X10 Controller Oddness?
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Posted by Bill Kearney on April 27, 2008, 12:25 pm
Please log in for more thread options and expert in the electrical code? Has the gear been tested and certified as being safe for installation inside a breaker box? If not then why put the considerable value of your home at risk on such nonsense? Real bottom line? Give up on the X-10 crap, it's junk. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by David White on April 27, 2008, 2:10 pm
Please log in for more thread options risk. But giving up on X-10 at this point is not a great option for me (and many more I am sure). Other than occasional glitches, it seems to work very well and the costs are pretty low. It is not like any of this stuff is life/death so the occasional glitch can be tolerated and, hopefully, patched. But I am out of space in my panel. So to do anything but a plug-in unit from Smarthome will require I get some duplex breakers. But that may be easier than the plug-in as my dryer has no room behind it. Bill Kearney wrote: > Whoa there on the advice regarding panels. Are you a licensed
> electrician and expert in the electrical code? > > Has the gear been tested and certified as being safe for installation > inside a breaker box? > > If not then why put the considerable value of your home at risk on such > nonsense? > > Real bottom line? Give up on the X-10 crap, it's junk. > >> RE c: You don't HAVE to use dedicated breakers but if there's room in
>> your panel it's good practice to do so. >> >> RE d: The size is 4.5"x4.5"x2" and yes, you could put it in the panel >> and hardwire it if there is room. It generates no appreciable heat. >> >> RE e: Insurance policies vary so you need to check yours. Unless it >> could be proven that the XTB-IIR was the cause of the fire I don't see >> how a claim could be denied. >> >> RE f: I have tried ALL of those over the years. They boost to a >> maximum of 5 volts and don't handle dimming very well. The XTB-IIR >> boosts to 20volts and is, by far, superior to the ones you listed plus >> the Smarthome plug-in version and the other ACT model you didn't list >> - and that's all there are. >> >> Bottom line: Don't waste your money on any other X10 signal coupler, >> booster or repeater. >
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Posted by Robert Green on April 28, 2008, 10:07 pm
Please log in for more thread options > Thanks to all. I am discussing this with my electrician as I am not into
> risk. But giving up on X-10 at this point is not a great option for me > (and many more I am sure). Other than occasional glitches, it seems to > work very well and the costs are pretty low. It is not like any of this > stuff is life/death so the occasional glitch can be tolerated and, > hopefully, patched. Giving up wasn't a great option for me either. The wiring is 60 years old and I didn't want to have to fuss with it to change out switches. Had I bought Insteon instead of the XTB, I probably would have had to pull the switches twice because of their big upgrade a.k.a. recall over the dimming problem. > But I am out of space in my panel. So to do anything but a plug-in unit
> from Smarthome will require I get some duplex breakers. But that may be > easier than the plug-in as my dryer has no room behind it. "Dual Skinnies" install quite easily. I had to swap out some single width breakers for duals, as I too was out of circuits. It should take a licensed electrician 5 minutes, tops. It took a little longer for me since the new breakers looked quite different from the old ones and hooked onto the power bus a little differently. I ended up added four new GFCI protected outlets and replaced single width breakers that had been tripped so many times that the white lettering had worn off. )-: Now we can use the toaster oven, the microwave and the electric griddle all at the same time, too, so there was a great SAF boost to getting the electrical upgrade. Another circuit powers the new outside CFL fixtures because the old circuits didn't bring a neutral to the switch. All of this work was inspired by the arrival of the XTB-IIR. From my experiences with the non-coupler XTB version, I realized that a high-powered repeater/coupler would eliminate most of my problems and it did. It's *so* nice not to have to remember that only the mini-controller in the bedroom can reach the hallway light, etc, etc. Bobby G. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by Bob Fish on April 28, 2008, 5:04 pm
Please log in for more thread options I have a passive phase coupler I purchased about 8-10 years ago and
installed myself. It is a UL Listed device. My entire house is reachable as long as I'm not running any fans near the receivers. If I were starting a new system though, I wouldn't choose X10. Bill Kearney wrote: > Whoa there on the advice regarding panels. Are you a licensed
As near as I understand it, you don't need to be licensed to wire in
> electrician and expert in the electrical code? your own house. You are probably required to get it inspected. Of course there is risk working in your box unless you get the electric company to pull the meter. >
> Has the gear been tested and certified as being safe for installation > inside a breaker box? > > If not then why put the considerable value of your home at risk on such > nonsense? > > Real bottom line? Give up on the X-10 crap, it's junk. > >> RE c: You don't HAVE to use dedicated breakers but if there's room in
>> your panel it's good practice to do so. >> >> RE d: The size is 4.5"x4.5"x2" and yes, you could put it in the panel >> and hardwire it if there is room. It generates no appreciable heat. >> >> RE e: Insurance policies vary so you need to check yours. Unless it >> could be proven that the XTB-IIR was the cause of the fire I don't see >> how a claim could be denied. >> >> RE f: I have tried ALL of those over the years. They boost to a >> maximum of 5 volts and don't handle dimming very well. The XTB-IIR >> boosts to 20volts and is, by far, superior to the ones you listed plus >> the Smarthome plug-in version and the other ACT model you didn't list >> - and that's all there are. >> >> Bottom line: Don't waste your money on any other X10 signal coupler, >> booster or repeater. >
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> panel it's good practice to do so.
>
> RE d: The size is 4.5"x4.5"x2" and yes, you could put it in the panel and
> hardwire it if there is room. It generates no appreciable heat.
>
> RE e: Insurance policies vary so you need to check yours. Unless it could
> be proven that the XTB-IIR was the cause of the fire I don't see how a
> claim could be denied.
>
> RE f: I have tried ALL of those over the years. They boost to a maximum of
> 5 volts and don't handle dimming very well. The XTB-IIR boosts to 20volts
> and is, by far, superior to the ones you listed plus the Smarthome plug-in
> version and the other ACT model you didn't list - and that's all there
> are.
>
> Bottom line: Don't waste your money on any other X10 signal coupler,
> booster or repeater.