Noticed this plug on my wall from when I moved into this house, and I just started wondering again about what it’s actually for. This is in the UK, if that helps. It’s on a big bulky box hanging on the wall below my desk next to two regular plug sockets.

Edit: best suggestion I’ve seen here is that it could be a fuse box for an alarm system. Makes sense since this house did have several security systems before I moved in. Also, for added context, this is in a bedroom and the wire coming out of it goes straight into the wall.

  • hitmyspot@aussie.zone
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    3 months ago

    Fuse box for one line. Fuses weren’t put in as standard when electricity was introduced. Many old houses just had live wires coming in with no breaker like today. For expensive electrical items added when there was no fuse, an electrician with install it with a dedicated fuse. If the electrical system has been updated where it enters the house, it may no longer be needed. However, if it is on a different circuit, it may be. Old fuse boxes were a bunch of replaceable physical fuses. Nowadays they are breaker switches for easy resetting and less waste.

    Anyway, if whatever is connected to this gets a power surge, the fuse could trip and you would need to replace it. However it is not a plug, to add a different device or appliance, but just a safety pass through for the wire coming out the other end.

    • Agent641@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Early electrical grids were fucking wild lol. In my city, there were 3 different grids, with different voltages competing for customers (one was DC!) In the early days before it was standardized.

  • davidagain@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Here’s how to find out: use a small flat screwdriver to pull the central white thing out. It’s a cradle for a cylindrical fuse.

    If there’s no fuse, it’s for something that’s been removed and they couldn’t be bothered to remove the fuse box and its wiring.

    If there’s a fuse, you have disconnected the power by pulling the fuse out of the circuit. Check if something electrical stops working - alarm, shower, cooker, immersion heater, whatever’s on the other side of the wall, loft lights?

    Maybe the fuse is there but has already fused, in which case you may want to find or purchase a replacement of the same rating, and find out what electrical thing started working! The fuse rating is written in faint text on the side of the cylinder. If the replace with a higher rated fuse, you allow things to happen in the device that someone thought shouldn’t happen and could blow the fuse to prevent damage or injury. If you replace with a lower rated fuse you risk it going in normal use, i.e. too frequently.

  • Ledivin@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Not a plug, but a fuse box - that small panel would open up/pull out to let you replace the fuse. Couldn’t tell you what it’s for without more info

        • Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          I’d love to meet a popcorn princess. I’m imagining princess peach, lifting up her skirt to her knees, and then a mountain of popcorn falls out.

          • Death_Equity@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            Username relevant. Most people would imagine a yellowish-white popcorn shaped dress and poofie shoulders, maybe her hair is shaped like a popped kernel. Not you, you can’t be that whimsical, she has to be a popcorn smuggling heiress with undoubtedly greasy thighs.

  • MojoMcJojo@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    I showed chatgpt the picture and it was close to what others on here said.

    “The image shows a fused spur or a fused connection unit (FCU). This type of electrical outlet is used to protect appliances that are permanently connected to the electrical supply without a standard plug, such as heaters, ovens, or lighting circuits.”

    Then I asked what country this is most likely to have this in a home

    “The fused spur or fused connection unit (FCU) in the image is most commonly found in homes in the United Kingdom and Ireland. This type of electrical fitting is a standard feature in these countries, where it is used for appliances that need to be hardwired into the electrical system, such as water heaters, ovens, or extractors. It may also be found in other countries that follow British electrical standards, but the UK and Ireland are the most likely.”

    I thought that was interesting and wanted to share.

  • neidu2@feddit.nl
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    3 months ago

    Holding fuses. Probably something else too, but at least I’m partially right.