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  1. #1
    Paul Friesen's Avatar
    Paul Friesen Guest

    Default What is this button for?

    I found this button in a crawlspace (1975 house) the other day and wasn't able to trace the wires to its destination. It had a 12 gauge wire wire running to it and from it was armoured BX so I assumed it was a fan of some sort but never saw one. Any idea?
    Thanks,

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  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
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    Knoxville, TN
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    2,560

    Default Re: What is this button for?

    Was it hot? Did you happen to take off the cover to see if it was just a junction box?


  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
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    Memphis TN.
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    4,311

    Default Re: What is this button for?

    Hi Paul,

    Whatever it needs to go as Lamp cord is not allowed .

    It Might have Choked Artie But it ain't gone'a choke Stymie! Our Gang " The Pooch " (1932)
    Billy J. Stephens HI Service Memphis TN.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
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    Southern Vancouver Island
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    4,607

    Default Re: What is this button for?

    Someday pulled a j-box cover out of his junk box.

    Next question?

    John Kogel, RHI, BC HI Lic #47455
    www.allsafehome.ca

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Maryland
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    2,809

    Default Re: What is this button for?

    PANIC BUTTON for the claustrophobic


  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
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    Spring Hill (Nashville), TN
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    5,851

    Default Re: What is this button for?

    It begs the question: Did you mash the button?

    Scott Patterson, ACI
    Spring Hill, TN
    www.traceinspections.com

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
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    Fletcher, NC
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    28,032

    Default Re: What is this button for?

    Room service?

    Jerry Peck
    Construction/Litigation/Code Consultant - Retired
    www.AskCodeMan.com

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
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    Spring City/Surrounding Philadelphia area
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    3,509

    Default Re: What is this button for?

    Who doesn't put their garage door opener button in their crawlspace?

    "It takes a big man to cry. It takes an even bigger man to laugh at that man". - Jack Handey

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
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    Maryland
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    Default Re: What is this button for?

    Quote Originally Posted by Nick Ostrowski View Post
    Who doesn't put their garage door opener button in their crawlspace?
    Now that makes more sense........................... The Bat Cave


    Leaving the Batcave - YouTube

    or

    Entering The Batcave - YouTube


  10. #10
    Loren Sanders Sr.'s Avatar
    Loren Sanders Sr. Guest

    Default Re: What is this button for?

    Quote Originally Posted by Garry Sorrells View Post
    Now that makes more sense........................... The Bat Cave


    Leaving the Batcave - YouTube

    or

    Entering The Batcave - YouTube
    Why don't we emphasize the importance of labeling switches, particularly when they are in an unusual location? I am not an Electrician but sometimes we have a tendency to assume everyone else knows what a specialist knows... not so.


  11. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    New Westminster BC
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    55

    Default Re: What is this button for?

    1. If, as Paul says, it's 12 gauge then it's not lamp cord.
    2. Hard to say without seeing it, but the button-like centre on the plate looks more like a plastic knockout for low-voltage wiring such as a hard-wired phone or speaker than a functioning button. If the hole is not knocked out then it's simply a blank plate. My guess is that the photo is simply of a junction box, nothing more complicted.

    Quote Originally Posted by Billy Stephens View Post
    Hi Paul,

    Whatever it needs to go as Lamp cord is not allowed .



  12. #12
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
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    Maryland, DC, and Northern Virginia, electrical only
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    444

    Default Re: What is this button for?

    Quote Originally Posted by Frank Norman View Post
    My guess is that the photo is simply of a junction box, nothing more complicted.
    It ain't the worst sin going, but whatever the cover is, its configuration is that of a flush cover, not a surface cover. So what? Well, it might not mate properly with a utility box--and if what's under it isn't a utility box but a gem/sectional switch box, that too is not designed for stable surface mounting.


  13. #13
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
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    New Westminster BC
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    Default Re: What is this button for?

    Quote Originally Posted by david shapiro View Post
    It ain't the worst sin going, but whatever the cover is, its configuration is that of a flush cover, not a surface cover. So what? Well, it might not mate properly with a utility box--and if what's under it isn't a utility box but a gem/sectional switch box, that too is not designed for stable surface mounting.
    Agree that a metal cover plate with rolled over edges would be the right type to use and suggest an electrician's work rather than handyman's, but am not convinced that mating properly would be an issue with the plastic cover given that a utility box isn't air-tight anyway. I don't know about issues with a gem/sectional switch box as I never heard of them before here (maybe it's different terminology used in different places). Searched for gem/sectional switch box and the only relevant hit was "GEM" Sectional Switch Box--Patented April 2, 1907, March 1, 1910, February 13, 1912. Type "F" 2 1/4" Deep, beveled corners, knock-outs for loom, approved by the underwriters, takes all makes of switches and receptacles. Chicago Fuse Mfg. Co. sole manufacturers, Chicago, New York. There was a picture of the package but not the box. I believe that knock-outs for loom would be for the woven sleeves used with knob and tube wiring.
    img41.gif
    Please dispel my ignorance and tell me what a gem sectional switch box is post-K&T.


  14. #14
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
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    Default Re: What is this button for?

    Quote Originally Posted by Frank Norman View Post
    Please dispel my ignorance and tell me what a gem sectional switch box is post-K&T.
    It's the standard metal box used in residential walls other than square boxes when working with metal cables, or sometimes with NM. "Sectional" because you can remove a wall to make a 2-gang, 3-gang etc box. Gem is the slang alternative.


  15. #15
    Mbrooke's Avatar
    Mbrooke Guest

    Default Re: What is this button for?

    Is this near a furnace? A heat sensor perhaps? No clue myself but that would be my bet.


  16. #16
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
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    Bennett (Denver metro), Colorado
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    Default Re: What is this button for?

    For some reason, I just thought of the button that had to be pressed regularly on that old TV show, "Lost".

    For God's Sake, whatever you do........DON'T PRESS THAT BUTTON!

    If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

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