Better Lighting

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devonwoody

Established Member
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11 Apr 2004
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Location
Paignton Devon
I received a questionaire from Good Woodworking (the magzine) and amongst the items mentioned was better lighting for a workshop.

Then I thought, can I myself an unqualified and not certificated electrician actually change the lighting in my workshop (garage)?

Is a garage inside or outside?

To me its inside, what does the council or P4 say?
 
My understanding of Part P is that it refers to fixed wiring in defined "special locations" (bathroom/kitchen/outdoors)
So you are allowed to change light fittings,or replace damaged wiring/fittings as long as what you use is suitable (e.g. same rating/size of cable)

Extending/adding wiring falls in scope,changing/replacing doesn't.

And is your garage attached or detached?

Andrew
 
During a recent trip to IKEA (not something I like to do too often) I bought a set of halogen lights. Three lights (bulbs and sockets), transformer, cable etc, all for 9 pounds something.
They're not your normal workshop fittings, but they work really well. I've got some attached above the bench I use for sharpening. They certainly get around the problem of re-wiring your workshop!

Andy
 
Neil,

Very true, they do get a little toasty!! I made sure that they are well away from any surfaces, they actually came with some 'arms' to make them more remote. Also, in this case having a very cold workshop helps!!
As the bulbs are pretty small, there's not much area for dust to cover. But duly noted. I'll be sure to keep them clean .

Thanks
Andy
 
Hey Andy,

I've had some Ikea spot lights in the workshop above the bench for about 4 years now with no problems! I had them left over from a job I did in one of the kids bedrooms. I think they where about 9quid too and its only recently that one of the bulbs has just gone! They seem to be a hell of a lot more stable that the expensive ones that I put in the kitchen, I for ever replacing bulbs in them!

SimonA
 
4 Years!! I wasn't expecting that kind of life time. Make 9 pounds even more of a bargain.
Just incase anyone else reads this thread and is intrested, here's a link to the lighting kit

Andy
 
:shock: Now they are fancy for the workshop fella.....I only have the bobby basic shelf lights.

Link to picture

And the picture:
25205_PE109928_S3.jpg


Whhooooo.......I love this stuff.....:p

I do like some of their LED range now though!

SimonA
 
SimonA":3ngfmpy7 said:
Now they are fancy for the workshop fella.....I only have the bobby basic shelf lights.
And bit too fiddly too... I'll grab a photo of the setup when I'm back home this evening.
It was one of those, 'Aha, that would be useful' moments, and for 9 quid, I'm surprised only one set ended up in the trolley!! If I'd thought about it more, the version in your picture would have been much more sensible.

BTW, if you want to include an image, do it like this:
Code:
[img]http://www.somewhere.com/a/link/to/my/image.jpg[/img]
Just replace the link (between the bits) with the link to the image. Loads more info on the [url=https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/faq.php?mode=bbcode]bbcode help page[/url]
Andy
 
SimonA":144ee8pq said:
Sorry about the link, but I don't know how to make one of those fancy short underlined text links.

Like this you mean.

Code:
Like [url=http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/25205_PE109928_S3.jpg] this[/url] you mean.

Cheers
Neil
 
This thread concerns me, as someone once told me halogen sources were safe to use in woodworking situations?

The only heat source in my workshop-vs-garage is a small halogen heater. It certainly heats up in no time, but it's only really good for close working, I find it doesn't fill the space well at all - well, there are a couple of holes in the roof and no insulation either... :wink:

Anyway, I do always switch it off when machining timber, just in case.

They are very energy efficient though, that'll keep yer missus from complaining about all those lost hours in the workshop! :lol:
 
Cheers for the tips Andy and Neil......I've put them to good use in the previous message!

Thanks again.

SimonA
 
My understanding of section p is to reduce injury/death 'outside' from mowers /hedge cutters cutting the feed cable and similar problems with pool pumps etc so they need rcd and mcb protection but this also applies to any where else they could be plugged in so garage ,shed ,kitchen, ground floor ring main.
You can see that to comply you need to have a up to date consumer unit with the proper protection to the individual circuits.
If your workshop has this protection then extending the lighting circuit using the same type of wire and proper fittings would be safe as the 6 amp mcb limits the current.
 
Here's a couple of pictures of those IKEA lights, just in case someone else is thinking of using some. Nothing clever, just a couple of holes through a bit of pine to hold each light. The only slight alteration was to bend the 'arms' on each light, this was done to allow the lights to point down, but have the cabling go horizontal.

lightsBack.jpg
lights.jpg


Devonwoody, sorry for completely hijacking this thread BTW.

Andy
 
I changed all the strip lights in my workshop for daylight tubes ( its just what there called ). they have made it so much better and when it comes to preping b4 they are finished glue marks show up so well so you dont get no supprises when you apply a finish. They were only £2 or so each for 4ft tubes. When i first looked at changing i bought 4 different types to try and these were the best. I got the from my local electrical holesaler. He had a catalogue with loads off different ones in.

steve
 
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