Last week I cringed when I saw the wife carrying in several boxes of Xmas lights ... knowing that this will cause usual grief.
It did , several sets as usual took hrs of fun to get working .... we are now short of some bulbs ... anybody know of any on-line source for fairy light bulbs ? Tried B&Q, Wicks, Wilkinson's, Garden Centres etc. ... no luck
I know someone will say buy 2 sets so you have a set of bulbs for spare - bit late for that advice as they have already been purchased.
Ebay is your friend - item number 110325554047, if they're no good, there are plenty more. (No, I'm not the seller).
Aye, the annual nightmare.
I spent £100 on a load of LED ones last year, best idea I've had in ages
Steve Walker coughed up some electrons that declared:
It was so much simpler when there were only screw in, 12V and 6V.
It went downhill when they invented the plastic push in bases...
Quiztime: you've all heard of Class I (earthed) and Class II (Double insulated) appliances. When I did my PAT course, it turned out there is a Class 0 too.
For a virtual mince pie, anyone know a common household device that might have been Class 0?
Cheers
Tim
I did much the same this year. No matter how carefully you put your lights away, no matter how well they were working when you boxed them up, they nearly always fail to work when you get them out a year later
- and then you can't find the spare bulbs, or buy any spares.
I'm really pleased with the LED ones I got - they're much easier to handle and they look much better. Pretty pricey, but probably cheaper in the long run and a great deal less hassle.
Regards,
I spent £1.40 on two sets from Woolies' 30% off liquidation sale
Owain
A light bulb. Make it a diet pie.
dennis@home coughed up some electrons that declared:
Interesting answer. It's possible, but not the one in mind, though it is strongly related.
Any more?
That is what happens each year, take lights down ... wife then makes sure they are all working, put them away - in original boxes ... then next year they don't work ... hours of her fuming away !
Any new lights we buy are LED ... but have several sets of push in plastic bulbs..... the problem is each set has a different style base.
That is what happens each year, take lights down ... wife then makes sure they are all working, put them away - in original boxes ... then next year they don't work ... hours of her fuming away !
Any new lights we buy are LED ... but have several sets of push in plastic bulbs..... the problem is each set has a different style base.
Xmas lights are not mandatory.
Mr Scaddan refers to ornate old-fashioned brass table lamps with fig-8 (2 core) flex and only basic insulation
Owain coughed up some electrons that declared:
Yep. The example we were given was old fashioned fairy lights, for the same reason, essentially because there is only one layer of basic insulation between mains and your fingers.
Here you go :)
( ( ) ) ) ( ) ..... .:::::::::. ~\_______/~
dennis@home coughed up some electrons that declared:
OK, been thinking about this...
I think a lamp would be Class II, due to the protection from shock being provided by both:
a) Basic insulation, ie the gas in the bulb;
b) Supplementary insulation, ie the glass.
The fact the bulb is breakable could be argued of many other appliances.
I'm going by the IEE Pat testing guide, I don't have any BS definitions of Class X available. Arguments welcome.
But for an interesting suggestion:
_,..---..,_ ,-"` .'. `"-, (( '.'.' )) `'-.,_ ' _,.-'` `\ `"""""` /` `""-----""`
Mmmmmmnn. Ta!
I do the lights, they get checked when put away and when brought out. They all worked this year. B-)
One thing that is invaluable when a chain doesn't work is a bulb tester. Mine is a small plastic box that takes two AA cells and has a couple of bits of spring metal to wedge the bulb base between. It may have come from Woolies...
A decorated tree looks very drab without lights IMHO.
Biggest problem with tree lights is the large range of bulb bases and many here today gone tommorow makers. If you know the base/bulb type number google may find a supplier.
The fairy lights I bought in Woolies the other week only appear to have one layer of basic insulation (figure 8 wire) but I thought there was an exemption for very low current things like that.
- complies with |Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994. BS EN 60598-2-20. CE marked and double insulated double square symbol.
Mind you, the boiling / toasting ring I had a few years ago had no layer of basic insulation between mains and fingers. Just a ceramic ring with a coily filament in a spiral.
Mmmm, thank you! An ideal opportunity to use up the half pot of double cream I have left in the fridge.
Owain
Some that I bought last year appeared to too, but on cutting the wires to connect to a different plug, they were actually double insulated.
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