On 20 Dec 2006 00:23:01 -0800, "buffalobill"
wrote:


cannot be done safely. breaker and wire and outlet must all match.

Well, the wire can be heavier than it needs to be. And the wire and
breaker can both be heavier than the outlet will allow to be plugged
in.

After all we plug an 11 amp Hoover vacuum cleaner into the same
outlet

alarm clock would normally trip a 15 amp breaker.

Huh? I don't think he will know that you're kidding.

but even with an
adapter, improperly feeding large available amperage into a low wattage
device is tempting a fire when the alarm clock fails.

If 20 amps will start a fire, 15 amps can probably do so too.

After all we plug an 11 amp Hoover vacuum cleaner into the same outlet
we plug a 1/10 of an amp radio. And that could be a 15 amp outlet or
a 20 amp outlet. Any of those appliances could some day have a
short.


farseer wrote:
Hello,

in my home are a few 240v outlets that used to serve air conditioners.
We now have a central air system, so those outlets are no longer
needed.

Can i leave the 240v outlets as is and plug any old device into them?
For instance, if i were to plug my alarm clock into that outlet, what
would happen?

How can iconvert them to 120v outlets? is it simply a matter of using
only one of the two hot wires to wire a new 15 or 20 am outlet?

thanks much