On Jul 31, 12:29*am, z wrote:
this had been bugging me for a while. roof-mushroom style attic fan
with junction-box style adjustable thermostat, looks pretty old and
like it had been maintained periodically by drunken chimps, wrong
sized sheet metal screws sticking out, etc; making me suspicious.
attic seemed overly warm on summer days. usual 1950s attic insulation,
i.e. less than currently recommended, meaning hot attic generating hot
house.

so, stuck a remote reading outdoor thermometer *up there. gets up to
120+. seemed too high. took second look at fan setup. despite physical
appearance, seemed to be working OK every time I check on it. fan
capacity OK. twiddled around with thermostat settings, figured maybe
somebody had screwed up the calibration. remote thermometer still
showing 120+ up there on hot day. look at fan some more, it's running
OK every time I check. maybe thermostat is intermittent? finally wire
up boom box to thermostat and turn it up loud so i can tell from
downstairs when thermostat is opening and closing, with remote
thermometer to indicate temperature

answer comes very quickly when i come down from attic. turns out fan
is wired to attic light switch in hallway near attic hatch/ladder.
soon as i get down and turn the attic light off, music stops. turn
light on, music starts again. this, despite big clearly labeled (and
working) fan shutoff switch in attic.

haha.

Doesnt surprise me. Usually its not an electrician who wires them in
so they get connected to the first place that looks like it has power.

Jimmie