Camlamp earth

[Maddog]

Hi guys,

Last weekend a friend of mine gave me a load of parts from his old race bike engine so i decided i'd make a lamp from one of the cams.. It came out rather well and as a result i'd like to make more, however the old ikea lamp i used the bulb holder and cable from (metal) wasnt earthed.

I was wondering if these (and future lamps) need earthing as they are metal. The nickel bulb holders i can buy from ebay dont seem to be earthed. Is this an issue or do they need to be earthed so as not to be dangerous?

Thanks in advance.

 

[123hotchef]

nice lamp mate, not sure about the earthing so I will stay quite

 

[arther dailey]

I like that,no idea about the latest specs regards sparks, but liking the lamp.

 

[jack-daniels]

YES it needs earthing, any appliance with exposed metal parts needs to be earthed. This is potentially lethal!

If the live conductor comes into contact with the lamp and someone touches it, this wont end well (even if it's just the RCD putting half the house in darkness).


Edit: O yeah, nice lamp by the way - Quite like that. (Get it earthed though )

 

[Maddog]

Thanks for the kind words re the lamp gents. As for the earthing it was made from a new £5 metal ikea lamp that wasnt earthed so i guess if it was ok for ikea it'll be ok with this.

I'm really thinking about future ones (I have a Triumph 675 Daytona crank thats scrap as it picked up up in a recent race)

The nice Nickel bulb holders ones on ebay i think arent earthed (I have asked the question tho)

Thanks
Andy

 

[Gareth J]

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=140710556525&alt=web

Earth it!

 

[Maddog]

Emailed the seller and the bulb holders i have seen are earthed.

3 Core flex it is then.

I'll post some piccys when done.

Thanks

 

[Robotstar5]

YES it needs earthing, any appliance with exposed metal parts needs to be earthed. This is potentially lethal!

Might be worth checking Guidance Notes 8?

 

[Mee]

Earth them and you know its correct and safe, many Chinese goodies bought online often have an earth cable but they are not connected internally, and even some pieces such as the socket fronts fitted with USB charging ports do not have their internals earthed and being fixed items they can set a fire and you cannot simply disconnect them by pulling them out as you could a traditional supply.

 

[Maddog]

Thanks guys

Apparently these are English made so hopefully safe.

 

[brightspark]

Not in all cases... I have plenty of stuff with exposed external metal parts that are unearthed - but they're double insulated.

I even have a lamp (well, my son does) with a metal base that isn't earthed - as the lamp is operated by inductive switching when you touch the base it wouldn't function if it were earthed

if it has a plastic lampholder it doesn't require an earth if it has a metal one it does. that goes for a lot of wall lights and ceiling lites as well personaly though if I made one or rewired one I would earth the metal frame even with a plastic lampholder. the feed cable should have a clamp on to stop it being pulled out and a plastic sleeve fitted over the cable on entry to stop chaffing

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Simply put.
If it has exposed metal part, as a lamp it needs an earth.

 

[Maddog]

I emailed the seller and apparently the bulb holders are earthed.

 

[jack-daniels]

Don't forget the 3 amp fuse in the plug, and some pics of the new lamp!