Electrical socket question

hayzen

Hi all,

I'm putting in a new washer and dryer in my condo and it seems my old washer and dryer only used one power cord while my new one uses 2 separate power cords.

I saw a metal plate above the old electrical socket so I thought I could install a new electrical socket behind it but when I removed the metal plate, I saw some kind of device in there that I never seen before and neither has my hired electrician.

He wants to tap into the wires but is hesitant because he's not sure what the black device's purpose is.

I've attached some photos. Does anyone know what the black device is and whether the electrician can tap into the wires?

Thanks.

Attached Thumbnails

     

jerryh3

Can you take a close up of the black thing.

hayzen

Nevermind. I got a response back from the Property Management.

"This is a fan relay activated when the dryer is used; it turns on a secondary fan to push the exhaust out of suite due to the distance of duct work. DO NOT tie into this"