I poked around and found huge list of X10 items that are discontinued.
Locally, the building inspectors are mostly failed independent contractors, job creation beneficiaries, or amateur attorneys. While many are amazingly competent, most have an agenda and a retaliatory attitude. I've learned from experience not to mess with them as they are quite capable of turning a minor remodel into a very expensive house reconstruction project.
Personally, I would not like to see them at all.
Full disclosure: I actually built the string and wall switch trick when I was about 10 years old. That included drilling a hole in the Bakelite lever. The light switch to my room was mislocated opposite the doorway due to a remodel. After watching a few horror movies at the theater, I was afraid of the dark and wanted the switch moved to closer to the door. Rewiring wasn't possible, so I contrived the string trick. The initial problem was that I only used one string, which only worked to turn on the light. My father was suitably impressed and fabricated some eye hooks with 6-32 threads. He also supplied a proper ladder as he suspected that piling two chairs on top of my bed was not a stable arrangement. I vaguely recall it lasted for about a year before the string broke. Note that the 1950's wall switches required far more force to actuate than todays switches. I used stronger "box string", not kite string. I didn't know about
3-way switches until I was much older. Since there was nothing structural or electrical involved, the arrangement would probably pass a code inspection.-- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
I just noticed that I have several motion detector wall switches on the shelf. Their maximum ratings are identical to the above Z-Wave switch. I suspect that this may be a standard rating for triac controlled electrical switches. The incandescent rating is probably limited by the filament inrush current. The 15A (1800 watts) by the code limit for a wall switch electrical circuit. No clue on the 1/2 HP motor. As I previously mumbled, if you need more switching capability, I suggest using a contactor (relay).
I just realized why you crossposted to both sci.electronics.design and sci.electronics.repair. If take the advice of those in design, and it doesn't work, the readers of repair can be expected to fix the damage. I'm not sure if that actually works, but it's worth trying.
-- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
One trick I learned when I went to get the permit to plumb 100 feet of
2.5" gas line to my pool heater... I played dumb and had the guy at the permit counter draw up how I should do it :-) ...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson | mens |
| Analog Innovations | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| San Tan Valley, AZ 85142 Skype: Contacts Only | |
| Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |
I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.
I've found that that strategy ("How do you want this done?") works, but can be expensive. I built a garage, many moons ago. The inspector made me put an 8" H-beam across the front, a steel-fire door with a steel frame, and sheetrock the entire interior. He added over a grand (>10%) to the cost of the project.
My situation wasn't that risky... I just wanted to make sure I used the right fittings, etc. Turned out there _was_ a weird (to me) way they wanted (what I thought to be Reub Goldberg) at the meter. ...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson | mens |
| Analog Innovations | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| San Tan Valley, AZ 85142 Skype: Contacts Only | |
| Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |
I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.
Chuckle, chuckle. Mikek :-)
PS. All I'm switching is a 22 watt CFL. One light (only) on the circuit. The olden days 100 Watt. Now 22 watt.
I have a difficult time being serious since I've been doing everything EXCEPT electronics for that past 3 weeks. For your amusement: I'm getting too old for such things.
That's in eco-watts, where the power consumption, phase angle, and luminous output are somehow related to carbon credits and promotional advertising budget.
The problem with CFL lamps is that the power factor on most (not all) is about 0.5. That means your 22 watt CFL bulb is actually consuming
44 VA. Your wiring isn't going to overheat if you max out the rated wattage with: 1500 watts / 22 watts = 68 CFL lamps but the peak current will greatly exeed the current rating of the light switch. With a PF of 0.5, you're stuck with only 34 CFL 22 watt lamps. If you have a Kill-a-Watt meter (about $28), you can measure the PF, watts, VA, and operating costs directly.I have an EcoSmart 150 watt (42 eco-watts) CFL bulb hanging in the shop controlled by a motion detector wall switch that probably uses a triac. The maximum ratings are identical to your proposed 3-way electronic switch. It's been running for about 1.5 years and has so far failed to blow the circuit breaker, incinerate the switch, or burn the house to the ground. Please note that this is a rather substantial endoresement as most devices do not survive very long when I'm involved.
As long as you don't try to switch more than 34 CFL 22 watt lights, the switch should work.
-- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
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