Vintage Door Chimes

[rp2813]

Does anyone have suggestions on where to look for one of these? On line you'll find dealer web sites offering either restored ones going for anywhere from $300 to four figures, or brand new ones that are similarly priced. Ebay has little or nothing to offer. Ditto for Craigs List. Salvage yards are where I plan to look, as well as keeping an eye peeled for vintage homes that are being gutted, and I have put the word out to those in close proximity to Urban Ore.

I'm interested in replacing our early 60's long-tube (three of them) door chime as it's starting to seriously misbehave and I want one with a simpler mechanism. The current one has never worked right and has always provided a delayed response, as I believe it has some kind of relay that activates the three strikers, which requires pushing and briefly holding the doorbell switch before releasing, which 99.9% of visitors don't know to do. I do not want to fix it. I'd like to replace it with a vintage (30's to 60's) two-tube (long tube) chime of the classic Avon variety that functions directly from the push and release actions on the switch. Style of the mechanism cover is not all that important.

Any advice out there for tracking one of these down? Or better yet, does anybody have one they want to sell or trade, working or not?

Thanks for reading,

Ralph

 

[countryford]

When we moved into our house it had a doorbell with the dual chimes, but one of them were missing. So all it would do is "dong". LOL. Anyways, our neighbor's house went up to foreclosure and we were able to get the whole doorbell from them. It is the same style as ours, but it came with both chimes. We don't need the doorbell itself, so I'm sure we would be willing to part with it. I would have to check with Steve first. Only thing is that it would only come with one of the chimes. Since we are keeping the other chime for our doorbell. Here is a picture of ourdoorbell before we acquired the second chime. Its on the right. Not the best pic, but gives ya an idea. The other doorbell is identical except for its black instead of the tan/off white.

 

[rp2813]

Justin,

Let me know what Steve says. I may want to take that black one off your hands. Perhaps I have among my three existing tubes the "ding" half that's missing from the chime.

Thanks so much,

Ralph[this post was last edited: 10/23/2010-17:47]

 

[appnut]

I'll force myself to behave, although Toggles may stilll say something. I don't wanna get "dinged" for any dong jokes.

 

[petek]

Ours is original to the house, a Nutone with 4 strikers in it and it's not working properly either. It coule be the strikers are sticking and need to be cleaned or the motor needs replacing. They use a GE telechron clock motor or similar to activate the solenoids

 

[rp2813]

Bob,

I took care to compose my response in a way that wouldn't include "your dong" in reference to Justin's *cough* equipment.

I'm sure there's a "full deck" or "missing marbles" metaphor in this somewhere as well.

 

[rp2813]

Chime Repair

I know on the site linked below there was very good advice provided on how to repair what you have, such as don't use oil or WD-40 type lubricants to fix a sticky striker, but he doesn't sell parts. This guy is located in Humboldt County, California and provides guidance on DIY repairs. "Eureka Modern" is the same guy.[this post was last edited: 10/23/2010-18:16]

KNOCK Doorbells - How to Repair Vintage Door Chimes

 

[athanasius80]

Check out Rejuvenation.

http://www.rejuvenation.com/location12/typepageBell%20Buttons/templates/houseparts_group.html

 

[lordkenmore]

I found www.knockdoorbells.com interesting. Only objection: my fast search didn't turn up the style I want--the one "our Hyacinth" has.

Although there are times when frankly I think no doorbell is best. Doorbells only encourage missionaries and people seeking political office (or their supporters) to try and bug me.

 

[sudsmaster]

Well, this house has the 40's era two long brass tube ding dong chime you're looking for. Except unfortunately it's attached and likely will stay that way.

When I moved in, I stripped the (peeling) paint from the cover over the striker mechanism. Still haven't gotten around to repainting it, but I think I'll probably stick it in the bead blaster and then powder coat it flat black.

Good luck in your search. If there are any vintage homes in your area being ripped out to make way for McMansions, that might be a good place to work. You might have to ring some doorbells. LOL.

I'm also wondering if it wouldn't be worth it to try to fix your three chime unit to work properly. That it never did from the get-go doesn't mean that it was designed that way...

 

[whirlcool]

Although there are times when frankly I think no doorbell is best. Doorbells only encourage missionaries and people seeking political office (or their supporters) to try and bug me.

We have a "No Solicitors" sign on our front door. It works pretty well. If we do get a solicitor, we just ask them if they have a problem reading......

You could always get a modern synthesized doorbell. Sounds the same as vintage, but no moving parts. Should last forever.

 

[rp2813]

The Existing Chime

. . . I have never liked the sound of. Even re-arranging the tubes is of little help. I almost sounds like a death knell.

After doing some reading, the existing chime could possibly be adjusted to make it more responsive, but again, I don't like it and want to replace it.

A synthesized chime isn't appropriate. The house is 80+ years old and English style and sort of requires the real deal, plus synthesized don't seem to have the necessary volume to be heard easily.

 

[mattl]

plus synthesized don't seem to have the necessary volume to be heard easily

I bought a very nice unit at Home Depot and it's VERY loud. I can hear it Outside with the door closed and it's two large rooms away. The sound is very realistic, and it has a choice of chimes.

 

[sudsmaster]

Well, OK, if you don't like the sound to begin with, end of discussion ;-).

My only complaint about the door bell in my home is that while it's quite loud up in the front entryway, it can't be heard in the bedrooms and most certainly not in the enclosed patio or in the garages/shops at the rear of the property. So I got some electronic doorbell repeaters and they solved the problem.

You plug the repeater into the nearest outlet. A transmitter is spliced into the 24 volt doorbell circuit in the attic. When the front bell rings, all three repeaters (rear bedroom, patio, and workshop) also ring. Problem solved.

The sound of the repeaters is not pleasant but they are loud and do the job.

Any of the bells sends the house cat scampering for cover.

 

[rp2813]

Rich, I'll bet if you had my chime you could 86 those repeaters!

 

[sudsmaster]

If you had my chime you could 86 those repeaters!

Perhaps, but you really can't hear anything from the main house in the back shop.

I recall I did play around with the entry chimes to try to make them sound louder, but no luck. I think the striker portion is a small wood dowel, but it's been a while since I looked at it.

The other day I had some high school kids come by trying to sell something. They were very impatient - rang the bell, opened the screen door and banged on the door with the knocker, and then rang the door bell repeatedly. Needless to say, I told them curtly "NO THANKS" and shut the door. It reminded me that I need to install the security heavy screen door up front... which I purchased a few months ago but wasn't able to install due to an arm injury.

As the election draws closer I'll probably stop opening the door altogether. One look through the peephole. If it's someone I recognize, or the police, I'll open the door. Others might get either no response (esp if they are dressed to the nines like Jehovah's Witnesses) or at most a conversation through the little brass window behind the door knocker if they look like average citizens.

Halloween is another matter. Usually I keep a bowl of candy by the door and patiently answer it and hand out the goodies. But by about 8:30 pm the kids chaperoned by their parents dwindle out, and most visitors seem to be teens or even young adults in search of a handout. So around that time I shut off the outdoor and indoor lights and call it a night.

 

[lordkenmore]

"We have a "No Solicitors" sign on our front door. It works pretty well. If we do get a solicitor, we just ask them if they have a problem reading......"

That reminds me of an episode of the 1st season of Maude. As I best recall it:

Someone comes trying to sell magazines to pay for college. She suggests that he might learn to read first, and points to her sign that says no soliciting. Then the salesman goes off on the "us vetrans from Vietnam" theme. Maude says something about how funny, and--if I remember right--hints she was over there, and knows every troop. Of course, the salesman was lying, leaves in shame, and Maude storms back into the house talking about how much better con men the sales people of previous generations were.

 

[rp2813]

Oh yeah, in this neighborhood barely a day goes by that we don't have some sort of solicitation activity. I'm considering getting a "No Solicitors" sign as it has become annoying. Most times the bell rings I don't answer. People we know come to the back door.

Still, I like to know if someone is or isn't at the front door, so a properly working chime would be nice.

It was great at our other house. We had a fence and gate out front and were basically closed off to the street. Solicitors would just pass our place by.

 

[lordkenmore]

Unfortunately, little is 100% guaranteed to keep solicitors of one sort or another out.

A former roommate lives at the end of a very long driveway. There is at least one noticeable "No Trespassing" sign. I think there is or used to be a mat on the porch that instead of "Welcome" says "Get Lost!" Then, there is the Rottweiler barking out back, and the pitbulls barking inside.

And yet, one person running for public office braved all this while going "doorbelling."

Someone years back had what she said was the perfect solution with her vacation home. It was a cabin in the middle of no where, in the mountain area, as I recall. The driveway was apparently just a dirt path, and virtually unnoticeable. She said she didn't even get pestered by Jehovah's Witnesses.