What do the professionals do when fitting almost any modern imported ceiling light fitting to an existing 3 plate ceiling rose outlet?
I am faced with flat backed LED units, pendants with little space for terminal blocks....etc. The manufacturers seem to assume there will be a single 3 core cable feed!
Shove all the wires up into the ceiling void, with a only a 3-core cable coming down to the fitting?
Suitable terminal box poked into the ceiling void with a single cable to feed the light.
what I did here when rewiring just in case - until I met 3 cables coming down through a hole drilled in a joist :(
Had the same problem, especially as I was changing some to 2-way switching. Used some Hager non-maintained JBs, put in all of the wires and shoved into the ceiling void. Most of these plates are big enough to cover the hole needed. In a similar vein, the wall- (or ceiling-) mounted fittings assume that there'll be somewhere for the cable to go. I usually use a plinth suitably drilled and segment-type* mini-trunking.
*Bloody curved trunking that I bought t'other day opens on 1 side only, so the keyed hinge is a bit delicate and I can't run the top end just into the ceiling - this was useful for 'adjustment'.
Umm.. I have adopted variants of the suggestions given. Usually, the electrician has located the ceiling rose such that the fixing screws find the timber joist with the cables to the side. Often the cables have been clipped nearby leaving little free movement as well as requiring too large an access hole to be covered by the fitting:-(
The other gripe is that the Edison screw bulb connector is commonly permanently secured to the light shade. This results in having to support the light while fiddling about connecting the 0.75mm2 flex the Orientals seem to feel adequate. Clearly they are equipped with a 3rd hand:-(
If it's feasible to hole drill for a flush BESA and assuming there are no joists in the way, that's what I'd do.
The other option might be to go 1940s (well, other retro is back) and make a decorative plinth, either fancy wood or painted and mount the fitting to that with a void for the connections.
You're not supposed to have unenclosed terminals in the void... But a slimline junction box designed for downlighters would be OK, if you couldn't make a BESA sized hole. Klix connectors (did I spell that right), the blue plug/socket are also an option and are very slim. Will take 3 cables in one end, designed for loop through+switch drop.
Wagos seem to be the way to go if you can fit them all within the light fitting itself. Unfortunetly if you need to push them into the void then the smaller lighting junction box will not take all the cables of a loop in system whilst the larger box will require quite a large hole which may be difficult to conceal with the light fitting.
When fitting some awkward light fittings at my daughters new build, the ceiling roses were not attached to joists but were attached to a piece of chipboard affixed to two joists with a tight hole just allowing the cables to poke through and then filled with intumescent sealant. So no way of fitting a JB without access from above, I did however manage to cut away enough of the PB to get a 5A terminal strip in and still cover the resulting hole.
Richard
Ah! That might be a way.
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Its what wago boxes and connectors are for. Put them in the void above.
I have been meaning to give these a try
Usually you start by swearing.
Looks to make for a very quick job* but I paused over "Fits through 32mm hole." Patently true for a box with cross-section 23 x 31 mm. But with power and switch cables at opposite ends it seems to me the bend radius has to be taken into account when poking one through a hole in the ceiling. That seems to me to make it nearer 23 x 50 mm for 1mm T&E. Still smaller than Wagobox or J501 though.
*for some: it'd take me some time to strip all 3 cores and the sheath to the +/- 1mm length needed to clamp them all :(
Quite!
Where there is a double plasterboard thickness (fireproofing) I have resorted to simply recessing the ceiling rose base. Avoids the exposed terminals in the void but leaves a slight sense of unease at what some future electrician might have to say.
I have untested concerns about clamp type connectors, particularly where there may be a mix of wire gauges. I have some small junction boxes for the last two ceiling mounted LED fittings.
Narrow blade in an oscillating multitool will usually make short work of opening up a bit of access in those cases.
Yup, it looks like a nice concept, but it is a shame that they have the switch wire on the opposite end from the feed and loop in connections.
I have not actually tried one, but wonder if the Click lighting JBs would not be a better option:
Especially when you try and remove one of those Quickwire connectors without the 'special removal tool' :-)
PS the website states :-
"If required the Quickwire can be fitted onto a surface using the Quickwire mounting clip (order separately). Warning: Do not cover"
I thought all connectors had to be mechanically fixed, and not rely on adjacent cable clamps ?.
Also the cable entry and exit means existing cable clips won't work. Are there double-height cable clips allowing cables to be clipped on piggy-back ?.
My guess - BESA box or equivalent fitted into ceiling, fitting connected to that
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