putting outdoor 100w floodlights on plugs

fetchmypony · Nov 27, 2022

I have an arena lit by 100w LED floodlights, to get through planning my dad fabricated hinged collapsible poles and each is wired to a plug to make them 'temporary'

I've had so many replaced because IP65 does FA in rain. always replaced by electrician and rewired at the light.
Now I'm thinking could a bodger like me replace them? I could potentially buy new light fittings, fit a 4m cable and a plug and then plug them in?
or is there anywhere I can buy them with a 4m cable and sealed plug?

It is for business use so must be safe but the cost of keep calling out electricians to replace good quality lights that fail is quite hefty for me and I've only just remembered thay are all on plugs so am I have a brainwave or a brainfart? Photo for context. Tghank you very much for any advice, sadly dad is now too sick to help me and I'm a bit leccy illeterate.

James · Nov 27, 2022

Ip 65 is protected against water jets from any direction,
therefore they are suitable for use outdoors.

if the lights you are buying come with a pre connected cable why not put an ip 65 or 66 plug on the end of the pre connected cable and add a socket to suit next to the light.

I wonder if by changing the cable, you have reduced the ip rating of the fitting.

Julie. · Nov 27, 2022

Why are they failing - is it really due to moisture ingress, or is this an assumption?

It could very well be mechanical - when you fold/drop the poles are they suffering a mechanical shock which is causing the problems, or whilst folded the wind bashes them about a bit.

Providing you are able to do so correctly and safely you can do this work yourself, but it does have to be done properly.

What make of luminaires are you using, I specify these sorts of lights all the time, and when fitted they usually last for years.

Even the lower ip level ones, when good reliable makes are used last a very long time.

fetchmypony · Nov 27, 2022

Julie. said:
Why are they failing - is it really due to moisture ingress, or is this an assumption?

It could very well be mechanical - when you fold/drop the poles are they suffering a mechanical shock which is causing the problems, or whilst folded the wind bashes them about a bit.

Providing you are able to do so correctly and safely you can do this work yourself, but it does have to be done properly.

What make of luminaires are you using, I specify these sorts of lights all the time, and when fitted they usually last for years.

Even the lower ip level ones, when good reliable makes are used last a very long time.

Hi,
assumed moisture ingress as they start flickering. we haven't actually dropped the poles, we just built them to get through planning and incase I ever had to deal with them alone as Im not great on ladders alone. So far we've used Ansell and another brand I can't remember, suppled by the electrical company that fitted them but they're difficult to get out in a hurry (& expensive) and don't honour the guarantee either. Ideally I'd be able to replace them quickly because eg I have two flickering now and it's like a disco.
Could you recommend a particular light? and what cable & plug I should buy? thank you so much for your help.

James · Nov 27, 2022

How long are they lasting?
I would expect the electrician that supplied and fitted them to be providing a warranty Against defective materials and workmanship.

nicebutdim · Nov 27, 2022

James said:
How long are they lasting?
I would expect the electrician that supplied and fitted them to be providing a warranty Against defective materials and workmanship.

If they've been called out more than once, I'd also expect them to recommend lighting with a decent manufacturer's warranty (5 years+) and to claim any costs from that manufacturer, within the warranty period.

@fetchmypony have any of these electricians discussed better quality (albeit more expensive) options and who provides the lights that repeatedly fail?

fetchmypony · Nov 27, 2022

James said:
Ip 65 is protected against water jets from any direction,
therefore they are suitable for use outdoors.

if the lights you are buying come with a pre connected cable why not put an ip 65 or 66 plug on the end of the pre connected cable and add a socket to suit next to the light.

I wonder if by changing the cable, you have reduced the ip rating of the fitting.

Hi, so far I've never touched any of the lights, only the electrical installers have (interesting thought about the rating) and in 7 years we've had to have 6 changed in the arena alone. As you can imagine I ahve floodlights all over not just in this arena so everywhere else is a further expense with no plug option. I can't find any online with a decent length cable, I did find some with a plug but only 1m cable. There is a socket at the base of each lamp post so that's luckily there ready, I can't believe it's the first time I've remembered there's sockets available

fetchmypony · Nov 27, 2022

nicebutdim said:
If they've been called out more than once, I'd also expect them to recommend lighting with a decent manufacturer's warranty (5 years+) and to claim any costs from that manufacturer, within the warranty period.

@fetchmypony have any of these electricians discussed better quality (albeit more expensive) options and who provides the lights that repeatedly fail?

they've mostly been Ansell lights and yes I expect them to honour but they aren't and I'm done with them, they wanted a big job doing all my electrics and don't want to deal with any snags or failures, even when paying for it all they're difficult to get out, I've given up with them. I paid them a large tip too when the job was complete, I'm an idiot. I'm happy to pay for a good light (although I've no idea how to choose one), I just don't want to keep replacing them, or at least be able to do it myself.

fetchmypony · Nov 27, 2022

James said:
How long are they lasting?
I would expect the electrician that supplied and fitted them to be providing a warranty Against defective materials and workmanship

from what someone said earlier, if they're being wired to plug sockets we might be invalidating the warranty. Actually thikning about it we have loads of other normally wired floodlights and when most have failed over the last few years they haven't honeoured the warranty then either, they did take the fittings away and I'm guessing they got THEIR money back.,

nicebutdim · Nov 27, 2022

fetchmypony said:
from what someone said earlier, if they're being wired to plug sockets we might be invalidating the warranty. Actually thikning about it we have loads of other normally wired floodlights and when most have failed over the last few years they haven't honeoured the warranty then either, they did take the fittings away and I'm guessing they got THEIR money back.,

I think the point wasn't that fitting a plug would invalidate warranty, but some lights come pre-flexed and changing this flex may reduce the IP rating of a fitting and, by extension, invalidate its warranty.

DefyG · Nov 27, 2022

Majority of manufacturers warranties will be for 12 months so unlikely the installers would guarantee them beyond that period.
Should they fail before the warranty period has expired. From experience, most suppliers will replace the fitting, leaving the installer to 'attempt' to recover any 'call back' costs/labour/travelling from the manufacturer which more often than not doesn't end favourably for the installer!

nicebutdim · Nov 27, 2022

fetchmypony said:
they've mostly been Ansell lights and yes I expect them to honour but they aren't and I'm done with them, they wanted a big job doing all my electrics and don't want to deal with any snags or failures, even when paying for it all they're difficult to get out, I've given up with them. I paid them a large tip too when the job was complete, I'm an idiot. I'm happy to pay for a good light (although I've no idea how to choose one), I just don't want to keep replacing them, or at least be able to do it myself.

All electricians will have personal thoughts about particular manufacturer's, so I'm not going to pass judgement on Ansell (good or bad), but I will point out that many Ansell floodlights (not all) are warranted for 5 years.

It might be an idea, without labouring the point, to check that any future electrician, whose services you engage, honour a period of warranty on their work and are prepared to deal with manufacturer warranty claims on any products they provide.

nicebutdim · Nov 27, 2022

DefyG said:
Majority of manufacturers warranties will be for 12 months so unlikely the installers would guarantee them beyond that period.
Should they fail before the warranty period has expired. From experience, most suppliers will replace the fitting, leaving the installer to 'attempt' to recover any 'call back' costs/labour/travelling from the manufacturer which more often than not doesn't end favourably for the installer!

This is true, but it's not a problem that any reputable business would pass to their customers. It's also something that should be taken into account when specifying products - all well and good when Mrs Jones wants a 10W floodlight in her back garden, but multiple factors should be consideration on more involved installation and be down to whatever a particular wholesaler has in stock.

fetchmypony · Nov 27, 2022

nicebutdim said:
I think the point wasn't that fitting a plug would invalidate warranty, but some lights come pre-flexed and changing this flex may reduce the IP rating of a fitting and, by extension, invalidate its warranty.

ah apologies, I'm sorry I don't actually know how they were done. I had an online search and some said they came with cable that could be swapped but I forget the wording

nicebutdim · Nov 27, 2022

fetchmypony said:
ah apologies, I'm sorry I don't actually know how they were done. I had an online search and some said they came with cable that could be swapped but I forget the wording

The installation may be fine and I believe the other comment was intended to highlight a potential problem, rather than point at a cause.

I've no idea what is causing these failures, but wouldn't immediately assume water ingress.

putting outdoor 100w floodlights on plugs

fetchmypony

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