Higgs Boson wrote:
On Nov 21, 12:06 pm, David Nebenzahl wrote:
On 11/21/2009 11:51 AM Higgs Boson spake thus:

Am about to replace hideous doorbell. AFAIK, I just have to unscrew
tthe old one and attach the new one to the wires.
BUT - how do I know which "breaker" as they used to call them,
Still do.

controls the doorbell? I looked in my switch box, where I have
everything labeled, but did not see "doorbell". It rings in the
kitchen. Anybody hazard a guess where it might be connected?
Could be on any breaker; no official rule for where to put a doorbell.

Probably several ways to skin this cat. One would be to put a voltmeter
on the transformer (that's the thing that supplies low voltage
power--typically 16-24 volts--to the actual doorbell) and flip breakers
until it goes to zero volts (assuming the transformer works). Probably
the safest way; that secondary (low-voltage) side of the transformer
isn't going to hurt you if you get shocked by it.

--
I am a Canadian who was born and raised in The Netherlands. I live on
Planet Earth on a spot of land called Canada. We have noisy neighbours.

- harvested from Usenet

Friend told me that if I just touch one wire at a time, I won't get
shocked.
T/F? Makes sense ; circuit not completed; but hard to isolate wires
in small space.
How cope?

I'd just wire it hot, since it is likely only 16v. But if that concept
bothers you, you need to figure out where the transformer is. When I was
a kid and we built houses the cave-man way, we always put the
transformer near the service panel, to make future swapouts easy. In
this place I am now, I found the damn thing in the attic, hung off the
J-box that feeds the bathroom and hall ceiling light. Turn that breaker
off, and doorbell is off.

When they make me benign dictator of the planet, I am going to require
that GCs, electricians, plumbers, etc, map out whatever they do, and
leave a legible rot-resistant diagram in a water-tight container screwed
to the wall next to the service panel. Breaker maps, path of wiring and
plumbing runs, location of any item with a lifespan less than the house
itself.

--
aem sends....