Rewire a table lamp - any help appreciated!

Jacquiemalta · Nov 5, 2016

Hi,

I have a table lamp that I love but it only allows bulbs up to 50 watt although the shade is large and open so not really a fire hazard. I have been using halogen bulbs to the equivalent of 70 watts (I think they're around 42 watt but I threw the box away) but they only last about a month before blowing. I have a feeling the fitting is dodgy because the bulb (bayonet) is never secure and rocks easily. Also, the switch which is part of the lamp holder, not on the cable, is dodgy too and needs playing about with a bit.

I want to rewire the lamp to take up to 100 watt bulbs and have been looking online at lamp holders. However from what I've been reading, the wattage is dependent on the shade, not the fitting. I'm not worried about the shade and would still like to use the lower watt bulbs equivalent to 70w anyway so the heat won't be too bad. Do I just need to replace the lamp holder with a new one and can I use the existing cable or do cables have wattages of their own?

I won't rewire the lamp myself as I work at a hotel and the maintenance team will do it.

Sorry if this is a stupid question to you professionals!

Thanks in advance for any help.

freddo · Nov 6, 2016

There are quite a number of LED floodlights lasting about as long as a halogen tube, OK these have been from a number of cheaper suppliers, but it's a shocking waste of raw materials having to replace entire fittings every 12 months. I've had a number of expensive brand name fittings fail as well. All were installed in a way that was ideal as far as ventilation was concerned.

I must say I'm starting to hate LED lighting a bit, some of the products are so awful and are designed in such a way that installing the luminaire is almost impossible to do. I now outright refuse to fit Wickes branded LED floodlights as they are literally impossible to install, the designers need a good smack. As do all the other manufacturers that provide a silly little bit of flex out of the fitting or power supply, instead of providing proper terminals. And the less said about LED floods with built in PIRs the better!