[Balognasand]

I'm trying to replace the motor in our outdoor fountain but found it connected to a kind of outlet I haven't seen before. Attached to this post is a picture.

The new motor has a regular plug. That's no problem since we have an extension cord and a normal outlet nearby, but I'm still nervous about trying to disconnect the old one. Can the nut-looking thing be unscrewed safely?

 

[Jim Port]

The nut is just a compression nut to squeeze the gland underneath. Loosen the nut and pull the cable out after undoing the splices. You will need to install a plug to seal the unused opening.

 

[Colbyt]

And just in case you don't know it; that pump must be plugged into a GFIC outlet or one protect with a ground fault breaker. Never mix water and electricity.

 

[mpoulton]

That's a hard-wired connection, and it's not done very well. Those "nuts" are cord grip connectors, and they really shouldn't be on the top of the box like that - it invites water problems. You probably need to replace that box with one containing a GFCI receptacle, and plug the new pump into it. The hard-wired connection is not likely to be code compliant and you may not have GFCI protection on the existing circuit, either. Submersible pumps without GFCI protection are pretty scary, if you ask me.