Cooking hotdogs with 120v

I did something like that as a kid. We would take two forks and hook one to each wire for a train remote. Turn up the dial and wait a few minute. And Hot Dogs!

I cooked hot dogs with forks in science class in high school. Teacher has a special extension cord with a switch.

Phil

Back in high school, we lit up a pickle and some nails attached to the end of a cord.

Is the power live on that thing when the lid is open or is there a safety interlock switch buried somewhere?

LOLOLOLOL!!!!!!! so that guy at the grocery store, checking hotdogs with an ohmmeter wasn't crazy...

Anybody notice that antique extension cord next to the cooker? The old cloth insulation and bakelite head.

RknRusty wrote:Anybody notice that antique extension cord next to the cooker? The old cloth insulation and bakelite head.

My eyes went right to it.
Love that stuff. Probably Eagle Mfg.
Also the cooker model-HOTD  
Bob

Jason_WI wrote:Is the power live on that thing when the lid is open or is there a safety interlock switch buried somewhere?

Yes it has a form of safety interlock. When the cover is opened, the electrode spike rails disconnect similar to how the cord disconnects when the back is pulled off a 1960s tube radio or how the appliance cord is pulled off a waffle iron or electric frying pan. While I would always unplug it before opening it, I think getting a shock from it just by using it normally would be slim. There is no "switch" on it, as long as the cover is closed, it turns on instantly once you plug it in. The last time I had a watt meter on it, I think it peaked at about 180watts with 1 hotdog. I'll need to do more tests with it someday.

dckrsn wrote:

RknRusty wrote:Anybody notice that antique extension cord next to the cooker? The old cloth insulation and bakelite head.

My eyes went right to it.
Love that stuff. Probably Eagle Mfg.
Also the cooker model-HOTD  
Bob

You're good!



Its actually a homemade extension cord I made about 10 years ago. The cord is #18 zip-cord covered with a nylon braid from unstuffed 550 cord (paracord).





Now this is a real antique extension cord! It is not asbestos cord like found on irons and other heat appliances, it has rubber insulation under the cotton braid. I date it to be around the mid 30s to mid 40s. I have a feeling it too is a homemade cord however it was likely built long ago.



I too love this old electrical stuff, I have boxes of it. Here's some more old electrical crap.

Here's a early 1900s (1903 to about 1906) double loop carbon filament bulb lit up at 60v.




Here's a reproduction (made about 8 years ago or so) 40w double loop carbon filament bulb lit up at 60v. The "fixture" its in is an original (1905 up to about 1920) drop cord using brewery cord (twisted asphalt impregnated cotton braided cord used in damp locations). http://www.rejuvenation.com/catalog/categories/lighting/bulbs (you'll want one with a carbon filament).



This is what I bought last weekend at the flea market. This is what they used before the blade type plugs we have today.





I could go on forever, perhaps in another thread.

Please Go on and on.  If you don't feel this is the right forum for electrical stuff then I invite you to  SmokStak Vintage Electrical Equipment Lighting Fixtures, Switch Panels and Meters I will post a link in a week

Frank

Admin wrote:I had this thing for awhile and have been meaning to post about it for some time. This is a early 70s Presto "Hot Dogger" hotdog cooker. It will cook up to 6 hotdogs in about 60 seconds. Hotdogs are placed directly across the 120v line. I have heard people claim that the hotdogs can taste metallic especially at the ends where the electrodes are placed however I have never tasted it. Anyone here have one or ever had one of these?

High School Electronics 1961. Gross, Gross, Gross.

happydad            will we ever get an emoticon for an RC car or boat?

Be sure and unplug it before washing.

Someone made a hot dog cooker similar to that in the mid/late fifties. Presto sounds familiar. We never had one but I saw them advertised on TV. I think the top was rounded on the older one. Perhaps this is a newer model.

Also...we electrocuted a few hotdogs in Jr. High Science class. I don't remember it affecting taste, but how can you mess up a hotdog?

George

gcb wrote:Someone made a hot dog cooker similar to that in the mid/late fifties. Presto sounds familiar. We never had one but I saw them advertised on TV. I think the top was rounded on the older one. Perhaps this is a newer model.

Also...we electrocuted a few hotdogs in Jr. High Science class. I don't remember it affecting taste, but how can you mess up a hotdog?

George

The real question is How can you eat a hotdog? Have you ever read the contents. Not fit for a dog. Unprintable. Unless you have a Turkey dog or a Kosher dog. IN MY OPINION.

happydad          

If this thread was bumped a few weeks ago.. these old Christmas lights would have been more interesting. I remember them from very young.. 4 or five years old. These light sets "then" would have been over 30 years old. Note the "wooden-bead" around the wires near the sockets. That's how they attached to the branches.



The lamps were fluted glass.. which is what I remember most about them.



I also remember 1/2 a dozen or so acrylic 5-pointed stars in different transparent colors.. with a center-hole for fitting between the lamp and base.



I love to see the old outdoor C-9 light-strings in use. I saw a few this past season. It's usually a small display.. because a 25 lamp string uses 175w of power!

Roddie, Oh my yes, those old Noma Lights with the wooden beads....man that takes me back. the 12 Days of Christmas....10 days to untangle the light cords and test to find the burnt out bulbs for 2 days of a fully lit up Christmas tree that had to be watered daily. Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmass Tree....now days we're fully Digital or should I say LED. Slide the tree out of the box, plug it in, Dec 26th Slide it back into the box DONE. I miss the Pine Smell.

Every year I hang up an old set of old Christmas lights on the fireplace mantel. They were my great-grandma's and then given to my grandparents when they got married. Made by Paramount. 8 15v "C6" bulbs in a series. To extend their life and run them cooler, I have them hooked up on a 2:1 transformer so they are operating at about 62v. The transformer is plugged into a split receptacle controlled by a wall switch so they can be turned on and off along with the table lamp. They don't make the bulbs anymore so you have to find old ones as replacements. I got lucky last summer and found two bags of these old bulbs (about 50 total) for just $5, all work. I have a few other sets, one is a mid 30s set with cloth wire.

I heard it used to be a common practice at construction sites and such places to warm up sausages for lunch with electric current. Four nails and two lengths of insulated wire was needed. Strip the ends of the wires, wrap each end around a nail, insert a nail into each end of the sausage and then use insulated pliers to insert the nails on the other ends of the wires (one at a time!!) into the holes of an electric socket.

The voltage around here is 230V, so a hotdog would probably be too small a resistance causing them to instantly boil and possibly explode. Too bad they don't make them "linked" anymore

fdew wrote:Please Go on and on.  If you don't feel this is the right forum for electrical stuff then I invite you to  SmokStak   Vintage Electrical Equipment  Lighting Fixtures, Switch Panels and Meters   I will post a link in a week

Frank

Hello Frank,
Thanks, I'll have to check that out. I can post some more good old electrical stuff. Need to dug up some pictures or just retake them.

Oldenginerod wrote:

KariFS wrote:

The voltage around here is 230V, so a hotdog would probably be too small a resistance causing them to instantly boil and possibly explode. Too bad they don't make them "linked" anymore

240 Volt here as well.  How about hot dogs in series??

Here we have some series-connected sausages. They seem to be color-coded by resistance too.

fdew wrote:Please Go on and on.  If you don't feel this is the right forum for electrical stuff then I invite you to  SmokStak   Vintage Electrical Equipment  Lighting Fixtures, Switch Panels and Meters   I will post a link in a week

Frank

Frank, welcome to CEF. That looks like a really interesting forum. Please post an introduction and carry on.
Rusty

Kari, what gauge would those be?