Wiring Lights for Sign - Novice

[chr15yc]

Hey everyone I would appreciate your help with something.

I am making a sign at the moment and am wiring it with lights. I have purchased E27 4W bulbs and holders, I plan to chain a number of lights together on the one circuit roughly 15. I am wondering what wire I should purchase to do this and also can I simply purchase a Keetle Plug Connector and connect that to the lights? I'm not going to burn down the house if I plug this in am I? lol

Thank you for any help that can be provided.

 

[Darkwood]

Hi chr15yc ... I have approved your thread in the main forum to speed up responses, when admin' is next online you will be given DIY access and the thread relocated to the DIY section.

Re' Darkwood...

 

[chr15yc]

Thanks Darkwood

 

[DuaneMHunt1976]

I=P/V and your using 15x4W=60W, 60W/230v=0.261A or 261mA

Kettle lead IEC 60320 (had to look that up, as all i remember is the IEC bit)
0.75-25mm Cable if you like (smaller is cheaper)

Just remember the CENTER of a Eddison Light the Live goes to.

 

[chr15yc]

You're a star Duane!

And I am correct in thinking that in order to chain them all together all that I do is run a cable between each bulb? Obviously ensuring that the Live goes to the Centre of the next bulb?

Thanks again, I'll get that cable and the fittings during the week

 

[Richard Burns]

Remember to connect the cable to the bulb holders in parallel not series.

 

[chr15yc]

Thanks Richard.
The bulbs I have are 220-240V and the holder is rated 250V. Will these Kettle Connectors work?

5 Pcs Green Lamp Rocker Switch IEC320 C14 Power Socket AC 10A 250V | eBay

Also because the bulbs are 220-240V does this mean I would need to use a 230V Kettle Lead to plug it in? Would a 250V do any harm?

Sorry for all the questions and thank you all so much for the help you have already provided. The bulbs I bought were not cheap so I don't want to damage them by doing something stupid lol

 

[Richard Burns]

I am afraid you do seem a little out of your depth on undertaking this job.
This can lead to there being problems with your project.
Please be careful and ensure that you do understand the figure, voltages and safety that you need to apply here.

The rating of the IEC kettle lead is its maximum voltage, so anything less than that will be OK.
The voltage supplied from the mains will be 230V or so this is the key point and the votlage to which you are working.
The kettle lead, lamp holders and switches are rated to be able to be used at this voltage.

The switches that you have linked to are designed to be mounted on a thin flat metal panel, which will be fine if that is what you have, and will require a securely rigid surface to fix them into as they will be subject to strain on inserting / removing the plug.

Only if you had an item specified at say 30V or 120V would this be dangerous to connect to your system

If you are unsure then it would be best to start with one bulb so that you can assess problem in a step wise manner.
Do not power the system until it is in a safe condition to be switched on.

Good luck.

 

[GMES]

Hi Chris, firstly thanks for using the forum to try and find the answers you need but I am afraid this goes a bit beyond offering advice on swapping a faceplate or socket front which is the usual question we get in the diy section. As Richard points out#8 you do seem out of your depth here which can be a dangerous place to be, it is one thing for forum members to offer bits of advice but not to give a step by step guide on installation work, therefore I am afraid I need to close the thread for now until Admin can take a look at it closer, even though it will be closed it will still be visible to you and other members and if you all would like to talk via the pm system that is fine but I'm not comfortable to allow Forum members to continue to dish out advice to a unqualified and unsupervised person.
If Admin decide to Re-open it that's fine but for now it is closed, I hope you understand why I had to do it.