DIYbanter - View Single Post - Are those old push button light switches legal for a new building?

The Daring Dufas[_8_]

On 10/22/2013 10:31 PM, wrote:
When I was a kid, my grandparents had those old push button light
switches all around their house. I used to drive my grandparents
crazy pushing them on and off, because my parents house did not have
them, and I thought they were really cool.

Recently I bought a box of assorted electrical parts from an auction
and it had several of those antique push button switches including
the brass plates. I'd like to install a few of them in my house just
for the heck of it. Nostalgia I guess!

They do still work, in fact they seem to be built to last forever out
of heavy porcelain, with a thick brass contact, and viewable spring.

Are they legal to use (by the electrical code) in a newer home that
did not originally have them? I'm not likely to get inspected, but I
wanted to ask.

There shouldn't be a problem with them as long as the contacts are clean
and no fingers could get to the open part of the switch. The switches
probably went out of fashion because I believe the flip switches are
less expensive to manufacture. Of course with a modern sealed switch,
insects can't get into it which would turn into a fire hazard after the
critters die, dry out and burn when an open switch arcs. ^_^

TDD