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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Scary Lamp....
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Grogster Admin Group  Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9753 |
This is interesting. 230v lamp wired up with low-voltage bell-wire.     This is the solid-core wire often used to wire up door bells to the outside buttons. Normally only used with 6v or so, generally no more then about 12v. Note that the wire used for phase is not even clamped in the plug terminal..... The customer called me in to look at the lamp, as they had to bang the lamp or wiggle the power cord to make it work. I wonder why?! (rhetorical) I pointed out(gently) when I saw this, that it is totally illegal wiring, potentially dangerous and a possible fire-risk wired up with bell-wire as it is.  Luckily, they agreed to my taking the lamp back to my workshop and to replace the mains cable with approved cable to restore it's electrical safety. But jobs like this do scare me a little. I wonder how long it had been wired up like that, and to think that there are probably thousands of things wired up like that by enthusiastic amateurs. Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| Boppa Guru  Joined: 08/11/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 816 |
All too common, I have seen things wired up with 12v automotive wiring and speaker wiring- at least they are stranded, even if the insulation is totally inadequate... But bell wire?? that stuff snaps just by looking at it too hard, possibly leaving you with a bare wire sticking out... Ugghhhhh  |
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bigmik Guru Joined: 20/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2971 |
I have seen the opposite as well, 240V wiring used for 12v applications.. Unfortunately someone came to Don and I many years back with a Floppy drive (very expensive --- several $100 at the time) that had 240V flex soldered to it so he attached a plug and plugged it into the mains. PHHHT!!$$^%$^ "Hey can you blokes fix this for me??" Kind Regards, Mick Mick's uMite Stuff can be found >>> HERE (Kindly hosted by Dontronics) <<< |
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| Boppa Guru Joined: 08/11/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 816 |
LOL, so what did you tell him??? Years ago, a mate of mine from school nearly got killed by using an old stick welder His dad had made up several long extension cords and just 'wired em up till they worked' One had an active/neutral transposition, and another had a neutral/earth transposition Any used individually 'worked' But plugged into each other, the welder ended up with the Active connected to the welders metal case, with metal handle, on rubber wheels..... He woke up 10 feet from the welder....  |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9753 |
He was lucky to wake up at all.....  I have seen videos of people who try to make welders out of MOT's(Microwave Oven Transformers), and if you cut off and remove the HV winding, and place your own winding on there, they can make a nice battery-tab welder for intermittent use, but one video I saw some kid drawing huge arcs from an electrode to the work-piece on an MOT, and he obviously was using the 4KV side - literally playing with death. 4000V at anything up to half an amp is about as lethal as it gets on a 230v single-phase supply. One false move, and it would have been all-over. I remember reading the horrified comments on that video from people saying the same thing. I wonder if that young chap is still alive?(rhetorical) Yeah, take a look at all the horrible twists in that wire in the photos. Not good.....   Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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Chopperp Guru Joined: 03/01/2018 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1106 |
Hey Bigmik How's retirement going? ChopperP |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9753 |
Ahhhhhhhhhh, compliance.    I actually used the bell-wire as a draw-wire to pull the new 2-core flex through the lamp. That saved a lot of fiddling about, so it was useful for THAT!  Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| Boppa Guru Joined: 08/11/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 816 |
LOL- well it has to be useful for something...  |
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retepsnikrep Senior Member  Joined: 31/12/2007 Location: United KingdomPosts: 134 |
Pah Snowflakes.. In the good old days that was probably good enough for a 1kw fire.. LOL Gen1 Honda Insights. |
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| bigmik Guru Joined: 20/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2971 |
@Boppa Well it was 30odd years ago so I cant remember exactly and to be honest it was Don’s job, he brought me in to give a second opinion... I do remember several/many `popped’ chips and it was a write-off even if the steppers were ok which I doubt... @Chopper, Good now, I have my first pension payment (took 9 weeks to get things organised ...Blhhhhh) so I hope to sit back and enjoy it... I still cant believe how much work there is to do around the house. The missus has changed my name to Canoe... Canoe do this? Canoe do that? Canoe fix this? Canoe move that? Errkkk. I hope to get around to designing a new MuP PCB soon (I have a few ideas of what a MuP-4 would look like but I haven’t yet decided whether it will be a 64 pinner or larger) Kind regards, All. Mick's uMite Stuff can be found >>> HERE (Kindly hosted by Dontronics) <<< |
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