Do any of you know whether there is such a thing as a doorbell that I can shut off and on from the inside of the house? On weekend mornings, I'd like to be able to deactivate the doorbell or switch the sound off. I've been to several hardware stores and haven't found what I'm looking for. Thanks for any suggestions.
I can't think of anything easier to do. Just wire in a switch at a convenient location.
A jaw type bear trap put over outside button should deter unwanted rings. Otherwise just a wire a switch by the door, down by the breakers, or right next to the ringer unit. It would be even easier to wire the swicth directly from the 18V transformer, which does not pose a serious electrical risk. .
Hmmm, I'd install timer programmed to your needs in-line with the bell circuit by the week days. Or remote control or manual switch(you have to remember to use this tho when to turn it off or on) Tony
After making sure nothing else is running off the transformer, I suggest using a switch to cut off the 120V feed. You could use a timer type or with an X-10 system you could have a remote no wire switch in a convenient location away from the transformer.
Switching off the door bell will just make the people knock on the door. How do you plan on stopping that ?
Do Not Disturb sign?
My doorbell has not worked in 23 years. If you have to ring the bell to find me I probably don't want to see you anyway. If you are a friend, you know what to do.
May I suggest that you take a completely different tack. My father; God rest his soul; worked three jobs to support eight children and sleeping in on Sunday morning was one of his few luxuries of life. When I found him working away in the little crawl space over the front porch on a Saturday evening I failed to connect it to the previous Sunday's visit by Proselytizers for one of the Saturday sabbath groups with an evangelical approach to heathen slothfulness on Sunday mornings. Our house being a ranch which my father had built with his own hands my bedroom window had the best view of the front porch. Sunday morning at seven my father and brother and I were watching the walk from a half inch gap under the nearly drawn shade in the room I shared with my brother. My father did not invite my sisters or my mom to this event. As he apparently expected the missionaries came up the walk and pushed the doorbell. There followed a whooshing sound and the four sprinkler heads my father had installed in the porch roof the night before began discharging nearly forty gallons of water of water per minute onto their pious forms. We had no trouble with them after that.
-- Tom H
Hi, Good thing, your dad did not get sued for that. You Aamericans love to sue, right? LOL. Tony
ring the bell to >find me I probably don't want to see you anyway. If you are a friend, you >know what to do.
************************************************* I tried the "Do Not Disturb" sign approach. I even tried the "Please Do Not Disturb" approach. Neither worked. I agree with your reasoning, and I had planned to leave the non-working bell as it is, but in the past month, I had appointments with several service men (boiler, furnace repair etc.), and their dispatchers wouldn't give me a definite time for the service calls. All they'd give me was a four-hour window of time when the technicians might show up. I was running to the window every few minutes to see whether they were in the driveway. That doesn't work. By the way, this reminds me of an old photograph of Frank Sinatra. He was standing next to the door mat outside of his front door. Instead of saying "Welcome," the message on his doormat was, "GO AWAY."
his soul; worked three jobs to support eight children and sleeping >in on Sunday morning was one of his few luxuries of life.
whooshing sound and the four sprinkler
forms. We had no trouble with them after that.
************************************************ Thanks for that wonderful story. What a terrific solution to the problem. I'll bet the proselytizers didn't bother anyone else that morning either!
Thanks for your reply. I'm very ignorant about wiring. I'll probably have to hire someone to do that.
use this tho when to>turn it off or on)
Thanks. All those ideas sound good to me.
************************************************* Well, that's a good point. The room I sleep in is far enough away from the door that I think I could sleep through a knocking sound, but I know I couldn't sleep through the bell ringing.
Speaking of lawsuits. . .
next to the ringer unit. It would be even easier
serious electrical risk. .
Thanks for your help. I'll have to get someone to help me with the electrical work.
*************************************************
Thanks for your help. Sorry for my ignorance, but can you tell me what an "X-10 system" is.
It is available at Radio shack and smarthome.com as well as many other places. It sends a signal though your house wiring to control switches and other devices from other places in your home. It can make automation a lot easier than hard wiring would be.
I'd like to see some sort of device that would disable the doorbell for thirty seconds after the button was pressed the first time. I don't know why people think I'll get to the door faster if they ring the bell a dozen times instead of once.
Bob
Nah, You can use any old switch. I would get one from Radio Shack. Just follow the wire from the doorbell. Cut one wire any place along the way and hook in the switch. If necessary hook a piece of wire so you can put the switch somewhere else.
"rck" wrote in news:_givd.9931$ snipped-for-privacy@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net:
If anyone keeps ringing and ringing I won't answer the door because they're prolly some jerks. A wireless bell that you can disconnect is a good idea that someone else wrote about. granjero
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