Lighting, Light Fixtures, Ceiling and Exhaust Fans - Help determining which switches I need.
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sdphotog
11-04-09, 05:18 PM
First off, I'm not sure if I should have put this here or over in the AC/DC forum. I'm making a lamp, but the switches I'm looking at are generally used for hobby work, so please move if necessary.
As I said, I'm building a lamp. It will have 5 sockets, and each socket will hold a single 27w compact florescent bulb. I need the device to have 6 switches - one for a "master" power, and 1 each per socket.
I'm reasonably sure of how I'm going to wire this sucker (basically just bring connect all the white wires from the sockets to the white wires of the power cord, each black wire will go through a switch, and then connect to the black of the power cord, and the ground wire will be attached to the grounding screw in a 4x4 junction box.)
My question comes in terms of what rating of switches I need to use. Each individual bulb only will only be pulling less than .25 amps (27w@110V). Based on that math, my bulb switches should be a minimum of .25amps at 110v. The main switch is controlling power to 5 of those, so it needs to be rated at a minimum of 1.25 amps @ 110v.
Is my math correct here, or is there something else I need to be taking into account when deciding on the types of switches to use?
As I said, I'm building a lamp. It will have 5 sockets, and each socket will hold a single 27w compact florescent bulb. I need the device to have 6 switches - one for a "master" power, and 1 each per socket.
I'm reasonably sure of how I'm going to wire this sucker (basically just bring connect all the white wires from the sockets to the white wires of the power cord, each black wire will go through a switch, and then connect to the black of the power cord, and the ground wire will be attached to the grounding screw in a 4x4 junction box.)
My question comes in terms of what rating of switches I need to use. Each individual bulb only will only be pulling less than .25 amps (27w@110V). Based on that math, my bulb switches should be a minimum of .25amps at 110v. The main switch is controlling power to 5 of those, so it needs to be rated at a minimum of 1.25 amps @ 110v.
Is my math correct here, or is there something else I need to be taking into account when deciding on the types of switches to use?
sdphotog
11-05-09, 12:46 AM
I stopped by home depot tonight and discovered two things.
1) I have no idea how to properly ground a circuit in terms of what wires and sockets to purchase. If I get a three wire cable that will handle 15 amps - hot, neutral, ground - I would assume that this would be okay for my purposes, even if I chose to go with a higher wattage than 27 watts.
2) Do I need to ground each socket? I found these awesome rubber coated sockets that'll fit right into a 1 1/2" hole in my project box, but they don't have a ground wire. If I ground the power cable, do each of the individual bulbs need to be grounded? What about my switches?
I really have tried to find this information out on the web in general, but I'm having a hard time. Chances are I don't know the proper terminology, but then again maybe there just isn't specific information about this around.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated, even if it's links to pointed reference materials for me to learn myself :) :)
Thanks in advance!
R
1) I have no idea how to properly ground a circuit in terms of what wires and sockets to purchase. If I get a three wire cable that will handle 15 amps - hot, neutral, ground - I would assume that this would be okay for my purposes, even if I chose to go with a higher wattage than 27 watts.
2) Do I need to ground each socket? I found these awesome rubber coated sockets that'll fit right into a 1 1/2" hole in my project box, but they don't have a ground wire. If I ground the power cable, do each of the individual bulbs need to be grounded? What about my switches?
I really have tried to find this information out on the web in general, but I'm having a hard time. Chances are I don't know the proper terminology, but then again maybe there just isn't specific information about this around.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated, even if it's links to pointed reference materials for me to learn myself :) :)
Thanks in advance!
R
ray2047
11-05-09, 08:02 AM
5 amp minimum on the individual switches because you can't predict if someone will screw in an incandescents bulb. 15a for the main switch. It is always better to be generous with switch ratings.
Lamps are generally not grounded but the plug should be polarized. Be sure the switches are on the wire attached to the narrow blade of the plug.
Generally lamp cord has a raised ridge on one conductor. That is the neutral and goes to the wide blade of the plug. It is this wire that must go to the shell of each light. The silver screw on the lamp holder and silver on the plug.
The switched side goes to the tab in the bottom of the light, the brass screw.
Lamps are generally not grounded but the plug should be polarized. Be sure the switches are on the wire attached to the narrow blade of the plug.
Generally lamp cord has a raised ridge on one conductor. That is the neutral and goes to the wide blade of the plug. It is this wire that must go to the shell of each light. The silver screw on the lamp holder and silver on the plug.
The switched side goes to the tab in the bottom of the light, the brass screw.