 240 volt line and run it to the unit, it then breaks it down into 4 - 15 amp 120 volt circuits, mine does not have a timer, but it does have a fluorescent light, I intend on hooking it up in the kitchen someday, Ron always knows exactly the sort of thing I want!! A Great friend!
The way mine works is you connect one 30 amp fused 240 volt line and run it to the unit, it then breaks it down into 4 - 15 amp 120 volt circuits, mine does not have a timer, but it does have a fluorescent light, I intend on hooking it up in the kitchen someday, Ron always knows exactly the sort of thing I want!! A Great friend!
Here's a previous thread.
www.automaticwasher.org
50s WH appliance center
Sadly rendered useless by today's cords and plugs, BUT STILL VERY EXPENSIVE, probably considered a treasure by the seller. Notice the three sizes of female cord mounted plugs for coffee makers, electric skillets and the Roaster Oven. This virgin bud has become a dried arrangement by sitting for...
www.automaticwasher.org
Yes Paul, I did this place right but I should have doubled amount of the outlets but with all the new crap of today that needs to be always plugged in and didnt need a separate breaker, just an outlet thats out of the way and would work with the stupid screwed up way these chargers that have to go either right left, up or down and take up the whole outlet because of their polarized plug.
"It was easier to run one 220 volt cable to one of these
In the thread referenced by Supersuds (John), norgeway (Hans) made the observation above and I had never really thought about these units that way. It probably was a LOT easier to run just one heavy-duty line to the kitchen even if it meant adding a new or additional service entrance than rewiring the whole house.
Years and years ago, my father took me to a demolition site of an early 1900s home and I remember seeing the 'generations' of wiring in the place. The original knob and tube was still partially in use but new distribution panels had been added to feed to the kitchen and laundry areas of the house. No fancy Westinghouse or Sunbeam appliance center though...
I guess the idea of just running some beefy new wiring to the kitchen was the idea behind the GE Kitchen Center, too. One new high-amperage feed, slap in the Kitchen Center and voilà: Instant 'modern' kitchen!
In the thread referenced by Supersuds (John), norgeway (Hans) made the observation above and I had never really thought about these units that way. It probably was a LOT easier to run just one heavy-duty line to the kitchen even if it meant adding a new or additional service entrance than rewiring the whole house.
Years and years ago, my father took me to a demolition site of an early 1900s home and I remember seeing the 'generations' of wiring in the place. The original knob and tube was still partially in use but new distribution panels had been added to feed to the kitchen and laundry areas of the house. No fancy Westinghouse or Sunbeam appliance center though...
I guess the idea of just running some beefy new wiring to the kitchen was the idea behind the GE Kitchen Center, too. One new high-amperage feed, slap in the Kitchen Center and voilà: Instant 'modern' kitchen!
Congratulations!
The ads for these at the time were filled with terms like Full House Power and were often in conjunction with references to and pictures of new countertop appliances like electric skillets, broilers, portable ovens and other high amperage appliances. There is a big thread about these in this forum if you will search under terms like kitchen appliance center, Sunbeam appliance center or Westinghouse appliance center. The sad thing is that they were sort of limited by having the old style plugs on the end of cords for counter top appliances instead of more outlets like are used by more modern countertop appliances. Just about the time that those centers were marketed, plug out controls for electric skillets were invented. Oh well.
I am very fortunate in that every kitchen outlet is a 4 outlet block with separate 20 amp circuits serving each side of the outlet. The ones on the sink wall are GFI. All of that work was done before I moved in and required a second service panel. Then I got there and needed lots of 240 volt outlets in the basement as well as a couple more 120 volt outlets so a huge line protected by a 70 amp breaker came off the 200 amp panel to feed a third one. Not that everything would be run at once, but there are lots of outlets near all of my babies and 9 ft 240 extension cords for a few things out of reach.
The ads for these at the time were filled with terms like Full House Power and were often in conjunction with references to and pictures of new countertop appliances like electric skillets, broilers, portable ovens and other high amperage appliances. There is a big thread about these in this forum if you will search under terms like kitchen appliance center, Sunbeam appliance center or Westinghouse appliance center. The sad thing is that they were sort of limited by having the old style plugs on the end of cords for counter top appliances instead of more outlets like are used by more modern countertop appliances. Just about the time that those centers were marketed, plug out controls for electric skillets were invented. Oh well.
I am very fortunate in that every kitchen outlet is a 4 outlet block with separate 20 amp circuits serving each side of the outlet. The ones on the sink wall are GFI. All of that work was done before I moved in and required a second service panel. Then I got there and needed lots of 240 volt outlets in the basement as well as a couple more 120 volt outlets so a huge line protected by a 70 amp breaker came off the 200 amp panel to feed a third one. Not that everything would be run at once, but there are lots of outlets near all of my babies and 9 ft 240 extension cords for a few things out of reach.
