Easy door bell question

[mazzawa]

Hi everyone,

Really simple question here from an electrics novice. I am trying to replace the original doorbell in our house (the ones that sit flush into the stone), that will be connected to a bell in the hall, which is powered by a transformer located at the fuse board a couple of rooms away. I have the kit, and a long reel of twin core bell wire. How do I do this?!

Firstly, i believe i need to make a connection from bell -> transformer, bell->button and button-> transformer. As I have twin core, do I just run the cable to the front porch from the transformer, and then split it down the middle and feed one to the bell, and one to the button? And do I then split another length of wire into one core and use that between the bell and button? I think this two core thing is throwing me...

Electrician is getting it wired to the circuit but not for a few weeks, in the meantime I have the plasterer here for another job in a few days so want him to make good the walls where I've had to cut a channel...otherwise id leave this to someone else to do!

Thanks in advance - thank god I'm not an electrician!

Mazz

 

[Chri5]

Search for bell wire, it's cheap and small. Available in white, grey and sometimes clear.

That is all you need to have between transformer and bell, and bell and button.

Most of us have a hand cable tacker, which fires cable tacks in to wood or soft plaster. Your choice is to hire one, borrow one, hand tack with small plastic clips (cleats) or run the cable under floor voids (up to first floor, down to door at front first floor room or down, under ground floor, back up at door).

I'd suggest you get the bell push so you can size up any space required behind it for terminals, or the fitting itself if recessed.

The cable is small enough to paint in, tacking is visually much better than clips.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Run one length of 2-core bell wire from the button to the bell location
Another length of bell wire from the bell location to the transformer.

Your electrician can do the rest.

Don't understand what you mean by

split it down the middle

 

[TonyW2]

Interesting and well considered theoretical idea to split the twin wire cable in the middle (and then cut one of the pair), but the normal way would be to use a choc bloc connector to connect one of the pair of wires from the pair in the cable section leading from the transformer to the bell-push, to one of the pair leading on to the bell/buzzer.

 

[HERTS P&D]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV0lKD3KPsc

Andy

 

[Lectrician]

You need to stop imagining the circuit as a 'loop' connected one thing to the next. This 'loop' can be created keeping the two cores together.

You can run a twin bell wire from the push to the transformer and then the transformer to the bell. This is all that is required.

If it is an easier or shorter run, you could also run the bell wire from the push to the bell, and then the bell to the transformer.

Take a look at this pic I have just thrown together and follow the circuit 'loop'.

 

[mazzawa]

Thank you all for your help! Looks like I was over complicating things! The diagram is excellent, exactly the 'doorbells for dummies' thing I'd been scouring the net for!

M

 

[Lectrician]

Apart from the fact the transformer is upside down

 

[OwainDIYer]

That'll be the extra loud on 7 kV doorbell wiring ...