Is my light socket safe for a diy wood kiln?

[T.Wiley]

Good morning everyone,

I need help determining safety / use of my light socket for use in a refridgerator wood bowl kiln. Im a wood turner and I need a quicker turn around time on my pieces so I built two kilns each powered by a 40w incandescent light bulb.

The ambience will be humid and the light should ne continiously turned on for three to four weeks. The socket is made from plastic with the wiring completely isolated from the back side, my only doubt is where the bulb screws in. Im not an electrician so I don't know what I'm looking for.

In the product description it says water resistant.

Im including a direct link to one I bought off amazon. Unfortunately its in Spanish so I don't know if that will be manageable to understand exactally what the product is.

I will be happy to share photos of my project to better inform about the question at hand.

Thanks in advance and I hope you can give me some insight about what im looking at here.

Many thanks,

Link: View: https://www.amazon.es/gp/product/B0839G4F92/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[naylorpd]

I'm not an electrician but I watched this

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Du5YGAtVL3k
to understand what you were trying to do.

So you are putting a light bulb in a well-sealed fridge and water is going to come out of the wood. That will create both humidity and condensation, which may drip. That sounds a lot like a bathroom.

The electricians will tell you exactly what you need, but my feeling is that it's going to need to be IP rated for bathrooms or outdoor use - both the lampholder and the lamp. The lamp holders you linked to don't look suitable.

 

[pirate]

Your product description says it is resistant to water and dust, but that is for a normal environment. It is not unusual for Spanish properties to use non IP rated light fittings outside for garden lighting, however, for your intended use where there is constant moisture I do not believe those ones you have linked to will be up to the job.
Presumably the purpose of the 40W bulb is only for a constant low heat, not for light, so maybe a purpose designed heater element would be a better option.

 

[T.Wiley]

Thank you both for your response.

Naylorpd that´s actually the exact style of kiln that I built, those are the conditions that you described. I did a lot of research and there are many types, but at the end I decided to build one exactly like the one in this video. Thanks very much for the reference.

Pirate that´s good insight. The first time I came across the ip ratings was after I bought these light sockets when I started to research more.

Since I´ve got the setup already built and it were just a matter of swapping the light sockets I´d prefer to keep this system if possible. Do you know offhand what IP rating would be required for exterior garden lamps? Or how to find them? I´ve had trouble finding anything that wasn´t LED specific for exterior lights here in Spain, keeping in mind 220w is the standard plug and American options won´t work for me. (because of the Corona virus all the stores are closed, is this something that you could normally find in a diy store that sells everything for home projects?) No idea if it´s a specialty item.

I haven´t considered a purpose built heater element until you suggested it, the original idea was to keep the build cheap, but safe. I have a thermostat that maintains a constant temp and I would like to be able to maintain it fixed at temperatures between 25 and 38 or so Celsius if possible. It´s clear a bit more research is necessary.

Thanks again for your insight and if you have any additional tips or links to useful resources it´s greatly appreciated.

 

[naylorpd]

Something like this should be OK:

Lámpara de luz de mampara de techo/pared Olivia, ES / E27, máx.100 W, IP54, baquelita negra, cubierta de vidrio transparente, jaula de acero, OLIVIA-E27-BBTGS: Amazon.es: Iluminación

ENVÍO GRATIS posible para usuarios Prime en más de 2 Millones de productos. Comprar Lámpara de luz de mampara de techo/pared Olivia, ES / E27, máx.100 W, IP54, baquelita negra, cubierta de vidrio transparente, jaula de acero, OLIVIA-E27-BBTGS a precios bajos. Encuentra más Apliques de exterior...

amzn.to

Since it can take a bulb up to 100W you should be able to control how warm it gets. It will take longer than a bare bulb to get up to temperature though. Maybe where you thought 40W was OK you will now need 60W.

A product with an IP54 rating is protected against quantity of dust that could interfere with the normal operation of the product but is not fully dust tight. The product is completely protected against solid objects. It is also protected against water splashing from any angle.

 

[pirate]

I think a Google search for your local bricolage (DIY) stores may be fruitful.
As an alternative, maybe you could look for the type of heating mat for propagation of seedlings in greenhouses etc. Basically a mat with a heater element built in which can run constantly, some with a thermostat. I don't think they will run quite as hot as you require, so may need a longer run-time to get the end result you need. Similar items are available from home-brewing stores.

 

[T.Wiley]

Sorry I got busy and forgot to thank you both for your help.

 

[pirate]

Can you tell us how you resolved your matter?

 

[T.Wiley]

I haven't resolved it yet, but I have a plan to ask an electrician to come and have a look at my wiring and let him tell me if it's safe to leave my electricity on all night with the kilns running in the workshop. I'll let you know how it goes as soon as I resolve it.

I'm considering the link that naylorpd reccomend at the moment