converting american lamp wiring to UK standard

[Stephen]

Hello,

My OH bought a lantern from ebay, not realising that the voltage etc is different in the US.

It has a GU10 bulb that states 120V 25W, so I thought that will be easy: we will fit a 240V 25W bulb. The GU10 fitting says it is rated for 250V 2A, so no problems there.

However, the wire running to the lamp looks like speaker cable! Is this allowed over here? I thought that the conductors had to be individually insulated and then within a second layer of insulation. This cable has only one layer of insulation.

I thought I remembered flex like this from when I was younger,. I have googled and there are suppliers of flex for lamps but it is unclear whether they have one or two layers of insulation.

My other concern is that the lamp is metal but has no earth.

Could I earth the base of the lamp, or would I be best doing it near the bulb?

I think this is the lamp:

The flex goes into the base of the lamp. There is a plastic base that I have prised off. The problem is that the wires then split: one going up each "arm" of the lamp. So I would need to find a cable slim enough to fit up there.

I cannot take the "head" of the lamp apart.

The GU10 fitting is screwed into the head with plus/minus screws but I just cannot turn them, even with a plus/minus screwdriver.

Any tips on what to do next (other than throwing it away!)

Thanks, Stephen.

[spuorgelgoog]

No.

As long as all parts of the lamp are solidly screwed together you only need one earth point.

Ideally you would replace the individual wires inside the 'arms' to ones in sulated to 240V but realistically inside an earthed metal tube there's unli kely to be much risk of death if the insulation does break down.

Replace the mains flex with a UK standard 3-core, properly gripped at the p oint of entry to the lamp base, and connected to the metal frame of the lam p with a screw into the metal frame or a shakeproof washer round a convenie nt nut. (and a crimped eyelet to the flex).

Whether you think a 25 w lamp so close to a wax candle is safe is another m atter.

Owain

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Might be easier to convert it to take an MR16 bulb and use a 12v transformer?

[Brian-Gaff]

Well, I have a problem very similar to this one. many years ago, my grandmother bought a Lighthouse lamp. Basically it is a turned down lump of granite with the raw rock as its base. Through this is a single insulated two core wire. Trouble is that the hole from the side of the lamp to the top where the bc lampholder and switch is seems to be too narrow for double insulated flex to pass up it. Would it be allowed to just fit a good quality single insulated substitute for the going brittle old stuff?

In the case of the original query, I'd most certainly earth the metal assuming its all joined internally. I had a standard lamp as you describe and it went lived one day due to internal chaffing of the wire.

Brian

[Brian-Gaff]

Well, modern lamps don't get as hot do they...:-) Brian

[Graham.]

That's what I thought until I played the video. Bizarrely the whole point of the lamp is that you_don't_light_the_candle!

[tabbypurr]

It's not permitted to be sold like that in the UK. What you do in your own home is a greyer area.

if htey're legal they're double insulated

also not allowed to be sold here

If the 2 are connected, either's fine. If not, earth both.

If it's all metal you might be able to join new wire onto existing within the base and add an earth, that would be compliant, if insulated & cordgripped.

If you can't rewire it your options are use it as is, use it from an RCD plug or as you say decide you don't want any class 0 appliances and get rid.

NT

[spuorgelgoog]

I got that.

But if the wax gets warm enough to release the odour after a short time, surely after a longer time it will get warm enough to melt?

Owain