I have an unwanted 240v outlet in my hallway, on the same circuit as my sewer pump.
I pulled the cover and the box is an old work type. I noticed a junction box in this area of my crawlspace, so I suspect this breaker is controlling both.
Now, to my question: How can I safely remove this plug from service, while keeping the sewer pump active?
They don't make child safety stuff for 240v receptacles that I've seen, so I'd like to just get rid of it. Is it safe to remove the plug, cap the wires and put a blank plate over it?
Best Answer
There should be no problem with opening the box, removing the outlet fixture and then putting wire nuts on the ends of the wires. It may be necessary to straighten the wire ends and trimming slightly if the bare wire ends are too long to be nicely covered by the wire nut. Some folks go the extra step of wrapping the wire nut and the end of the wire with electrical tape.
After the wires are appropriately prepared fold them down into the electrical box and cover the box with an appropriately sized cover plate. The key here is to keep the electrical box cover accessible by not trying to cover it over with permanent building materials and finishing.