any electricians or electricity guru's around?help

socom3riot

socom3riot

Well-Known Member
Ok so I was wondering, is it possible to wire a lighting system to a wire cut off a regular lamp with a 2 prong plug-in ? Dunno if u understand what im saying.. but take a regular lamp you would use on a end-table, cut the wire off it , and sorta "splice" it to like a fluorescent light fixture..

would that work or cause fire problems
 
switch10

switch10

Well-Known Member
I'm an electrician. Is there existing wire connected to the fixture that's cut off or something? Or is it a unit thats suppose to be mounted to the ceiling? Are you looking at green, black (or red), and white wires?
 
socom3riot

socom3riot

Well-Known Member
switch10 said:
I'm an electrician. Is there existing wire connected to the fixture that's cut off or something? Or is it a unit thats suppose to be mounted to the ceiling? Are you looking at green, black (or red), and white wires?
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I actually dont have the fixture here , I was looking at some today. But yea its a fixture that is supposed to be mounted to a ceiling and wired to you house. Didnt know if it was possible to wire it to a plug in and make it into a plug in unit.

as for the color of the wires, im not sure , they were white but I think its because the wires were coated in a white insulator plastic type stuff. May have been different colored wires inside it
 
GNOME GROWN

GNOME GROWN

Well-Known Member
yah that works..but its sketchy as fuck!..ur better off with an old extention cord..cut the end off and wire it with that..u need the 3 prong cord.."pos.neg. and ground" hope this helps...good luck!
 
socom3riot

socom3riot

Well-Known Member
GNOME GROWN said:
yah that works..but its sketchy as fuck!..ur better off with an old extention cord..cut the end off and wire it with that..u need the 3 prong cord.."pos.neg. and ground" hope this helps...good luck!
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aight thanks. what ya mean by sketchy? I dont really wnana do it if its gonna burn my house down lol
 
GNOME GROWN

GNOME GROWN

Well-Known Member
thats what i meen by sketchy...3 prong plugs have a ground on it for a reason...it grounds out a trips ur breaker so it doesnt start a fire!..i would not recomend wireing anything without a ground!
 
switch10

switch10

Well-Known Member
Yes you can do that. Get some wire nuts, most of those fixtures come with 3 of the right size. You don't really need a ground contrary to popular belief (a lot of old houses have no grounds at all, just 2 prong receptacle's). It definitely is not ideal though, and if I were you I would hardwire it directly into an outlet or light fixture with some romex. It's not hard and it's much safer. Those things are a bitch to hang you know right? Or you could buy a t5 or something that COMES with a power cord and is made to hang. Just a thought. Good luck man
 
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pickleman

Well-Known Member
i think he means dont use the lamp cord with 2 prongs but find one that has three prongs then u will have a ground and it wont be sketchy
 
G

gforce420

Well-Known Member
I would say, don't use the skinny little lamp cord. I would use something w/ a grounded plug on it. If you don't have something @ the house you wanna cut off then pick but a cheap cord, but something cheap @ a yard sale, or hell dumpster dive something if you're that broke.

But all that may not even matter to ya. If you are looking to save money on buying a T12 floro fixture that is a couple dollars cheaper than the one that has a plug in it, well i would get neither one of them. Just go ahead & spend your money on CFL's. Or if you're not entirely broke as you sound (no offense, I know what broke feels like!) then get a high output t5 fixture.
 
socom3riot

socom3riot

Well-Known Member
gforce420 said:
I would say, don't use the skinny little lamp cord. I would use something w/ a grounded plug on it. If you don't have something @ the house you wanna cut off then pick but a cheap cord, but something cheap @ a yard sale, or hell dumpster dive something if you're that broke.

But all that may not even matter to ya. If you are looking to save money on buying a T12 floro fixture that is a couple dollars cheaper than the one that has a plug in it, well i would get neither one of them. Just go ahead & spend your money on CFL's. Or if you're not entirely broke as you sound (no offense, I know what broke feels like!) then get a high output t5 fixture.
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Well it was more of a space issue, none of the places around here have the plugin type fixtures that would fit the space I have , and the ones they do have are the little 1 bulb under the cabinet type fixtures.
 
msdsm39

msdsm39

Well-Known Member
I second that... it is also important to have a wire that is thick enough to carry the number of amps you will draw on your fixture.

gforce420 said:
I would say, don't use the skinny little lamp cord. I would use something w/ a grounded plug on it. If you don't have something @ the house you wanna cut off then pick but a cheap cord, but something cheap @ a yard sale, or hell dumpster dive something if you're that broke.

But all that may not even matter to ya. If you are looking to save money on buying a T12 floro fixture that is a couple dollars cheaper than the one that has a plug in it, well i would get neither one of them. Just go ahead & spend your money on CFL's. Or if you're not entirely broke as you sound (no offense, I know what broke feels like!) then get a high output t5 fixture.
Click to expand...
 
GNOME GROWN

GNOME GROWN

Well-Known Member
dude how many wires r on ur fixture?..3 rite? pos. neg. and ground?..it should be like black white and green...or red black and green..or some shit..
 
socom3riot

socom3riot

Well-Known Member
GNOME GROWN said:
dude how many wires r on ur fixture?..3 rite? pos. neg. and ground?..it should be like black white and green...or red black and green..or some shit..
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ya, what are the colors? black = ? , white = ? , green = ? , i know usually black is ground, but im used to red being positive, and im used to neg being ground.. lol , im doing some electrical but its in a heavy equipment mechanic course, which is different from household wiring im seeing now.. since theres only usually 2 wires , red and black , positive and neg (ground) in the mechanic world
 
msdsm39

msdsm39

Well-Known Member
in home wiring... AC is different from DC

black = hot
white = common
green = ground

socom3riot said:
ya, what are the colors? black = ? , white = ? , green = ? , i know usually black is ground, but im used to red being positive, and im used to neg being ground.. lol , im doing some electrical but its in a heavy equipment mechanic course, which is different from household wiring im seeing now.. since theres only usually 2 wires , red and black , positive and neg (ground) in the mechanic world
Click to expand...
 
switch10

switch10

Well-Known Member
Oh yea and if you do end up using a power cord from a lamp (not recommended) there are no colors. chances are it will be 2 stranded wires next to each other. Separate them, one will have little grooves on it, the other will not. The one with grooves is your common or neutral. the smooth is hot.
 
GNOME GROWN

GNOME GROWN

Well-Known Member
yah dude i think black is pos. white is neg. and green is ground..match the colors if there the same..lol!
 
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