Strange Electrical switches

 Hi, I bought my home in 1976. For some ungodly reason, the light switches
were retrofit with these small, flat, half-oval switches. They are connected
to a central 15 volt(?) transformer in a closet; when you push one of these
switches down, you can hear a slight buzzing noise a few feet above it,
where a relay turns on the A.C. Someone told me that these are "mercury"
switches, but I cannot validate this. This is a MAJOR pain in the butt for
me, as it will not allow me to put a dimmer anywhere in the house, but the
REAL problem is that I cannot find these things ANYWHERE, and no electrician
seems to know anything about them. They are starting to break, and I am
getting nervous. Any insight that you might be able to part with here?
Thanks, C

  stig wrote:

It is likely a GE remote control (low voltage-24V) system.
Became popular in the 60's and died out.
There was no mercury involved; the relays are magnetically held.

AFAIK the original GE devices are no longer made.
One company is now making replacements for the
RR-7 and RR-9 relays:
http://www.reliantrelay.com/

Ask at a large electrical supply house (not Lowes/HD).

You sometimes see the GE units show up on eBay.

For dimming, you would have to cut into the
switch leg (120V) for the fixture.

Jim

 Thanks Jim..c


switches

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electrician