renosteinke

is that a T-SLOT duplex??!?!??!?!

I've seen receptacles pre-mounted to round covers being sold at Home Depot and small neighborhood hardware stores.

I guess these are originally made in case you want to put a receptacle in the ceiling, in place of a light-bulb socket?

Good eyes, Hemingray! Yes, it is a "T-slot duplex"- which ought to give an idea of how old this install is.

As for the use of the "3-0" box....well, these boxes were once almost universally used where things were surface-mounted. Our current "$ square" didn't come into vogue until the '60 (if I recall correctly).

It's gonna be hard to get a bubble cover for that... lol.

geez. what dude installed THAT? I'm going to go out on a limb and ask if that's fully exposed to the weather, or is it on a porch?

also should add, that install don't look too old, unless the box actually survived all those years of rain, etc. lol

The install is fully exposed to both the weather, and alley traffic. (I was standing on the pavement when I took the pic). Maybe next winter I'll take a pic of this box with an inch or two of snow atop it.
In all fairness, it IS possible that the receptacle is 'hot' only when the outside light is on (a common arrangement here).

As for the condition of the materials, well, you have to remember that this is Reno, "high desert." Our snow and rain don't last all that long, and the thinner air leads to very little rusting of even bare metal.
Another clue as to the age of the install is the "indent" style EMT connector; that is, no set screw or compression nut.