Door bell wiring question

[Terry]

So my son Taylor is making changes to his door bell, and here are his pictures.

This looks to be the chimes.

Maybe this is the transformer?

He's wondering which one is his transformer as he's wants to install a smart door bell.

 

[Jadnashua]

From the color of the wire, you'd want to verify that that two red wires are coming from the existing doorbell. There are a few things that can use a 24vac transformer, so one thing you could do is remove one wire from the screws on the transformer and see if the doorbell still works. It appears that the power goes directly to the switch, and then one lead is tied to the pair going to the bell, with the switch in between in a switch loop. That should make it easier, since you'll have both the leads from the transformer there.

You need to know the VA requirements for the new doorbell to see if that transformer is adequate and it might also want a thicker gauge wire. When I wanted to install a fancier doorbell, the existing stuff wouldn't cut it. A higher VA transformer and heavier gauge wire was called for. The higher current available made a difference in the voltage drop.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[SteveW]

Terry,
You are correct on all counts.
The transformer is almost certainly for the doorbell, but of course it'd be easy to confirm by disconnecting one of the wires on the transformer and seeing if the chimes still work.

I installed a Ring doorbell. It stopped working after a while and turns out you sometimes need to get a higher voltage transformer. That worked well.

 

[WorthFlorida]

Bell transformers can be 16, 18 or 24v ac. VA usually is not critical for digital or smart door bell but if the original chime box is to be used as with a RING, generally the original transformer is adequate. The smart door bell instructions should read the minimum voltage needed at the device. A long run from the transformer to the door can have a voltage drop and it might be below the minimum. Some digital and smart door bells may require a diode placed across the pair of wires. It is either built into the doorbell or one or two are provided with the kit.

 

[WorthFlorida]

Wow nice electronics guys, but why not use wireless smart doorbells with smart wireless locks and alarms?

It then requires batteries. Ring has a rechargeable battery but not the easiest thing to remove every few weeks. The Ring Doorbell has a WIFI built in camera and it takes a fair amount of power. Pre-wired door bells in most homes in the USA are wired using a 24v transformer and Ring has designed it doorbell with camera to work from 8v-24v ac or a rechargeable battery.

 

[Fitter30]

Minimum volts16 and 20va for the ring . Your transformer is only 10 va. 40va is max

 

[WorthFlorida]

Ring 3 doorbell now has quick release battery and works on a wider range of voltage

Setup Requirement
Only if wiring in: Standard doorbell system with 8-24 VAC, 40VA max, 50/60Hz doorbell transformer

 

[Stuff]

Strange that Ring states 40VA MAX but no minimum. From that 10VA shouldn't be an issue.

For what it's worth I installed a Ring with an old 6v transformer (not sure of VA) and it has been fine for the past couple of years.

 

[Reach4]

Strange that Ring states 40VA MAX but no minimum.

Not strange if viewed as a Ring device spec that affects transformer selection, rather than a transformer spec.

 

[Stuff]

Meaning that just saying 40va max it is not very helpful for Ring users. Is there no minimum va needed? Most people are not selecting a transformer but checking what they have now to see if compatible. If they are buying a new one is difficult to find a bell transformer with a rating higher than 40va anyway.

 

[Reach4]

I agree that the spec if poorly worded.

 

[Jadnashua]

At night, the Ring doorbells run IR LEDs (at least mine does!) that are pretty bright once it gets dark, so relying on a battery could make it somewhat of a pain to keep working. It's better to feed it reliable power than to rely on batteries. A simple wireless one would only need to turn on when someone pressed the button, so batteries could last a while.

 

[wwhitney]

I'm impressed by the amount of discussion that followed on an old thread that was reopened by a spam post. [This time, the spam link wasn't in the initial post, so it wasn't immediately certain it was spam, and it only became when the post was edited after several responses had already occurred.]

Cheers, Wayne