I need some electrical advice (120V mains + USB stuff)

[Xanthe_2871]

My hard wired fire alarm stopped working recently. When the landlord went to buy another he could not find one that wasn't battery powered, so he's replaced it with a battery unit and now we have wires hanging out of the ceiling. I've gotten his permission to install a Google Home there, since it would be nice to have one in that stairway. I want something cheap and safe. I see two options, and need your help to decide. Here is a photo:

 

 

 

As you can see there is an electric box there, and a power clipy thing. My first thought, if it's possible, would be some sort of adapter made just for this type of retrofit which goes on that clip and gives you a standard 120V single outlet, or even better, a 5V USB outlet. I don't know if this is even a thing.

 

My second thought is removing the plate and clip altogether, and using this like any other electric box to install a single outlet, then using a small USB power brick. This would be bulky and less elegant, it might not even fit inside the box, but if someone here can't point me at a solution that uses the clip then I don't see that I have much of a choice. 

 

For my first idea, does anything like this exist?

 

(please excuse the mess, I don't have Photoshop on this computer.)

 

Some sort of retrofit adapter?

 

For my second idea, I'd just rewire a single outlet like this:

Then use a standard USB wall adapter. But this might not fit in that box.

 

I'd really appreciate some feedback! Thanks!

[Master Disaster]

Well the very first thing you need to do is establish exactly what you're dealing with. This will require at minimum a multimeter but honestly, unless you know exactly what you're doing I'd never recommend a novice mess with AC power.

 

If you're comfortable then you would need to test the wires to find out if it's AC or DC power. Those wires look kind of thin for AC but maybe that's because here in England we use 240v so our wires are thicker? The chances are it will be AC but you need to be sure, again you can normally tell by wire colour but UK wires might be different to your countries and when dealing with electricity never make assumptions.

 

Once you're sure then probably the easiest way is the wire up a power outlet. We can get ones that have USB ports built right into them like this

Something like this would kill 2 birds with 1 stone and would make wiring up a Google home really easy.

 

Please just remember, safety safety safety. If you're unsure at all about anything hire a professional to come out.

 

Good luck.

[it_dont_work]

Short answer maybe, long answer check the building codes, most countries smoke detectors need to be on a seperate circuit for safety, last thing you want is a crappy usb fitting knocking out the power for the smoke detectors (I know batteries but they're fallible) 

 

Other answer, might be D/C, but at least in Australia, I haven't seen a building fitted dc smoke detector in a long fucking time 

[Xanthe_2871]

2 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

Well the very first thing you need to do is establish exactly what you're dealing with. This will require at minimum a multimeter but honestly, unless you know exactly what you're doing I'd never recommend a novice mess with AC power.

 

If you're comfortable then you would need to test the wires to find out if it's AC or DC power. Those wires look kind of thin for AC but maybe that's because here in England we use 240v so our wires are thicker? The chances are it will be AC but you need to be sure, again you can normally tell by wire colour but UK wires might be different to your countries and when dealing with electricity never make assumptions.

 

Once you're sure then probably the easiest way is the wire up a power outlet. We can get ones that have USB ports built right into them like this

Something like this would kill 2 birds with 1 stone and would make wiring up a Google home really easy.

 

Please just remember, safety safety safety. If you're unsure at all about anything hire a professional to come out.

 

Good luck.

I'm 99% sure it's AC. The wiring on those caps is AC for sure. It's possible under the plate there is a DC adapter, but I don't think so.

 

I have worked with 120V AC before, but I've never wired an outlet. I know how to, on paper. And I've done a light switch before. I can handle it.

 

I didn't even consider that! A USB + standard outlet might be perfect!

[Xanthe_2871]

2 minutes ago, it_dont_work said:

Short answer maybe, long answer check the building codes, most countries smoke detectors need to be on a seperate circuit for safety, last thing you want is a crappy usb fitting knocking out the power for the smoke detectors (I know batteries but they're fallible) 

 

Other answer, might be D/C, but at least in Australia, I haven't seen a building fitted dc smoke detector in a long fucking time 

I'm pretty sure that wire hanging out is AC. It does have 3 wires, and I know those mains caps are AC.

 

This may or may not be it's own circuit, but is the only fire alarm in the house. Or it was, since now we're using a battery powered unit. 

[Master Disaster]

1 minute ago, Xanthe_2871 said:

I'm 99% sure it's AC. The wiring on those caps is AC for sure. It's possible under the plate there is a DC adapter, but I don't think so.

 

I have worked with 120V AC before, but I've never wired an outlet. I know how to, on paper. And I've done a light switch before. I can handle it.

 

I didn't even consider that! A USB + standard outlet might be perfect!

As mentioned above, at least consult a qualified electrician and run it by them  before proceeding as what It_Dont_Work said is relevant. Smoke alarms tend to run on separate loops for safety and you don't want to jeopardise your smoke alarms.

[Xanthe_2871]

@Master Disaster This could work, right?

 

https://www.amazon.com/Seckatech-Charger-Outlet-Charging-Receptacle/dp/B01L02GQGS/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&qid=1546337104&sr=8-19&keywords=usb+wall+outlet

[Xanthe_2871]

Just now, Master Disaster said:

As mentioned above, at least consult a qualified electrician and run it by them  before proceeding as what It_Dont_Work said is relevant. Smoke alarms tend to run on separate loops for safety and you don't want to jeopardise your smoke alarms.

This is the only one. If there is anything else on this circuit it's another room maybe. I'll know when I turn it off in the breaker. 

[Unimportant]

21 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

As mentioned above, at least consult a qualified electrician and run it by them  before proceeding as what It_Dont_Work said is relevant. Smoke alarms tend to run on separate loops for safety and you don't want to jeopardise your smoke alarms.

I agree he needs to check if it's really 120VAC first, but it does not take too much of a stretch of the imagination that there would exist smoke detectors with a rechargeable battery and a plain mains connection to keep it topped up.

[Master Disaster]

28 minutes ago, Xanthe_2871 said:

@Master Disaster This could work, right?

 

https://www.amazon.com/Seckatech-Charger-Outlet-Charging-Receptacle/dp/B01L02GQGS/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&qid=1546337104&sr=8-19&keywords=usb+wall+outlet

Yeah, that looks fine to me (note I am not an electrician)

[Xanthe_2871]

@Master Disaster @Unimportant @it_dont_work

 

I've verified it's AC. It's a standard electrical box just mounted in the ceiling. I have a game plan now, and I'll update this thread in a week or so when I have everything assembled. It will by up to code, but might not be kept when I move later this year. We'll see. But this will be fun, and inexpensive, so I'll do it anyways to expand my own experience. A little pet project.

[Hackentosher]

You could take apart a phone charger, wire the mains directly to the AC in, and then plug in the google home to the output. I did something very similar for a final project in my engineering class this semester. Works like a charm, just make sure you insulate everything.

[Xanthe_2871]

7 hours ago, Hackentosher said:

You could take apart a phone charger, wire the mains directly to the AC in, and then plug in the google home to the output. I did something very similar for a final project in my engineering class this semester. Works like a charm, just make sure you insulate everything.

I thought about that, but I doubt it's up to code. 

[JRzoid]

Why you measure lol...seen shit color coded absolutely ass wrong lol....we'll say green should be neutral and play with white and black lol....anything LV should be blue or orange or something lol

 

It's Something that has to be Done Right...if it's half assesd it will show it in the long run..I know enough of it to know....

[Xanthe_2871]

@Master Disaster @it_dont_work @Unimportant @Hackentosher @JRzoid

 

It works! Looks pretty good, I think.