A couple of years ago we had a customer who was offered a beautiful top-end electric range for free when his sister remodeled her kitchen. Fortunately (or not), he looked at the power cord for her range and checked to see if it fit the outlet in his home. It didn’t, so he called us to look at whether the outlet could be reconfigured. We noticed that he had a 240-volt, 30 amp range outlet and when we checked his breaker panel, we saw that the wiring wouldn’t support the 50-amp draw of the new range. Replacing the wiring would cost more than the stove was worth, so he had to turn down his sister’s generous offer.
Most residential construction uses “general” or “residential” grade electrical outlets for 120-volt service. These are quite sufficient for everyday use but are only one of four different grades of 120-volt blade-style outlets specified in plug and receptable standards in the US and Canada.
