Testing voltage of doorbell with fan?

[German_John]

Hey,

 

I want to test the voltage my door bell is running at (they either run at 7V or 230V in Germany, from what I've read). I don't have a multimeter. I do have a fan though.

Couldn't I just connect the wire to the plug and see how fast it spins? It's made to take 230V, so that would make it spin regularly, and at 7V it would probably not spin at all.

Is anything fundamentally wrong with that line of thinking?

I'll also try to not electrocute myself.

 

Thanks,

John

 

 

[FlappyBoobs]

Your doorbell will be wired into the mains if it doesn't have a battery, but the circuit that goes to the button will never be full mains power, it will be much lower power for safety reasons usually using a transformer built into the doorbell unit. So a mains wired doorbell will have both 7v and 230v circuits. 

 

What is it that you are trying to do with it that you need to know how much power it uses?

[German_John]

48 minutes ago, FlappyBoobs said:

-snip-

I picked up a replacement bell that plays audio files, and our current one is super annoying. That's why I need to replace the actual bell with it - I can't exchange the button, since we live in a rented flat.

So basically if I take the bell off the wall and there's no battery, the wires will carry mains voltage?

[FlappyBoobs]

25 minutes ago, German_John said:

I picked up a replacement bell that plays audio files, and our current one is super annoying. That's why I need to replace the actual bell with it - I can't exchange the button, since we live in a rented flat.

So basically if I take the bell off the wall and there's no battery, the wires will carry mains voltage?

Most likely yes. But if you are at all unsure then consult someone that can check for you, just to be safe. (a multimeter won't be more than €10 for this sort of job) 

[mariushm]

If you get 230v, it's AC voltage. Is your fan designed to run with AC voltage?

 

You probably have a wallwart adapter, a usb charger, some kind of device that can plug in 230v AC, maybe a lamp... even a regular incandescent or light bulb

Just hold it in your hands (not touching the metal parts) and touch the metal contacts with the wires. If you get light or some voltage from the output of the power adapter, then it's 230v.

Switching power supplies and light bulbs will only light up from around 70v..80v AC.

 

[Hackentosher]

Get a multimeter. It's one of the best investments you can make if you're even remotely interested in electronics. Personally, my new favorite meter is the UNI-T UT210D as it is a compact clamp meter that will measure AC and DC current through the clamp, every other electrical characteristic you could want, and it comes with a thermocouple. At $40 USD, or 35 Euros, it'll save you a lot of headache and perhaps even your life. 

[German_John]

20 hours ago, James Evens said:

Connect the fan. If magic smoke escapes it is 230V.

 

19 hours ago, mariushm said:

If you get 230v, it's AC voltage. Is your fan designed to run with AC voltage?

It's a desk fan, so it has a regular EU wall plug on the end. It should handle 230V without dying.

19 hours ago, mariushm said:

You probably have a wallwart adapter, a usb charger, some kind of device that can plug in 230v AC, maybe a lamp... even a regular incandescent or light bulb

Just hold it in your hands (not touching the metal parts) and touch the metal contacts with the wires. If you get light or some voltage from the output of the power adapter, then it's 230v.

Switching power supplies and light bulbs will only light up from around 70v..80v AC.

 

Since the fan takes mains voltage and it wouldn't break my heart if it died, that's probably the best alternative. Although I do have some 12V PSUs with EU plugs that have indicator LEDs... those shouldn't light up when 7V is connected to the mains plug, right?

14 hours ago, Hackentosher said:

Get a multimeter. It's one of the best investments you can make if you're even remotely interested in electronics. Personally, my new favorite meter is the UNI-T UT210D as it is a compact clamp meter that will measure AC and DC current through the clamp, every other electrical characteristic you could want, and it comes with a thermocouple. At $40 USD, or 35 Euros, it'll save you a lot of headache and perhaps even your life. 

It's more of a "can't be bothered to do this properly" situation I could ask my brother to drop by, he's an electrician. I could also probably borrow a multimeter from work.

 

To be honest, I'm probably gonna use a multimeter. I was more curious if it WOULD work with a fan. And as long as I touch only the rubber part of the plug I also shouldn't get fried

 

[MetEishYa]

On 2/19/2019 at 10:18 AM, German_John said:

 

It's a desk fan, so it has a regular EU wall plug on the end. It should handle 230V without dying.

Since the fan takes mains voltage and it wouldn't break my heart if it died, that's probably the best alternative. Although I do have some 12V PSUs with EU plugs that have indicator LEDs... those shouldn't light up when 7V is connected to the mains plug, right?

It's more of a "can't be bothered to do this properly" situation I could ask my brother to drop by, he's an electrician. I could also probably borrow a multimeter from work.

 

To be honest, I'm probably gonna use a multimeter. I was more curious if it WOULD work with a fan. And as long as I touch only the rubber part of the plug I also shouldn't get fried

 

Easiest is to find the door bell and check the labels on it. It should say what input voltage is required. Turn off power to it first just incase its 230V.