On Thu, 07 May 2015 11:07:17 +0100, Harry Bloomfield wrote:
Bod explained on 07/05/2015 :
removed.
Most bell pushes seem to still be of this type. I had no idea of
the
stringent needs of a bell push in this environment before, so
wondered if anyone else had any bright ideas?
Brian
I seem to recall those old type of bell pushes that seemed to always
work come rain or shine. I mean the white coloured ceramic buttons
encased in brass, that you used to see outside old buildings.
I don't know if they are still available or not.
Try this for a traditional bell that always works and has big chunky
batteries
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151251036496
Thanks for the link, but even that bell push looks like the standard
rubbishy ones (I could well be wrong though).
Have you any experience of this one, by any chance?
You are correct, they are just the standard rubbishy ones. I suppose you
could entirely fill the push with silicon grease, to help exclude the
water?
Funnily enough, that looks exactly the same as the door bell push switch
we've been using without any problems whatsoever these past 30 odd years.
It's wired to an ex-GPO 12/24 volt trembler bell mounted on the other
side of the door frame using until a few years ago, a 24v battery pack
made up with a couple of 8 x AA cell holders glued back to back with
double sided adhesive tape hanging from a screw head below the bell.
I resisted the temptation (I think!) to flood the innards with silicone
grease on the basis that it was more likely to cause retention of
moisture between the contacts formed from condensation. I'd rather accept
the inevitable and less troublesome ingress of moisture due to rain which
could readily drain out or evaporate before building up enough to bridge
the contacts. Intermittently wet electrical connections have a much
longer service life than those left in a permanent state of wetness.
When I bought myself a cordless door bell a decade or so back for my
upstairs office, I decided to use the original bell push to trigger the
wireless sender and wired it up to the sender unit mounted immediately
below the battery via a 12v zenner and a standard 1N series diode so that
the power came from the bell battery rather than its own internal 12v
battery.
This worked a treat and the wireless bell push could still be operated
independently of the front door bell, using its own internal battery,
either for testing or for when the XYL came home with shopping and needed
to attract my attention without resorting to screaming out loud to be
heard via the closed office door and the oft times sound of music or a TV
programme I'd happen to be auditioning.
The battery pack did eventually start to fade (gracefully) after a
couple of decades, by which time the battery holders were beyond
redemption due to corroded contacts.
When it came to a replacement battery pack, I had an attack of
"Pragmatism" and simply spent a whole quid on a 3 pack of PP3s which I
converted into a 27v battery courtesy of a couple of soldered wire
straps, hanging the pack off of the wood screw previously used for my 24v
monstrousity. The extra 3 volts proved not to be a problem with the "12
volt" wireless bell push so it was "Job Done", and rather neatly compared
to what had gone before.
My only concern now is that by the time I need to replace said 3 x PP3
battery pack, the pound shops may have reduced the pack size down to just
two. I think Poundland are still selling them in packs of three so I
think I should buy a couple more packs whilst I still can and store them
sealed from moisture ingress in the freezer. According to the wikipedia
article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc€“carbon_battery this battery
type *can* be frozen without damage.
--
Johnny B Good