What is this plug for?

April 14, 2013 7:34 PM

In my kitchen, I have a plug that is about 7 feet from the floor, near the ceiling. It's directly above the electric heating unit, but doesn't appear to be controlled by said unit. The plug is recessed, but other than that looks to be a standard three prong outlet. It's live and works okay, but it's so far off the floor it's made me curious. Plug
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a to Grab Bag (15 answers total)

Wall clock?
posted by 4ster at 7:36 PM on April 14, 2013 [8 favorites]

Usually thats about where the plug for a vent exhaust would be.
posted by bitdamaged at 7:37 PM on April 14, 2013

We had one of those in the house I grew up in, in the living room. It was (we guess) put there by the people who built the house, because they had a painting with a plug-in light that shined on it.
posted by raztaj at 7:38 PM on April 14, 2013

Response by poster: Just a quick note, it's also about a foot and a half from the living room, so while a vent makes some sense, it'd be way off center of the kitchen as a whole.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 7:40 PM on April 14, 2013

Built in microwave that's no longer there?
posted by jacquilynne at 7:44 PM on April 14, 2013

My initial guess was also a wall clock or perhaps future proofing a solution of where you would plug in a microwave or something similar if there was a shelf built there.
posted by mmascolino at 7:45 PM on April 14, 2013 [1 favorite]

bitdamaged: "Usually thats about where the plug for a vent exhaust would be."

That's what I was going to say. There's one in my mom's house, inside the cabinet above the stove. It has two plugs, and the the exhaust thingy is plugged into one of them.
posted by Room 641-A at 7:49 PM on April 14, 2013

2nding wall clock. The little notch in the plate is probably designed for the clock to hang from.
posted by cosmicbandito at 7:54 PM on April 14, 2013 [2 favorites]

2nding wall clock. The little notch in the plate is probably designed for the clock to hang from.

Agree. Another clue is that the receptacle is recessed so the plug wouldn't protrude and disturb the clock from hanging flat.

Now, that doesn't mean that's what the homeowner used it for, but that's what kind of receptacle it is.
posted by gjc at 8:00 PM on April 14, 2013 [1 favorite]

Yep it's a wall clock outlet. They actually get a special provision in Canadian code they were so popular at one time. Interestingly it's getting hard to even buy electric plug in clocks. I never did manage to find one to fit my requirements.
posted by Mitheral at 8:14 PM on April 14, 2013 [3 favorites]

If its attached to a switch, indoor Xmas lights.
posted by tilde at 8:19 PM on April 14, 2013

Best answer: PS: You can still buy that exact outlet.
posted by Mitheral at 8:20 PM on April 14, 2013 [1 favorite]

Clock. There are a million vintage plug-in clocks out there if you want one.
posted by Slinga at 5:46 AM on April 15, 2013

Nthing clock, and suggesting you check Ebay for some awesomely ugly/beautiful plug-in 60s era wall clocks.
posted by hungrybruno at 6:58 AM on April 15, 2013

Response by poster: Asked at work and facebook. Coworker has a clock that would fit in. He wants $100 for it.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 2:56 PM on April 15, 2013