3w ago

How old do you think this dimmer knob is? And how to remove it?

I'm unfortunately not there physically to help, but my mom has this light switch she needs to remove temporarily and replace the plate. Her "handyman" installed it 'brand new' within the past few years. I told her it looked like it was from the 80s haha. Anyways, she apparently cannot remove the knob for the life of her, shouldn't the knob be able to simply pull off without breaking?

13 comments

Usually you pull the knob and it is removed. But being that old it might be stuck or break, but it’s also strange if it was just removed recently. Maybe she needs to pry it on both sides at the same time?
Also tell her to barely tighten those screws. They were too tight and the heat/cold changes was enough to crack it.

Normally they just pull right off.

That style should be clutch fit, i.e. the knob just pulls off. It may be gunked on there with 40 years of accumulated crud, though. So this is likely to require a hard yank or possibly some prying. Good news: The cover plate is already broken, so prying on it can't possibly meaningfully break it further.
It's also not outside the realm of possibility that her handyman broke it, and his solution for "fixing" it was to just glue the knob onto its stem before anybody noticed.
If it breaks, no big deal. Breaking it is also a valid way to get it off, and an entire replacement dimmer is like $9 at the hardware store. You can also get replacement knobs for a couple of bucks, and they're generally broadly interchangeable (although these days, without that groovy aluminum accent disk in the middle).

Break it. Replace the switch.

You could have them pry the knob off using a fork. Since the fork is curved, it’ll act like a pry bar. Obviously they should wear eye protection in the event pieces go flying.
Edit: PS. I absolutely love your username. 😀
- Thank you! Also the fork is a good idea 🙂

They still make that style so it could be brand new or it could be 60 years old.

I had to replace one that looked almost exactly like this once and basically I had to just break it in the end.

Looks like a tiny screw hole on the top.
- I see what you're talking about, don't understand why you've been downvoted. I've seen both styles, and also a version where you have to pop-off the center-cap to get to a screw.

This looks almost exactly like the ones I had. They were from the 70s and needed replacement to stop the lights from flickering.

The knob should just pull off, but sometimes they require full chooch. If she breaks it, it's not a big deal. If Habitat Re-Store is a thing near her they usually have a shelf of these knobs for almost nothing. If not the big box stores sell them too, and the lights can be turned on and off without the knob until she can get a replacement.
Back when I worked as a handyman I used the old knobs for many things. Some people get very weird about change. I'd usually ask if they wanted the new one to wedge into their junk drawer, though.

Yea you are right, I would say 1990s based on the wattage rating being on a metal plate embedded into that plastic. Not newer than 2000 unless it is some very specialty company.
Yea all of them should be able to pull off because the cover cannot go on with the knob on there. However there could be a screw in the side holding it on, can't see all the way around it. If your mom is old she might just have shit grip strength and can't grab it to pull it off. I know plenty of older women that have what I'd consider no strength there at all, that is all forearm.

13 comments