I recently was searching for fire alarms on eBay and had decided to use my first pull station as a light switch. I knew that I would have to wire it so that I would have to key reset it to turn off the light or get a relay to do the opposite. I understand that most pull stations are 4-wire, and that since I have a 2-wire light switch I would only use 2 wires to turn on and off the light. Anyway, I was searching on eBay and came across many pull stations. Shipping prices were killing me. Many things were cheap except for the shipping prices. I was not willing to spend over $18.00. I soon came across a Mirtone 73303U pull station. (I will put a link at the end) This pull station was for $12.00 and shipping was FREE! The overall price was the best I had come across all day. And to add on, it was not an auction, so I can buy any time I want as long as there are still some left, there are over 50 of them in stock, the seller has a 5-star rating, and the pull station does not have to be key reset. I watched a youtube video of it. To reset it, simply push it back up into its normal position where it will clip back into place. It is a button pull station. Tell me if it is a good idea to power a 60-watt light bulb and potentially a ceiling fan through a pull station. Also, is this a good first pull station?
This is potentially a very dangerous plan. Fire alarm systems operate on low voltage at 24VDC, and ‘wall current’ is usually around 120VAC. Many fire alarm pulls have switches only rated at 30VDC, which would make it a definite ‘no’. Those that go up to 120V are usually only rated at around 3 amps or so. You could easily go over the contact rating on the switch, especially with the ceiling fan. Plus, it involves rewiring actual components of your house’s electrical system, a dangerous attempt if you do not know exactly what you are doing. Personally, I would give a ‘no’ to this plan, but if someone here with experience wants to help you, then more power to you.
Aside from the issues mentioned above, there is one other issue that pales in comparison, however, I think it should be mentioned. That particular pull station is a real pain in the ass to reset. It doesn’t simply snap back up, it takes a screwdriver and a lot of patience. So even if you were somehow able to get it wired properly, I think you would still end up frustrated and disappointed.
This exact thought process is why my cousin didn’t have a house for 2 months. One power surge then zap started a fire. 750k in damages.
What, using a pull station as a light switch?
I’m 6 months into fire alarms and still don’t have a fire alarm control panel so I thought I might as well have fun before I got one by using a pull station as a light switch because it’s the most basic (yet maybe not the smartest) idea I could think of.
I take all your replies in as a “no” for using it as a light switch. I thank you for your time. I guess I’ll get a FACP for Christmas and still order the pull station but use it as intended and set up a mini fire alarm system like I’ve been planning to do for the past 6 months that I’ve been interested in fire alarms.
In theory, you could use a conventional pull station as a light switch. Even one where the contacts are only rated for 3 amps - using a little math plus the 20% rule, you could push 288 watts though the pull station. For the motor, you would have to see what the horsepower ratings of the switch are. Break it down, it is a simple switch. As long as you stay within the ratings you should be fine. HOWEVER, in a practical sense, this wouldn’t be a good idea. Three things:
1.) Trying to use the pull station as a way of turning a light on/off would eventually be a hassle if not for you, but for anyone else walking into the room trying to turn the light on. I know of no unmodified pull stations that don’t lock into the alarm state without having to use some type of key or tool to reset them.
2.) A standard light switch is designed and engineered for turning a load on/off several times a day. The switch in a pull station is really not designed for nor intended for that amount of work.
3.) What you are proposing would be violating NEC standards and probably some local codes and standards. And heaven forbid, something does go wrong and a fire occurs, your insurance company can void your homeowners policy and not pay out a dime for that unlicensed and non-compliant work.
If I were you, maybe work on modifying a pull station as a light switch cover. Something along the lines of opening it up and flipping the standard wall switch on and off. It may not be as fun as you intended, but at least gives you a safer conservation piece!
Welcome to the board! I see your in Meridian(A lot of nice schools in there, i live in Ontario)
Its been talked about here when i think Nathan wanted to do it with a lamp. Its just a bad idea
Who’s Nathan? Also, I go to Lake Hazel Middle. It is mostly a Simplex System. The school was made to handle 1,000 students, but there are 1,492 students. I see some old notification appliances since the construction was finished in 1979.
He was a user who used to be on here.
If it’s from the '70s, does it still have the original 420x panel or was it replaced by a 40xx or 4100x?
I don’t know. It’s in a service room somewhere in the school. There are 10 portables. (I told you the school was overcrowded. Without the portables, it could only support 825 students.) The only visible fire alarm control panels in the entire school are the ones in the portables just built in 2013. Each one has two rooms, one FACP per portable. These 4 new portables have Fire-Lite BG-12 pull stations in both rooms, System Sensor horm/strobes in both rooms and on the outside of the buildings, and Honeywell Fire-Lite MS-5UD-3 FACPs. The other portables I looked up on google earth and set the map as far back as it would go, to 1992. The older 6 portables were still there. I have 2ⁿᵈ period in one of them. They have Simplex 4251-20 T-Bar pulls and a 1970’s - 1980’s Simplex 4903-???. I was there when a fire alarm happened. If I heard right, the horn was continuous. The hall of the school has Simplex 4251-20 T-Bar pull stations and Simplex 4051 horns. That is all I have that I can tell you but I can be sure the School’s MAIN panel is in a service room somewhere. There are about 17 service rooms in the school. I don’t know the model because I couldn’t even peek in a service room because they are all locked. The main, and I think only, FAA in the school is in plain sight in the hallway, I don’t know the model number for it. The model number is hidden.
EVERYONE PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS THREAD IS GETTING OFF TOPIC. Thank You.
Let me quote a reply to a comment I received on YouTube:
If you use a pull station as a light switch, it will (likely)
CATCH FIRE AND BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN
I think the other people in this topic have answered the question already but I agree with them that this is a bad idea.
BURN HIS HOUSE DOWN! He says what we’re all thinking!
mad props if you get this reference
But yeah, bad idea. I agree with Lambda’s idea.
An old FCI MS-6 or Notifier BG-8 would be perfect. Modify the lock so it would open at will and put in a small magnetic catch to keep it closed?
Still not the point. I’m not a tech but from my common sense, I’m pretty damn sure this kid might not have a house if he does this. Not to mention some pretty pissed off parents.
If done right you could do it safely, many early FACP’s were 120volts.
I’d probably use an isolation relay just so it handles opening/closing so often. If you aren’t an electrician though, don’t mess with it. The liability is just too high.
I probably should clarify, I was referring to modifying the pull station to use as a light switch cover, NOT a switch to switch a load on or off. I agree with you on that, not a good idea for reasons I stated in a prior post. The point of a light switch cover is that it’s a fairly safe modification that wouldn’t involve altering the wiring of the 120v circuit. You could even place a foam gasket between to add an extra layer of safety.
I am now using my Silent Knight SP-SATK pull station as a light switch in my room and am sure I am not overloading the switch. I have a 15W fluorescent bulb in the light and since Volts X Amps = Watts and the light switch puts out 120V AC I divided 15 by 120 = <1 Amp. The pull station says “Switch rating: 1 amp@ 30VDC or 125VAC” so I know that I am within this limit of the switch rating and it is safe. I also connected the ground wire to the pull station back.
By doing so, you have probally violated all UL and Electrical codes…