Here is a larger-scale variation on my Silence Of The Toys. We own a 10+ year old GE Profile clothes dryer, with an extraordinarily loud buzzer. We also have a six month old daughter who takes two or three naps throughout the day, every couple of hours. This is a bad combination.
I could have just gone in and cut the lead to the buzzer, but I wanted to have control over whether the buzzer goes off or not, without needing a screwdriver and several minutes to change things.
I could have just gone in and cut the lead to the buzzer, but I wanted to have control over whether the buzzer goes off or not, without needing a screwdriver and several minutes to change things.
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Signing UpStep 1: Tools and Materials Needed
To install a mute switch, you need a switch. I chose a simple white wall light-switch (69 cents at Ace Hardware), but you could use whatever you have at hand. You will need two #4 lock washers, and #4-40 hex nuts to secure the switch to the control panel.
A few of feet of 18-gauge or larger wire will connect the switch to the buzzer (the wire runs are longer than you'd think). An old lamp or extension cord is most convenient, since the two conductors are already joined.
For the wire ends that connect to the buzzer, you will need one male and one female crimp-on spade lug. A true male spade is hard to find, but the U-shaped screw lugs fit perfectly in the female crimp-on.
Our GE Profile uses T20 Torx screws, so I got to go buy a set of Torx bits to remove the control panel from the dryer.
To cut out a hole in the control panel to fit the switch, I used a Dremel tool with metal-cutting disks (and a 1/8" drill bit for the screw holes). If you own a pair, you could also use sheet-metal nippers to make cleaner edges.
A few of feet of 18-gauge or larger wire will connect the switch to the buzzer (the wire runs are longer than you'd think). An old lamp or extension cord is most convenient, since the two conductors are already joined.
For the wire ends that connect to the buzzer, you will need one male and one female crimp-on spade lug. A true male spade is hard to find, but the U-shaped screw lugs fit perfectly in the female crimp-on.
Our GE Profile uses T20 Torx screws, so I got to go buy a set of Torx bits to remove the control panel from the dryer.
To cut out a hole in the control panel to fit the switch, I used a Dremel tool with metal-cutting disks (and a 1/8" drill bit for the screw holes). If you own a pair, you could also use sheet-metal nippers to make cleaner edges.
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- It's rated for full wall voltage and current
- I had a spare one lying around
- It blends in better with the white dryer
One of the cool things about these I'bles is that you can almost always modify them for your own situation or desire. Thanks much for the comment!Your solution of "it's done when it's quiet" would work, except ours is in an enclosed room that actually does a good job of muffling (which tells you how loud the d**ned* buzzer really is!). I just try to remember to go and check after a couple of hours.
I try to address safety issues where appropriate in all of my I'bles. Even before we had a newborn in the house, I took "real" safety issues (voltages, sharpies, earthquakes) seriously.
One of my responsibilities here at work is (was) safety during accesses to the BaBar drift chamber electronics, inside a permit-required confined space (see the image below, where I'm in the space without the 3-1/2 foot diameter magnet systems installed, and the PDF procedures writeup).
I'm also on SLAC's radiation safety committee, which reviews all accelerator-related projects before they can be approved.
I had no idea I'd been putting myself and others in harms way. :(
I'm putting all my sharpies away until I know...in a hermetically sealed 50 gallon steel drum buried 100 feet underground and at least 300 yards away from all water sources.
I think if you just wrap your Sharpies in 1/16" lead sheets, and avoid staring directly into the felt tips, you'll be fine ;-)
They're much more dangerous than the American ones -- weren't they found to have radioactive melamine in the ink? Thousands of cartoon animals got sick after being drawn with Shou Pie in outsourced animation factories!
In our first house, the W/D were out in the garage; now, they're in a closet in the kitchen behind a pair of closed bifold doors. Either way, the light-bulb idea wouldn't be great for us.
However, having said that...your design is an excellent example of assistive technology --- a dryer notification for the deaf or hard of hearing.