Old Fashioned Door chimes need repair

[yikes]

Hi I have the real hanging chimes for my door bell, but the box that they hang from and that is wired for the sound, no longer works.

I’ve asked a couple of handy people if they can fix it, but I think the knowledge of these is scarce. These are from 1949, when the house was built and I’d like to find someone who can repair them.

Thanks!

Share This

[miws]

yikes, my (non-professional) experience with these is probably 35 years back, but the ones I recall had a little transformer/solenoid type thing, with plungers that would strike the flat bar chimes when energized:

If it’s simply a matter of the plungers being gummed up, and the solenoid “hums” when the doorbell button is pushed, the trick was to lube the plungers with good, old fashioned, lighter fluid:

As I recall, this was actually advised on a little sticker inside the door chime housing.

Mike

Share This

[sacatosh]

You are a treasure trove of information, miws. And I mean that in a good way. Thanks for educating me today – this is interesting, and I never would have known it had you not commented.

Share This

[yikes]

Wow, I will check this out. Thanks!

Share This

[miws]

You’re both very welcome! :-)

This is something I basically learned as a kid. I’ve never had a doorbell in any of the places I’ve lived out on my own in the last 35 years.

Dunno if this was learned through observation, or being taught by someone else, or the more likely scenario of my own tinkering with stuff.

Most likely when nobody else was home. ;-)

Mike

Share This

[Author]

Posts