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When my friend lived in base housing there was a dedicated 120 VAC 20 amp circuit beneath a window so you could install a window AC unit. Someone connected the neutral to the to the hot bus so they would have
240 for a larger unit. His wife found out about it when she plugged in a christmas tree.Jimmie
I have been suspecting that kind of thing is at work, here. A qualified person should test the outlet with a VOM, and see if it's 120 VAC or 240 VAC.
When my friend lived in base housing there was a dedicated 120 VAC 20 amp circuit beneath a window so you could install a window AC unit. Someone connected the neutral to the to the hot bus so they would have
240 for a larger unit. His wife found out about it when she plugged in a christmas tree.Jimmie
Whoever reconnected the wiring for 240 volts, should have replaced the receptacle, as no 240 volt appliance will fit in a 120 volt receptacle. This is very possibly the same scenario as the OP
That does not sound to me like a "dedicated 120 VAC" circuit, but a
240V one for 240V air conditioners. Better hope the outlet is one designed for 240V and made to accept plugs of 240V window air conditioners and to reject plugs of 120V applicances.In a "USA-usual" 240V circuit, the two conductors other than the "grounding conductor" are both "hot" and both "live" to extent of 120 volts.
A USA-usual 120V circuit differs from the 240V one by having between the
2 conductors other than "grounding conductor", one is "hot" ("ungrounded conductor") and the other is "neutral" ("grounded conductor").You should know the mutual concepts of "hot-neutral-ground", "ungrounded-grounded-grounding", "black-white-green/bare" as well as preferably good multimeter/voltmeter usage practice for USA-usual 120V circuits and occaisional (all-too-common) errors therein.
This is what you should know, along with what various various-amp-rating
120V and 240V residental outlets look like and should have looked like 30-50 years ago, along with some knowledge of existence of both 120V and 240V residential window air conditioning units and the cords and plugs that they had and the receptacles that they plugged into.- Don Klipstein ( snipped-for-privacy@misty.com)
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