Tough Plastic Suitable for Use in 115V Receptacle?

Thread Starter

Zero Potential

Joined Mar 25, 2015
84
I bought an NOS Superior Electric Powerstat on Ebay. This is a variac (115V, 7.5A).

The seller did a poor job of packing it, and the flange on the front receptacle got broken off. The receptacle is some type of black plastic. It's a 2-prong receptacle.

I want to replace the receptacle. I don't want to put another 2-prong job on it. I would like to use a grounded receptacle, with a new wire connected to the chassis of the variac.

I would have to machine the receptacle out of some kind of plastic. Obviously, I need something that doesn't conduct, and it can't melt every time the variac warms up a little.

Does anyone here know if acetal will do the job? If not, is there some other tough, readily available plastic that would work?
 

mcgyvr

Joined Oct 15, 2009
5,394
acetal is flammable.. but an excellent plastic to machine,etc... but probably not a good idea for electrical needs where heat/flames could be an issue..
Can you put a number to "warms up"?

PVC type 1?
Nylon 6/6?
hdpe?

"Older" electrical equipment may have used bakelite which is pretty darn brittle but excellent for an electrical insulator and heat resistant..
 

GopherT

Joined Nov 23, 2012
8,009
Are you talking about one of these?

Just buy a new one. A node from a Wiremold system should fit or could be made to fit with minimal trimming.



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Thread Starter

Zero Potential

Joined Mar 25, 2015
84
It's a real Powerstat made by Superior Electric.

I kept doing research, and it looks like commercial receptacles use nylon, so that's good enough for me. I may be able to find one already made, which I can cut down to fit this thing.
 
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