Lap Downlights

ferg · Aug 21, 2020

I've ended up repairing / rewiring anothers mess and one of the delights I'm faced with is Lap 240v integrated downlights.

They have loop in and out push fit terminals but no terminal for the cpc and no space or way of using a connector in the fitting to ensure a cpc at each point.

I've already decided what to do, wago box above each fitting, they are CII but unless I'm completely missing something these can't be installed as designed and still meet the regs.

Have I missed something?

MJPD29 · Aug 21, 2020

I've never used them but I wouldn't be surprised with anything LAP. Never seen a worse DIYers brand in my life. Was asked to install 2x50w per floods by a customer that they supplied. Didn't even last 6 weeks.

Dartlec · Aug 21, 2020

I've used them quite a lot on bathroom fitters jobs where they want cheap and cheerful. They actually seem nice lights and I've found them fairly reliable, but the lack of CPC has always bothered me.

What I do is a wago lite box above each fitting with the feed in/out into Wago 224-112. Then I run a short length of 2 core flex to the fitting (or 3 cord with earth snipped at the light end). I ran this past my NICEIC guy at my last inspection and he considered this perfectly reasonable (no different to a pendant really)- the main thing is that it ensures continuity on the circuit in case anyone else changes the lights in the future for Class 1.

God knows why they didn't include a CPC connection - and I wouldn't mind betting that 80% of them at least get installed incorrectly with no earth continuity.

In general, I've found most downlights have poor terminals and I've had problems with push fit ones on several makes (admittedly at the cheaper end of the market). Often there is too short a space between the cord grips and the terminals, making terminating two cables tricky to wrestle in there and requiring care to get the sheaths fully inside the fitting.

Wago lite boxes and 224-112 are a great combination though - the extra cost per light is more than made up with by the reduction in hassle for me installing them...

James18288 · Aug 22, 2020

I picked a few of these up the other day and couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t provide a CPC connection. I only bought them because it was a price job and they are cost effective, apart from the lack of CPC they are actually really good. I did the same as others, wago box and a bit of two core, however, once you add the price of the wago Box on, I may as well have fitted the normal downlights I go for. The evofire ones available from tool station are still my favourite. The only gripe with them is the amount of packaging, it takes nearly as long to unwrap them as it does to fit them!

ChrisElectrical88 · Aug 23, 2020

Used them once, just used the click flow 20A inline connectors and a 2c flex to the fitting. They are awful.
Funnily enough my go to sow light is the Click Scholmore fitting with a GU10 Lamp. About a tenner all included and you get the click flow connector free in the box with the spotlight pre wired up

Baddegg · Aug 23, 2020

What lap ones are they @ferg? I’ve been to look at a job this morning and the customer has supplied lap fittings but although metal class II they still have an earth terminal...

Dartlec · Aug 23, 2020

Baddegg said:
What lap ones are they @ferg? I’ve been to look at a job this morning and the customer has supplied lap fittings but although metal class II they still have an earth terminal...

They do fire rated ones too that are a bit bigger so may have those terminals - they look more like a normal 'can' type I think.

These ones only have the two sets of L & N push fit connectors though. And I've only just noticed that one of the badly photoshopped pictures they use clearly shows them being installed with no CPC continuity: Behold -