Ryan wrote:
"When did you purchase this house and was an inspection done at the
time?"

I purchased the house 5 years ago and it was inspected by a well known
local inspector who, except for a few small items that were not
electrical) said the house was in outstanding condition for being 75
years old. You know, the seller was an 80 year old woman who's husband
(aka handyman) had died so she probably wouldn't have known much. They
owned the house for 40 years, but we found all kinds of odd repairs as
we redid the rooms after buying it (paint, carpet, etc.. no electrical
changes)

We have never had something like this happen before. And, we have run
the AC on that same outlet for a couple of years without any problems
until yesterday.

All will stay off until the electrician can arrive. I guess that's all
we can do. Hope the repair of this isn't a nightmare.


I hope so too. Given all the conditions you've mentioned I'd expect
cloth-insulated wiring on insulator posts inside the walls.

I hope I'm wrong, and wish you the best of luck.

--
If you find a posting or message from myself offensive,
inappropriate, or disruptive, please ignore it. If you don't know
how to ignore a posting,complain to me and I will demonstrate.