Cable for outdoor floodlights?

[Nope]

Hi everyone,

Last night when I went outside I switched on the outdoor LED floodlights (which were already installed when we moved in) and noticed they had both stopped working (one has a nasty looking burn mark on one of the LEDs).

I plan to replace them, but I was having a look at the wiring this morning from ground level and it seems that whoever installed them didn’t use outdoor cable. They just used ordinary T+E which comes out of a junction box above the kitchen window (where it’s probably fed from the lighting circuit) and is tacked along the wall, then it goes into another junction box which both lights are wired into.

My question is - when replacing these lights, would it be prudent to replace this cable with something more suitable for outdoor use, or should I just use regular T+E but put it inside a conduit or something?

 

[Murdochcat]

Hi-tuff (NYY-J) would meet the requirements ........... as would T&E in conduit

 

[ericmark]

If you use black cable it can stand UV light better than other colours, twin and earth can be a problem in direct sun light, and also hard to get a seal on the cable, so really want a round cable which is black.

 

[Nope]

If you use black cable it can stand UV light better than other colours, twin and earth can be a problem in direct sun light, and also hard to get a seal on the cable, so really want a round cable which is black.

Yes the flatness of the cable was something else that had occurred to me!

 

[ericmark]

I find near impossible to seal a cable in a lamp, so try to ensure at bottom there is a way for water to leave the lamp, even drilled small hole in bottom only needs to be 1/16 inch, as lamps warm up air expands and is pushed out, then when it cools it can suck in water, so small hole in bottom often better than trying to fully seal the lamp.

 

[SUNRAY]

I find near impossible to seal a cable in a lamp, so try to ensure at bottom there is a way for water to leave the lamp, even drilled small hole in bottom only needs to be 1/16 inch, as lamps warm up air expands and is pushed out, then when it cools it can suck in water, so small hole in bottom often better than trying to fully seal the lamp.

Absolutely, any outdoor work I do has 'drain holes'.
It's not only water that gets sucked in, it's more basic than that. It's actually air which contains water (at least in this neck of the world) and that condenses.