# Attic gremlin



## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

Looks like an ordinary carbon arrestor for a phone line. You sure it had 120 connected to it??


----------



## knowshorts (Jan 9, 2009)

I have something similar, but not with those side tubes. Mine looks like a porcelain key less and had a brass cap that goes on that screw shell. Is there a piece missing there in the center?


----------



## Big John (May 23, 2010)

MDShunk said:


> Looks like an ordinary carbon arrestor for a phone line. You sure it had 120 connected to it??


 Yeah, that's exactly what I'm thinking. The circular block in the middle is the spark gap for the arrester, and those two cylinders on the sides are fuses for each conductor.

If this had 120VAC on it, someone goofed.

-John


----------



## kielarsp (Apr 9, 2009)

I have seen the phone arrestors in basements but never in a attic. I am positive it had 120v to the line side. There is a number on it 18-a but not much else. Another electrician thought it might be a thermastat for a exhaust fan. but on the load side it has 18 awg coming off the center pin


----------



## oldtimer (Jun 10, 2010)

kielarsp said:


> I have seen the phone arrestors in basements but never in a attic. I am positive it had 120v to the line side. There is a number on it 18-a but not much else. Another electrician thought it might be a thermastat for a exhaust fan. but on the load side it has 18 awg coming off the center pin


 As far as I know, they are the older style telephone demarcation points.

We still see a lot of them in older houses. Some are still in use.


----------



## Toronto Sparky (Apr 12, 2009)

Here's a photo of an old phone arrestor.


----------



## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

They MAY have had the neutral going to the center pin to ground the arrestor. The center pin is where the ground goes to let the arrestor do its job. I seriously doubt that thing had 120 going to it, or it might have gone down in a blaze of glory. Hard to say, though. Some creative person might have used it to protect an overhead feed to an outbuilding. Those fuses open at something like 5-1/4 amps, I thought.


----------



## oldtimer (Jun 10, 2010)

Toronto Sparky said:


> Here's a photo of an old phone arrestor.


Some looked a little different, but they are the same thing. Middle post is ground, usually #12. Other posts, tip and ring.


----------



## 10492 (Jan 4, 2010)

If the phone was ringing, wouldn't have like 90v ring voltage on it?


----------



## kielarsp (Apr 9, 2009)

why would the phone guy install this in the attic, when the phone interface is in the basement. I did clean it up and found a date, Dec 5 95.
I do not believe it has any thing to do with the phone system. I would not be surprised if it was a switch to control an exhaust fan or lightning protecttion for a out building. I would love to see a old catalog with the gremlin in it. This has been a interesting device for conversation.


----------



## Meadow (Jan 14, 2011)

MDShunk said:


> Looks like an ordinary carbon arrestor for a phone line. You sure it had 120 connected to it??





MDShunk said:


> They MAY have had the neutral going to the center pin to ground the arrestor. The center pin is where the ground goes to let the arrestor do its job. I seriously doubt that thing had 120 going to it, or it might have gone down in a blaze of glory. Hard to say, though. Some creative person might have used it to protect an overhead feed to an outbuilding. Those fuses open at something like 5-1/4 amps, I thought.



As always I am blown away at your knowledge.  :thumbup: Is there anything you dont know? (Im sure you know the answer in detail) :laughing:


----------



## Bootss (Dec 30, 2011)

I think there's currently another thread with a similar type device ,somebody was wondering what it was.


----------



## fdew (Mar 26, 2009)

I don't know what it was doing in that antic but it was Designed to protect phone lines as others have said.
https://devilanse.wordpress.com/2010/11/18/nablopomo-communications-primary-protector/


----------

