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In my home (built around 1970), I found a bizarre outlet when replacing the dated old ones. The front is your standard duplex, but on the back there are holes for 8 wires (4 hot, 4 neutral) plus the ground. Into the box, there are 4 pairs. Is there a name for this type of outlet, so I can try to find a replacement? I don't want to try to jam them all together in a standard outlet and create a hazard!

The original outlet says max 15 amps, 125v. Please see pictures below.

EDIT: Replaced front pic with sharper image, added pics of hot and neutral sides.

Back of original outlet

Front of outlet

Hot Side

Neutral side

themidnightwill
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  • Is there a company logo/name on the device somewhere (maybe on the front, the image is a bit blurry)? – Tester101 Dec 26 '12 at 12:19
  • Are there currently 8 wires connected to the receptacle? If so, is the box larger than a typical device box? With 8 conductors, plus grounds, plus the device in the box. Even if #14 wire is used, the box would have to be 22 cu.in. to be properly sized ((8 + 1 + 2) * 2.00 = 22). – Tester101 Dec 26 '12 at 12:24
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    Not uncommon at all. Some higher end Hubbel and Pass & Seymore outlets are configured with that many back wired holes. They are typically compression fittings tightened by the side screw as opposed to a barb spring. – shirlock homes Dec 26 '12 at 12:33
  • I don't know of a specific name, but I know that the Altus SSRE-6-WH10 (decora style) receptacle has the same pinout your pictures describe. – Matthew Dec 26 '12 at 15:46
  • Hi everyone, thanks for the responses! To clear up a few things: no the box is not bigger than a standard box, though I feel it should be. I don't know the exact dimensions, but it is way to crowded. I plan on swapping that out. I will check on the name and logo - sorry about the blurryness!

    While I'm thinking about it - if I swap the box to a double gang, and have two duplex outlets in it, would that mess up any of the circuit? I figure if I am adding a bigger box, I might as well add the second duplex outlet (if that works/is safe)

     – themidnightwill Dec 26 '12 at 16:36
  • I like the idea of using a larger box so as to avoid cable-fill violations. So long as they're all the same circuit you can mechanically connect all hots to each other and all neutrals to each other with pigtails out to the new receptacles. One thing that's unclear to me based on the photo is if the original receptacle was split or not - is the connecting tab on the hot side intact or missing? If the latter you may be dealing with two distinct circuits. – Paul Dec 26 '12 at 17:06
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    @Paul: The connecting tab on the hot side and neutral side are both intact. I added pics of both.

    I retook the front image, and it is sharper. I do not see any names or logos aside from the UL and CSA logos, and the 125v/15a max text.

    On the back, I see "CU" in a circle and "AL" in a circle with a slash through it. Additionally on the back, I see "NOM 057". Those are all stamped in the metal on the bottom side. On the top side, stamped in the metal as well, I see "LEVITON MEXICO, CU AND CU LLAD WIRE ONLY". So, it is indeed made by Leviton.

     – themidnightwill Dec 26 '12 at 21:03
  • "CU" means you can use copper wires to connect to the device. "AL" with a line through it, means you can't use aluminium wire to connect to the device. "NOM" (Norma Oficial Mexicana), is a Mexican certification which is required on products that may be used in Mexico. – Tester101 Dec 28 '12 at 14:12
  • Using a double gang box with a second device would only add 4 cu. in. to the box fill calculations, while nearly doubling the available area inside the box. This should definitely help you avoid the box fill violations, and make the box less cramped. – Tester101 Dec 28 '12 at 14:16

2 Answers2

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Leviton has a useful web page for device lookup here. Using that, you can find the replacement receptacle is a Leviton 5252. Most shopping sites (like amazon) don't show the back, but a Google image search with that model number does show several pictures of the back.

Tim B
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I would just use the side terminals and treat it like a standard duplex outlet. No need to worry about all those backstab holes.

Aaron
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