Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Less
Security lighting should be hard wired through a fused spur (preferably switched), taken from your ring main. Up to the spur the cable should be 2.5 mm twin & earth cable. After the spur and feeding the light the cable should be 1.5mm twin & earth.
Twin and earth cable should not, must not, be wired into a 13 amp plug! A 13 amp plug is designed to be used with flexible cable.
For your own and your families safety I will repeat:-
Get a qualified electrician to install the security light. |
Thanks Less that is a very good description complete with specifications as to how security lighting should be fitted. Hopefully anyone considering fitting their own security lighting may see your post and now think twice about doing it for them selves as it is not really for the DIYer.
Iam a bit of a DIY man. Hehe
And I also advise no one to copy what I do.
I myself opted to use a 3pin plug for my project because 1… I couldn’t be bothered having to start moving furniture, lifting carpets and floor boards to gain access to the ring main. 2 … my security lighting isn’t going to be constantly fully on for 12 or 13 hours, in that case it would defiantly, I think need hard wiring, it’s only intended to be on for a minute or two at a time and I think, in that amount of time drawing 2 or 3 amps while the lamp is on full wack the wiring and plug to the lamp shouldn’t get to hot if at all and hopefully the fuse will protect from short circuits due to moisture, water, semi conductor failure (triacs, thyristors not sure which?) etc. I was also aware that 3pin plugs can get very hot while drawing current, due to such things as, having loose connections between the male and the female brass connectors this causes arcing between both brass connectors (potential fire) plus heat can also be generated between the two brass connectors by their very own impedance (resistance) not as dangerous as arcing but left over long periods could also equal Fire.
The wire I acquired for my project, well to be honest I didn’t have a clue which to buy as I am not an electrician, I don’t know the names or the gauges of all the different wires. I knew it wasn’t bell wire or telephone wire. Hehe So I went down to my local electrical shop told them what I was doing and they kindly sorted me out with a couple of meters of, hopefully the correct wire for the job and at a cost of about 60p or so.
I know what I have done is risky but I would love to know if it's ok.
I have no doubt that there are many other things that could go wrong while wiring up your own lamps. Maybe it would be a good idea if we could point out what some of the dangers are.
I wonder if any professional electricians do actually stick a plug on the end of a wire similar as to what I have done above.
If one has done that for you then let us know.