What is This ?

[Cletis]

Found this setup at a large apartment complex. From around 1970 in a storage area. Any guesses what this is? With and without cover

 

[GoldDigger]

Lighting contactors? For outdoor lighting?
Looks like a lot of single phase loads wired line to line.
Is it live?

 

[K8MHZ]

I have seen similar in apartment complexes that used electric baseboard heat. The baseboards were 240 volt and each room had it's own lower voltage wall mounted thermostat that controlled the closest heater.

 

[Cletis]

Lighting contactors? For outdoor lighting?
Looks like a lot of single phase loads wired line to line.
Is it live?

No, its actually next to water lines (maybe old washer lines). Those are all branch circuits going into box. That male plug, plugs into 1 of 4 female receptacles and actually acts like a switch and pulls in contactor. Actually, that plug wire where it goes into box is capped off so the plug itself acts like a switch

I have seen similar in apartment complexes that used electric baseboard heat. The baseboards were 240 volt and each room had it's own lower voltage wall mounted thermostat that controlled the closest heater.

No, it's all baseboard boiler heat in bldg when that was installed

 

[GoldDigger]

No, its actually next to water lines (maybe old washer lines). Those are all branch circuits going into box. That male plug, plugs into 1 of 4 female receptacles and actually acts like a switch and pulls in contactor. Actually, that plug wire where it goes into box is capped off so the plug itself acts like a switch



No, it's all baseboard boiler heat in bldg when that was installed

So basically, in the original wiring (which was gone by the time we see it) when a load was turned on in in any of the four receptacles the corresponding relay pulled in.
Using a coin switch that was made for 120V to control a 208/240V dryer?
Or if there originally was only one plug and four receptacles wired individually to one contactor it could be a home brew interlock to make sure that only one of the four outputs was energized at one time

 

[Jraef]

So basically, in the original wiring (which was gone by the time we see it) when a load was turned on in in any of the four receptacles the corresponding relay pulled in.
Using a coin switch that was made for 120V to control a 208/240V dryer?
Or if there originally was only one plug and four receptacles wired individually to one contactor it could be a home brew interlock to make sure that only one of the four outputs was energized at one time

I like that theory. Landlords come up with all kinds of interesting work-arounds for problems that might cost them money. As a student I lived in one small complex where the laundry room was shared, but each washer/dryer set was wired to the meter of each individual apartment, so the renter had to pay their own laundry utility cost. The landlord had a similar contactor box arrangement like that, but had it rigged so that the coil was controlled by a switch in the kitchen of each apartment, preventing your neighbor from using your power. Of course, all one had to do was try the different washers until you found one where they forgot to flip their switch to Off, or if you were an EE student who had been an electrician, well...

 

[Jraef]

Duplicate post... Sorry.