X10 Community Forum

🔌General Home Automation => Automating Your House => Topic started by: Brian H on March 17, 2011, 04:09:02 PM

Title: How Not To Wire A Garage Door Opener.
Post by: Brian H on March 17, 2011, 04:09:02 PM
Found this on CocoonTech.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XKZUFu97vus
Title: Re: How Not To Wire A Garage Door Opener.
Post by: dave w on March 17, 2011, 04:12:56 PM
Where's the problem?         :'

I'm only kidding...I see the problem, they should have plugged the extension cord into an outlet, not the light socket.  It makes you have go in, flip on the light, then go back to car to open the door.  rofl   rofl

I'm sorry, sometimes I just can not stop myself.
Title: Re: How Not To Wire A Garage Door Opener.
Post by: Brian H on March 17, 2011, 04:20:57 PM
My friend had an even scarier find.

His back porch's lights kept dimming with the slightest loads.
He traced the wring and found it wired with 300 OHM Twinlead for a TV antenna.  ::)  :o
Title: Re: How Not To Wire A Garage Door Opener.
Post by: beelocks on March 17, 2011, 07:25:44 PM
It's always a 'friend' who does this kind of stuff...

A friend of mine (we'll call him Gary, for that is his name) was trying to work out why the electricity on the upper floor of his mother's (Doreen) house had suddenly and mysteriously quit working. The house was in London, England and had been the family home for close to 25 years at the time of the incident. Please remember that standard electricity in my part of the world is single phase 240 volts :)

The entire upper floor, 3 bedrooms, a bathroom and landing, plus the laundry annex (tacked onto the back of the house) with a washer, drier and several sockets on a workbench was connected to an unswitched fused spur in the cupboard under the stairs which in turn had been spurred off the light fixture (without bulb) in that same cupboard.

The problem came to light (no pun intended) when Gary's mother decided to put a light-bulb into the fixture in the cupboard under the stairs and switched the light off.

It turns out that Gary's late father (Tony) was no electrical genius - Although his makeshift set-up had been working faultlessly for at least 3 years following his death from unrelated causes.

Tony (had he been alive at the time) would have argued that the fused spur was a major safety feature. However his argument would have been completely pointless when it was discovered that the standard 13 amp fuse had been replaced with a piece of broken screwdriver.

Names and locations have NOT been changed to protect the innocent. Happy St Pat's Day, Tony - you were a fine Irishman  >!
Title: Re: How Not To Wire A Garage Door Opener.
Post by: HA Dave on March 17, 2011, 08:23:14 PM
Where's the problem? 
I'm only kidding...I see the problem, they should have plugged the extension cord into an outlet, not the light socket.  It makes you have go in, flip on the light, then go back to car to open the door. 

The solution would have been to duct tape the switch up (on). Then the laundry room light could have been turned on/off by unscrewing the bulb a half a turn for off.. and tighten it a half a turn for on. That is how I've always seen it done.

In my house I found a wall board electric heater that had been hardwired to a thermostat and an outlet... all hidden in the wall... using zipcord.