B&Q light - is this safe?

[myxiplx]

Hi folks,

I've just bought a B&Q Vortex spiral arm ceiling light and I'm a bit concerned at the way you're meant to install it.

This has five arms for the lights, and you need to bolt these to the central mount yourself, and them wire them up to the included terminal block.

What concerns me is that the instructions tell you to twist five stranded wires together, and them stick them in the terminal block and tighten it down.

Once you twist these wires together, they just about fill the junction block, and you can just barely get them in without the twist coming apart. You don't have a lot of depth, so there's maybe 6-7mm of wire at most going into the block, which isn't a lot when you're trying to clamp down on all five of these stranded wires.

Then once you've got the live set installed, you have to do the same with the neutrals, which means the live set bend and twist as you try to manoeuvre all the wires into place. Throughout the process I had loose strands shearing off both the live and neutral side, and I've had to tip a whole pile of metal strands out of the light fitting.

Then to cap it all, it's an extremely tight fit to the ceiling, so you have to twist the wires and really push hard to get them into position as you offer it up to the mount.

It really doesn't feel safe to me, I'm not at all sure a terminal block can safely hold that many twisted wires, especially with the forces on them during the installation. And you've no way of seeing if there are any loose strands, or broken strands inside there after the install.

I'm no expert in electrics, could I get a second opinion here on whether that sounds like a problem?

 

[deadshort]

Hi, if you could provide a picture of the connections and light that would help.

Kind regards,

DS

 

[ericmark]

In the main we limit wires into one terminal to three. However with flex the problem is not the same as with single core cables. But there is nothing in the regulations which states how many cables should be fitted into one clamp and unlikely there ever will be as much depends on the design of the clamp.

The screw connectors could easy connect 5 stranded cables but the spring maintenance free connectors are limited to one cable.

As to lighting the major problem is many are designed to be used with USA style wiring where the switch has all the connections and the lamp or ceiling rose has just three wires. In the UK we use the ceiling rose as a junction box which means fans and emergency lights have the permanent line they require. But this also means often the connector block needs changing.

 

[flyingsparks]

As DS says we need pictures if possible. I am getting more and more annoyed with the quality of a lot of light fittings which you can buy in the sheds. They are obviously designed by people with no idea on how to fit them. Only today I had to fit a ceiling fan and light combo for a customer. The whole thing had to virtually be built from scratch, and then fit a lighting pod to the underside. Getting that on with all the cables and control gear inside it was nearly impossible - and I'm an electrician with 12 yrs experience in getting things to fit! I don't think most DIYers would have managed it. This was a light the customer had supplied.
I have recently started making and selling my own lighting products, only on a small scale at the moment, but hope to expand it. I design things properly, with the fitting and connections thought about properly.

 

[sparkwright]

Very often I find myself chucking away the connector block supplied, and use my own - often my own are slightly bigger, and of a better quality.

Only flexible cores should be twisted, you shouldn't do this with the solid cores that no doubt emerge from your ceiling.

If you've got strands breaking off, you need to re-strip band try again.

Experience is paramount, even when it comes to what should only be a simple job like this.

You've said it doesn't feel quite safe to you, so the chances are it's not right.

When twisting flexes together, it's best if all the strands in all the wires are 'straight', then twist the whole lot together.

As you've a lot of flexes, it may pay to twist them in two separate bunches, then lay the two separate bunches into the terminal block.

As said, pictures will help.

 

[JohnW2]

Experience is paramount, even when it comes to what should only be a simple job like this.

Very true - but, of course, there's only one way of gaining experience

Kind Regards, John