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anon199
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anon199

Anon

Any idea what this might be?

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It is on the wall in the kitchen of a 1950's house. The other side of the wall is finished so I can not see where the wiring goes. It is warm to the touch but there is no light coming from it.
adam9c1
join:2014-05-01
USA

adam9c1

Member

Here are my guesses:

- Remote bell for the front door
- Remote humidity sensor
- Remote bell for the landline telephone
TheMG
Premium Member
join:2007-09-04
Canada

TheMG to anon199

Premium Member

to anon199
There could be some more clues if you take a look behind the device (unscrew the wall plate cover).

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy to anon199

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to anon199
I'd cut power to the whole house then pull the screws and see what's behind the hood.

I say cut power because it could be line voltage lurking back there.

Have a buddy ring the doorbell and see if any noise comes from it. Looks most likely to be a doorbell. The plate looks exactly like the wallplates on the outlets/switches in my previous residence in Iowa built in 1949.
Mr Matt
join:2008-01-29
Eustis, FL

3 recommendations

Mr Matt to anon199

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to anon199
said by anon199 :

It is warm to the touch but there is no light coming from it.

It is a despard pilot light with burned out bulb. Probably used to indicate lights were left on out of view of the switch like the basement or garage. Cap unscrews revealing incandescent bulb.

Here is one for sale on ebay:
»www.ebay.com/itm/like/26 ··· vSB=true
contsole
Premium Member
join:2003-12-30
Newington, CT

contsole to anon199

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to anon199
I've only seen these in doctors' offices. They were used either to indicate that the lights were on behind a closed door, or to indicate who's next.

tschmidt
MVM
join:2000-11-12
Milford, NH
·Consolidated Com..
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tschmidt to Mr Matt

MVM

to Mr Matt
said by Mr Matt:

It is a despard pilot light

Agree it is most probably a pilot light, however hard to understand why it is warm if the bulb is burned out.

Next step for the OP is to open it up and see what is behind the cover. As IowaCowboy See Profile posted whatever it is it is probably line voltage powered so take care playing with it.

/tom

SparkChaser
Premium Member
join:2000-06-06
Downingtown, PA

SparkChaser to anon199

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to anon199
I always remember them being neons. Got to open that so we can see
keno5net
join:2002-01-05
Milwaukee, WI

keno5net to anon199

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to anon199
If it is a neon the inside of the glass could be blackened to the point of being opaque from age.

printscreen
join:2003-11-01
Juana Diaz, PR

printscreen

Member

said by keno5net:

If it is a neon the inside of the glass could be blackened to the point of being opaque from age.

How long would that be? There are three switches at home that are older than 50 years and have lighted neon lights inside when the switch is off. They still glow.
keno5net
join:2002-01-05
Milwaukee, WI

keno5net

Member

I'm not sure. I have seen some neon lamps that get black inside like the ends of florescent lamps. Possibly cheap or leaky ones. The other way it could be off and still warm is if it is a transformer lamp socket.

SparkChaser
Premium Member
join:2000-06-06
Downingtown, PA

SparkChaser

Premium Member

said by keno5net:

The other way it could be off and still warm is if it is a transformer lamp socket.

That's what I was thinking. It might be an incandescent with a transformer giving off a little heat.
TheMG
Premium Member
join:2007-09-04
Canada
MikroTik RB450G
Cisco DPC3008
Cisco SPA112

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TheMG to keno5net

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to keno5net
said by keno5net:

I'm not sure. I have seen some neon lamps that get black inside like the ends of florescent lamps. Possibly cheap or leaky ones.

There are a few failure modes for neon bulbs.

1) Depletion of the neon gas by ion implantation. As the high voltage electrical field flows through the lamp, some neon atoms are "implanted" into the surfaces inside the tube, to put it simply. As the neon gas slowly depletes, the voltage required to keep it lit increases, the bulb start flickering and eventually will not light at al.

2) Over time, metal is slowly emitted from the electrodes and deposited on the inside of the glass, eventually rendering the bulb opaque.

3) Air leaking into the bulb (not a normal failure mode, usually the result of poor manufacturing, defects, or rough handling of the pins).

anon199
@rr.com

anon199 to Mr Matt

Anon

to Mr Matt
Mr Matt wins the chicken dinner. It is indeed an incandescent pilot lamp that comes on when the basement light is on. And it still works! The reason it was warm is that we turned off the light before we moved into the kitchen. We were touring a vacant house that is for sale. Never would have figured it out without the hint. Thanks all.