Hi,
I want to replace a plastic DP switch that switches the electric water heater in my house with a brushed stainless switch. The problem is the original switch is stamped 'water heater' - i cannot find any specific labels to apply to the new switch. I want the label to look nice and would prefer individual letters as opposed to a strip. Should i just go to the art store and buy a 'lettraset' or are there any better solutions that some of you may use?
Thanks in advance
GMC wibbled on Monday 16 November 2009 11:10
If you just need a DP switch or switch+neon or switch+fuse (but not all 3) then one option is to use the GET Grid components:
1 20AX DP switch, which has the clip on rockers - and get the rocker marked "Water Heater", use a 1 or 2 way single gang grid plate and use the 2nd way if required to house neon or fuse.eg
GUG20DPW 20AX DP switch module GUG20DPHTW Rocker marked "Heater"
Of course you can get 3 way grid plates, needing a double gang box.
They have a flex outlet, DP switch and neon plate part "GU2014WH" whicg is "DP with flex outlet and neon marked water heater".
I'm using the grid stuff in the kitchen as the rockers can be popped off and moved if the appliances move, which is cute... As I don't need the fuse (it's in the plugtop) I'll be mounting a neon next to each one, with a simple colour code:
Red - on and dangerous, should be turned off when not in use, eg waste muncher in sink
Green - on and should stay on (eg Fridge, though mine will be in an ordinary socket as plug accessible)
Amber - on and may be turned off but doesn't really matter (eg washing machine, cooker hood).
It's nice to give the kitchen a quick scan before bed to make sure all's well..
Anyway, I'm sure other makes do ones marked "Heater" or "Water Heater", otherwise, your letraset idea is probably the easiest - I'd spray some acrylic lacquer over the top though to stop it falling off (model shops).
specific
solutions
Get the stainless steel engraved with the label of your choice at the local 'cups and medals' place. I am fortunate to have my own engraver and have engraved several switches / spurs etc over the years.
AWEM
You could take it along to one of those places that engrave dog tags and the like.
Excellent advice from you all, Tim I like the idea of using the grids - thanks for the detailed response. I think i will go down the route of engraving though as i already have a range of sockets fitted and would like to stick to identical fittings.
Brother "P-Touch" labeller with transparent tape??
Dead useful gizmo and not expensive.
I actually have one of those labellers, however you would still see the clear portion of the label in certain lights so not ideal for my purpose. Cheers though!
Engrave letters in the frontplate, paint fill.
An excuse to buy yourself a CNC router, or else go to somewhere that already has such a thing (even an old pantograph machine). Many of the better high-street cobblers will have this, especially if they do key tags, trophys, switch labels already.
It may be easier if you use a "no visible screws" switch with an easily removable and flat faceplate.
The print fades over time. And switches have a long life.
Not on the laminated TZ tapes - they seem to last pretty well.
Thought the P touch were all thermo types?
Sort of, but there are two types - the M tapes are basically thermal transfer with no additional protection. These are not that resilient. The TZ tapes are two layered with a clear over layer that protects the printed bit. The printing itself is also more resilient and not limited to black with blue, gold, red etc being available.
Interesting. Can you use the TZ tapes in an 'ordinary' P Touch machine? I'm happy with mine - apart from the print fading. Which is only sometimes.
Agreed. I used the TZ stuff for a nameplate on my mailbox, which is subjected to the fierce weather of the north coast of Scotland. It's been there for years, and the print shows no sign of fading.
The difficulty is they seem to (or at least used to) call both types of machine "P Touch" with a subtitle of M Touch for the baby machines - and yet they cartridges are physically incompatible.
M Tapes look like:
We have used them on things like the kids lunch boxes - they go through the dishwasher and come out ok as well.
John Rumm wibbled on Tuesday 17 November 2009 15:12
These machines look very attractive for all the labelling I have to do...
Are there any quality differences in the machines, or if I find the cheapest that does tape width bah/blah/blah and has or not has a PC interface am I making a safe choice? (Assume all my choices revolve around TZ tape machines).
John Rumm wibbled on Tuesday 17 November 2009 15:14
I made the mistake of buying a Dymo machine last time. The tapes aren't bad, but they're nowhere near that robust by the sound of it (tape will fall off after a few dishwasher cycles, or even one if unlucky).
The machines vary in terms of the width of tape they will print (some may do say upto 4 lines on a 24mm tape, while others may only take up to
12mm. The posher machines have wider character and symbol sets. Some can do fancy borders, or print calendars out in strips, or barcodes etc. Most will remember a certain amount of text; but how much varies, some have qwerty keyboards etc. I went for the cheapest that would do wide labels and had a qwerty keyboard. PT 350 IIRC - not a current model though.
Mainly the width of tape they can take. These days I'd look for one that appears as a printer to a PC. I have a PT7200 and although it does lots of clever things layout and editing variable pitch fonts on a 2 x something fixed pitch display is not a pleasant experience. It's also limited on manual layout options. Even if some of the preset ones do what you want I haven't found away of recreating similar things manually.
I would hope a "PC printer" type would offer WYSIWYG and be a lot friendlier to use.
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