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September 2, 2009
Light Fixture from Hong Kong
I bought a lighting fixture from a designer in Hong Kong which uses 220 volts at 50hz. Does anyone know if I'll be able to rig up a device where I can use this in the U.S.? I don't know of any transformers that will directly connect to the ceiling light box. Many thanks!!
Comments
If the light fixture takes regular 220 V bulbs with threaded Edison or candelabra sockets, you'll just have to substitute 110 V bulbs. If it has British-type bayonet sockets, it would be better to change the sockets than to use a transformer with 220 V bulbs--finding replacement bulbs would be a PITA (and where would you mount the transformer in a ceiling fixture?). If (which I think is unlikely) your fixture uses low voltage bulbs and has a transformer/power supply that's made to work with 220 V, you'd have to change it to one that works with 110 V.
FWIW, I don't think the change from 50 to 60 cycles makes any difference with a light fixture--only with a device (like an electric clock) that relies on the line current for timing.
Posted by: Bob Marvin at September 1, 2009 6:40 PM
get a lighting shop to rewire the fixture as needed, since it is not a do it yourself job... hope that the fixture is really nice because this could cost a few hundred dollars
Posted by: eman1234 at September 1, 2009 8:44 PM
the way I understand it 110V will requre x2 current to provide same power. x2 current supposed to run in x2 thicker wires. I am not sure how much of an issue over-current in 50cm of wiring in the fixture, still this is something to be clear about.
Posted by: bobjohn at September 1, 2009 10:49 PM
You shouldn't have to rewire the fixture at all; you MIGHT have to change the sockets, but NOT if US-type 110 V bulbs fit.
eman--why isn't rewiring a fixture (if needed) a possible do-it-yourself job, if the OP is so inclined? It ain't rocket science.
I can't comment on what bobjohn's wrote as I can seldom understand his written English.
Posted by: Bob Marvin at September 1, 2009 11:29 PM
here we go:
300W fixture will draw 1.5A of 220V. But it will draw 3A of 110V. So you need wires, which can handle twice more current. If fixture was wired with euro equivalent of 16AWG, you might need to replace it with 14AWG wire.
Or from another prospective: Europen breakers are 5A or 10A. And fixture wires are designed for 10A. Now if you going to put it on the 15A American breaker the thiner european wire can blow before the 15A breaker.
Posted by: bobjohn at September 1, 2009 11:49 PM
Yes, but it's just a LAMP. Even if it has the equivalent of #16 wire, that would work fine in the real world. How on Earth would you be able to put bulbs large enough to draw 10A in a household light fixture? You'd have to wear sunglasses indoors.
If the OP is concerned about the amount of current the fixture might draw, or, more realistically, about the heat the bulbs produce, she could always use compact fluorescent bulbs that are much lower wattage.I use them in almost all my lamps and light fixtures and IMO the "warm white" versions look fine.
Posted by: Bob Marvin at September 2, 2009 9:24 AM
It's easy enough to rewire anyway. I'd just do that & replace the transformer if there is one.
Posted by: Arkady at September 2, 2009 10:06 AM
If the wires look shockingly thin, rewiring MIGHT be justified, especially if it's a DIY job for the OP. The idea of spending a few hundred dollars (as eman suggested it might cost)to have someone else do the job offends my basic cheapness, err, frugality :-)
BTW the one light fixture I did have professionally re-wired (a '20s deco French wrought iron fixture that also had to be shortened and welded back together) has what looks like # 16 wire. I presume that the lighting dealer/restorer, who I knew well and trusted, used such thin wire out of necessity because a heavier gauge wouldn't fit. I've had the fixture in my dining room for over 20 years with no problems.
Posted by: Bob Marvin at September 2, 2009 10:20 AM
Bob Marvin,
I understand your point and do not mean to beat the dead horse here. I think the logic behind thick wires is not to have 1800W lights. Everything should be wired so if there is a ground short, the wire should carry the current (15A) and the breaker should blow. In other words all wires on the 15A breaker must safely handle 15A current.
Likely I never dealt with this first hand, but what if there is a fire in the house and insurance inspector will find lamp with thin wires. Would he point at it as a non-UL listed device and use it as an excuse to deny insurance? What if fire was started by completely different problem? Would they need to prove that fire was started by this lamp's wiring?
Posted by: bobjohn at September 2, 2009 11:31 AM
Yes, this is trivial! fifteen minutes and $10 in parts, even if you have to change the socket!
The difference in current is trivial, as arkady says. bobjohn's comment are incorrect (2x thicker wires, for instance, can carry 4x the current), and breaker size is irrelevant.
#16 wire is rated 13amps=1400watts, a pretty bright bulb. #18 is 10A.
Posted by: cmu at September 2, 2009 11:32 AM
There aren't nice light fixtures you could have bought in the US?
What a hassle just to make a foreign lamp work and not have it burn your house down.
Posted by: Minard Lafever at September 2, 2009 11:51 AM
I'm also puzzled why you brought a fixture from Hong Kong. I'm very familiar with the lighting fixtures from there, since I live there part of the year. In fact just a few months ago I had to replace some fixtures in my HK apartment and spent a day searching for something nice in Hong Kong's "lighting district" in Causeway Bay.
It wasn't easy. I didn't see anything on sale there that you couldn't find here. And the really beautiful high-end decorative lighting in Hong Kong is all imported from Europe, the UK or Japan.
Posted by: WonTon at September 2, 2009 11:59 AM
I'm with CMU. I bet you can DIY this, you just have to replace some hardware. Here:
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/skill-builder/0,,20058655,00.html
Or look around on Instructables.
Posted by: serpentor at September 2, 2009 12:35 PM
bobjohn, wrong again. If you have a short, even a #18 wire will tolerate the high current until the breaker blows (milliseconds), with no possibility of a fire.
I will concede that if you put in a 1600w bulb which draws 15A with #16 wire, the breaker will not blow and the wire will eventually overheat. Or have some kind of weird semi-shorting condition that allows 15A of leakage current for a while.
If you think the above scenarios are plausible, by all means use #10 wire (30A).
Why buy a foreign fixture...because he likes it, duh!
Posted by: cmu at September 2, 2009 12:57 PM
Of course a hypothetical 1600 W bulb, if it exists, would surely not fit in a household fixture, but, if it did, it's extreme heat would likely start a fire even before the overheated wire caused a problem. I really don't think this foreign fixture is likely to cause any problem in The US that it wouldn't cause in Hong Kong. People use really cheaply made Chinese fixtures from Home Depot, Ikea and Lowes without burning down their houses. Why should this (presumably) expensive and well made fixture be worse?
Posted by: Bob Marvin at September 2, 2009 7:33 PM
hey, again, I am not for 1600W bulbs. I just pointed that wire needs to handle 15A in case if there is a ground fault in the lamp and breaker is about to trip. Pressuming that cmu is right and #18 handles 15A long enough for breaker to trip, I do not see other problems.
also cmu, please do not be so confrontational. when I said 2x thicker, I meant 2x area not 2x diameter.
Posted by: bobjohn at September 2, 2009 11:26 PM
Thanks for all the input - I appreciate all the help. I should have been more specific... it is a piece that takes 6 bulbs, max 40Watts each.
It appears it takes the sockets are British type bayonet ones.
I am not sure what # the wires are though.
So my question is: if I could buy the appropriate Bayonet type bulbs, should I go ahead and try wiring this up, and seeing if anything blows/ overheats? it seems like there are a couple of differing opinions being given on the forum.
Oh, and WonTon, I got my lamp from G.O.D. which does not have a design store anywhere outside of hong kong.
Posted by: Carolinem at September 3, 2009 11:22 AM
Oh, which G.O.D. lamp did you get? I know their stock really well (My place in Hong Kong is across the street from one of their stores).
They had a very clever light fixture last season that was made from the red plastic lampshades that are everywhere in the outdoor wet markets. (The NYT featured it here:
http://themoment.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/the-high-low-kiosk-lampshade-25/
I went to my local hardware store and replicated the look in my kitchen for $2. No problem with wiring, since you slip it onto your own hanging bulb.
Posted by: WonTon at September 3, 2009 4:53 PM
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