Attn: Engineers- Best Way to Create 120V Alarm for Outages?

grumpy wrote: Don't mess with the mains,

Very good advice. I would never try, but, ya know, some people understand electricity more than others. I have an electrician friend that I hire on occasion to do stuff that I deem a tiny bit risky or I just don't have time to do. I've seen him do things live....but other times he simply will not. He knows more, understands more deeply.... if the humidity is too high, or if he's not wearing his favorite socks & boots, he won't go near. But other days, other situations, he'll be on a fiberglass ladder, or his boots are new.... I don't know...but HE does... and when things are right he KNOWS he is safe to fiddle with live wires. Geepers, me, I test with a meter, then after I know it's dead I'll touch the wires to each other just to be sure. I can remember once when sparks flew!

Finished my Buzz Bulb system today ... and I'm still breathing. I put on the wife's dish gloves, then my old rubber-dipped work gloves over those, seeing that I was basically standing in water ...

I used some light gauge wire. It's solid copper - got it from my garage door installation I did a few years ago - supposed to go to the sensors .. but I taped those up facing each other and stuffed them up on top of the opener. I like to sneak out the door while it's coming down, and those things would have drove me nuts.

But anyway, I should've put a fuse inline in thinking about it. I ran all the wires so they don't touch anything, except for the one that's live all the time - that one is touching a thin ground wire inside the panel. I'd rather have it melt through that in a worst case scenario anyway. I've got a bunch of automotive fuses, so I'll probably wire one in next time the power goes out ... which should be soon.

I will say ... it's more of a ear-shredding SHRIEK, than a BUZZ. I expected something that sounded like the fire alarms at my elementary school when I was a kid. It's loud, so it'll be very obvious when power is restored. Mission accomplished.

SMitty, you maniac Thats awesome partner!!

Thanks man!

Where there's a will, there's a way ... I always say!

normally when the power company sees that their tag has been cut, they call for an inspection. so be carefull there. when I cut tags to pull a meter, ill try and pull as much of the metal lock out of the tag, then snip it so I can bend it and put it back together and nobody knows. while you have the line side of the service down, clean up those terms and re de ox them if its alum wire.

SMITTY wrote: I put on the wife's dish gloves, then my old rubber-dipped work gloves over those, seeing that I was basically standing in water ...

Just stand on a fiberglass step ladder when doing the work, and don't let any body parts touch and metal, or the floor

AA130FIREMAN wrote:

SMITTY wrote: I put on the wife's dish gloves, then my old rubber-dipped work gloves over those, seeing that I was basically standing in water ...

Just stand on a fiberglass step ladder when doing the work, and don't let any body parts touch and metal, or the floor

I think linemen use heavy leather gloves when handling live wires, I'll have to check that thou..

Edit to add, only part of a system... http://www.professionalequipment.com/guide-to-ele ... /articles/

Alternative method of getting signaled when utility power is restored is to connect a bell transformer across the incoming mains...fused and switched appropriately of course.

Bell transformers are designed to be mounted into a 1/2" panel/box knock-out, leaving the low voltage leads exit thru same.
The low voltage 24 volts AC can be safely run to various lights, buzzers and bells to give you notification of restored power.