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Do they make a plug in doorbell transformer?

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Caulki...@work.com

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Jan 18, 2014, 9:38:47 AM1/18/14
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Do they make a plug in doorbell transformer?
An elderly neighbor lives in a trailer house, and wants me to install a
doorbell, because he dont hear knocking. I can put the bell right near
the door, run the wire to the button, by just tacking the wire along or
behind the door trim. The problem is that all doorbell transformers are
made to be hard wired to an electrical box. There is no basement, and
he dont want a transformer stucking out of the wall next to an
electrical box, inside the living space. There is a cabinet right were
the bell should go, so the wire from a transformer can be conceiled
inside the cabinet.

But I'm trying to find out if they sell a *wall wart* type of plug in
transformer. Anyone know?

From what I recall, a doorbell uses a 24volt transformer. So, I suppose
if I can find a wall wart that supplies 24 volts AC, thart should work.
But most of them I find are a lower voltage and many/most are DC.

philo

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Jan 18, 2014, 10:07:19 AM1/18/14
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Just get a battery powered doorbell

they are avail in wired and wireless


from $5 - $35

google

Stormin Mormon

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Jan 18, 2014, 10:16:47 AM1/18/14
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If memory serves, door bells are 16 VAC, but
that's a long time ago I needed to know that.
American Science and Surplus ( www.sciplus.com )
used to have various wall wart transformers
and cords.
http://www.sciplus.com/p/ADAPTER-65VAC--1AMP--5mm-female-plug_4940

If you look down the page, the last item listed is
18 VAC, 100 ma. I did an ebay search, all the door
bell transformers were 16 VAC, but 18 is fairly close.

Hope that helps. And thank you for being kind to
your elderly neighbor. One day not too far off,
I'll be the deaf old guy who needs the help.


--
.
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

tra...@optonline.net

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Jan 18, 2014, 10:17:16 AM1/18/14
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That was my first thought too. Get a wireless doorbell, which is
going to be the easiest of all to install. If he really wants to
go the other route, there are transformer's available:

https://www.platt.com/platt-electric-supply/Plug-In-Transformers-16-5V-AC/ELK/TRG1640/product.aspx?zpid=511330


At 1 amp, that's a bit more than the typical, which seem to be
around .6 amps. But google is your friend. He needs one that is
16V, .6 amps or better.

cl...@snyder.on.ca

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Jan 18, 2014, 10:51:15 AM1/18/14
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I'll ask the obvious question first - what's wrong with a wireless
doorbell?
Second - many doorbels will run just as well on 9-12 volts DC as on
16-24 volts AC. And most ARE 16, not 24 (at least in my 45-50 years
experience)
There is a difference between a bell transformer and an HVAC
thermostat transformer or control transformer (which usually ARE 24
volts)

A 12 volt DC wall wart might work - as long as it is rated for high
enough current. ( 2 amp preferrred) - on DC the average chime will
draw more current than on AC because it is limited by resistance, not
inductance - hense my recommendation to run on lower voltage.. I know
SOME will function just fine on as little as 3 volts DV

Paul Drahn

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Jan 18, 2014, 1:41:35 PM1/18/14
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The doorbell has to be AC because there is no interrupter on the bell.
On /DC the bell would operate one stroke and remain there as long as the
button was pushed.

The wireless will work fine if the trailer does NOT have aluminum
siding. If it does and there is a window where the bell can see the
pushbutton, that will work.

Our mfg home has aluminum siding and the back door wireless bell would
not work until I ran a copper wire from the area of the push button,
through the wall and into the house so the inside bell could see the RF
from the pushbutton. No physical connection needed. Both front and back
door work because the front door button is visible to bell through a
kitchen window.

Paul

k...@attt.bizz

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Jan 18, 2014, 2:31:42 PM1/18/14
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Um, that's how most doorbells work. Some have a different chime on
the rebound. NONE "ring" at 50/60Hz.

hrho...@sbcglobal.net

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Jan 18, 2014, 3:55:19 PM1/18/14
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Some old-fashioned doorbells that had a clapper and a bell had a contact on the moving clapper that would open the circuit while the clapper was moving toward the bell, and that would open the circuit. Momentum would carry the clapper through to hitting the bell and then since the circuit was broken, the clapper would go back towards its resting location. As it traveled back, the circuit would be reenergized because the contact had reclosed, and the clapper would once more move toward the bell. This kind of bell would work on AC or DC, the 60Hz power was much faster than the speed of movement of the clapper. The controlling factors were the spring tension on the clapper, the weight of the clapper, and the adjustment of when/where the contact opened. Too much tension or too large a contact opening and the clapper would not hit the bell hard enough (or not at all) and too little tension or too small a contact gap meant the clapper spent most of its time so close to the bell that it did not get back far enough to get some momentum for the subsequent strike and thus there was more of a buzzing sound than a true "ringing" sound which was supposed to be the correct result.

cl...@snyder.on.ca

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Jan 18, 2014, 6:37:58 PM1/18/14
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On Sat, 18 Jan 2014 10:41:35 -0800, Paul Drahn
<pdr...@webformixair.com> wrote:

As it does on AC
>
>The wireless will work fine if the trailer does NOT have aluminum
>siding. If it does and there is a window where the bell can see the
>pushbutton, that will work.

IUnless the door is also aluminum or steel (and has no glass) the RF
will still get in - and the new ones have enough "reach" to ring 2
trailers down.

Stormin Mormon

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Jan 18, 2014, 7:24:36 PM1/18/14
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Technical dissertation on copper clappers,
by Carson: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKGtb1t9iVw

Stormin Mormon

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Jan 18, 2014, 7:26:31 PM1/18/14
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On 1/18/2014 6:37 PM, cl...@snyder.on.ca wrote:
> On Sat, 18 Jan 2014 10:41:35 -0800, Paul Drahn
>>
>> The wireless will work fine if the trailer does NOT have aluminum
>> siding. If it does and there is a window where the bell can see the
>> pushbutton, that will work.
>
> IUnless the door is also aluminum or steel (and has no glass) the RF
> will still get in - and the new ones have enough "reach" to ring 2
> trailers down.
>
And, how does Clare know this? IUnless this is
personal experience?

cl...@snyder.on.ca

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Jan 18, 2014, 7:47:37 PM1/18/14
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On Sat, 18 Jan 2014 19:26:31 -0500, Stormin Mormon
<cayo...@hotmail.com> wrote:

>On 1/18/2014 6:37 PM, cl...@snyder.on.ca wrote:
>> On Sat, 18 Jan 2014 10:41:35 -0800, Paul Drahn
>>>
>>> The wireless will work fine if the trailer does NOT have aluminum
>>> siding. If it does and there is a window where the bell can see the
>>> pushbutton, that will work.
>>
>> IUnless the door is also aluminum or steel (and has no glass) the RF
>> will still get in - and the new ones have enough "reach" to ring 2
>> trailers down.
>>
>And, how does Clare know this? IUnless this is
>personal experience?
I've installed numerous wireless doorbells - we used one at the
airport - with the button strapped to the gate on the chain link
fence, and the chime inside the sheet metal clad hangar some 70 feet
away - to notify the guys in the hangar that there was someone without
a key on the public side wanting to join them on the air side - so
someone would go out and unlock the gate to let him in..

More recently I installed 2 as "after hours" bells at the insurance
office - after the doors are locked by the automatic locking system if
someone came to see one of the agents, or to pick up one of the
employees, they could ring the bell to notify those inside that they
had a visitor. I "coded" both buttons and both chimes the same - one
chime at each end of the building, and one button at each front door
(the entry is glass with a door at each side - one with RFID opener,
one without)

Stormin Mormon

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Jan 18, 2014, 9:04:28 PM1/18/14
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On 1/18/2014 7:47 PM, cl...@snyder.on.ca wrote:
>> And, how does Clare know this? IUnless this is
>> personal experience?
> I've installed numerous wireless doorbells - we used one at the
> airport - with the button strapped to the gate on the chain link
> fence, and the chime inside the sheet metal clad hangar some 70 feet
> away - to notify the guys in the hangar that there was someone without
> a key on the public side wanting to join them on the air side - so
> someone would go out and unlock the gate to let him in..
>
> More recently I installed 2 as "after hours" bells at the insurance
> office - after the doors are locked by the automatic locking system if
> someone came to see one of the agents, or to pick up one of the
> employees, they could ring the bell to notify those inside that they
> had a visitor. I "coded" both buttons and both chimes the same - one
> chime at each end of the building, and one button at each front door
> (the entry is glass with a door at each side - one with RFID opener,
> one without)
>
I had a sense that you'd worked with these.
In the land of Usenet, so many people write
with no personal experience. it's good to
hear field reports, now and again. Thank you.

WW

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Jan 18, 2014, 9:12:29 PM1/18/14
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wrote in message news:do3ld911vo3ocg7s7...@4ax.com...
Go wireless. I use one as an alert that wife who is disabled needs me when I
am working outside on the yard or in my woodshop. I just keep the receiver
in my pocket. WW


cl...@snyder.on.ca

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Jan 18, 2014, 10:08:20 PM1/18/14
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On Sat, 18 Jan 2014 19:12:29 -0700, "WW" <cc...@nospambresnan.net>
wrote:
They use a 16 volt transformer. 1 amp current capacity is standard -
the heavy duty ones are 1.5 or 2 amp - (15 va, 25va, and 35 va)

Just tested mine on a 12 volt 7ah gel cell - works fine. Tried it on a
6 volt dry-cell pack ( 4 D cells) and it ALMOST rang. Just for
jollies, I grabbed a 9 volt transistor battery, and it rang my chime.

So 9-12 volts DC does the job.

cl...@snyder.on.ca

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Jan 18, 2014, 10:38:24 PM1/18/14
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gregz

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Jan 19, 2014, 12:07:39 AM1/19/14
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Bennett

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Jan 19, 2014, 12:43:45 PM1/19/14
to Caulki...@work.com
Why bother with electricity? Use a mechanical bell, like the following
at Amazon for $25 http://amzn.to/1bbuHFx

David Kaye

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Jan 19, 2014, 8:21:02 PM1/19/14
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Any store that sells doorbells sells doorbell transformers. Instead of
wiring the leads to a household circuit, put a wall plug on the wires.
That's all you need to do.

Here are some examples of doorbell transformers from the Lowe's catalog:
http://www.lowes.com/Search=doorbell+transformer?storeId=10151&langId=-1&catalogId=10051&N=0&newSearch=true&Ntt=doorbell+transformer#!



DerbyDad03

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Jan 19, 2014, 8:48:26 PM1/19/14
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If you go back to the original post, the OP said of the homeowner: "he dont
want a transformer stucking out of the wall next to an electrical box,
inside the living space".

What do you suggest he do with the transformer after he puts "a wall plug
on the wires"?

Mark Lloyd

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Jan 20, 2014, 2:12:55 PM1/20/14
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On 01/19/2014 07:48 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:

[snip]

> What do you suggest he do with the transformer after he puts "a wall plug
> on the wires"?
>

My doorbell transformer has a plug on the wires. It's plugged in inside
a closet where my gas furnace is (that's plugged in too).

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us

"The man who wants to be an angel is never in a hurry to begin." --
Lemuel K. Washburn, Is The Bible Worth Reading And Other Essays

DerbyDad03

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Jan 20, 2014, 3:38:59 PM1/20/14
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Mark Lloyd <ma...@this.is.not.email.invalid> wrote:
> On 01/19/2014 07:48 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
>
> [snip]
>
>> What do you suggest he do with the transformer after he puts "a wall plug
>> on the wires"?
>>
>
> My doorbell transformer has a plug on the wires. It's plugged in inside a
> closet where my gas furnace is (that's plugged in too).


Let's hear what the OP has to say about a transformer with a plug. It still
doesn't sound like what he wants since I got the impression that all of the
receptacles are in the living space, which is why he wanted a wall wart.
People are used to seeing a wall wart in the living space. A doorbell
transformer, not so much.

How are the wires from the cord attached to your transformer? How is the
transformer mounted? Are the terminals for the cord exposed?
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