flourescent fitting to a plug

[jonnykay]

Hi,
I wish to connect a 4ft flourescent light fitting to a standard 13A plug. Is this Ok/possible or is this a bad idea??/

any comments appreciated.
thanks

 

[andy]

can be done. use a 3A fusein the plug and flex, not T+E. make sure you put a grommet where the cable enters the fitting, or a gland would be better if itll be moved often

 

[plugwash]

use 1.5mm flex and a compression gland to grip it (i don't think those glands like the smaller sizes of flex)

 

[breezer]

so long as you use 3 core flex, the flex is secured inside the light, earth is connected at both ends (plug and light) and you put a 3 amp fuse in the plug then yes it will work.

How ever a flourescent by its nature is dangerous as they dont half go bang and make a mess when they fall over. if you are going to permanently fix the light use 1.mm twin and earth and fit a FCU

 

[jonnykay]

thank you all
your comments sincerely appreciated.

 

[plugwash]

ok im going to stick my neck out here

what is wrong with using plugs and sockets for this kind on a permanent or semi permanent basis?

and if there is anything wrong with it how is it any different from plugging them into those klick sockets where are used all the time on commercial installs?

 

[andy]

ok im going to stick my neck out here

what is wrong with using plugs and sockets for this kind on a permanent or semi permanent basis?

and if there is anything wrong with it how is it any different from plugging them into those klick sockets where are used all the time on commercial installs?

i dont see a problem with using a plug. 1/2 of my room (4 double sockets) was all connected to a plug for over 1 year (i then put a SFCU nxt to the socket for it)

 

[felix]

I can think of a very good reason for putting a plug on a fluorescent light fitting. You want to fix it under your kitchen wall units and of course you don't have a spare FCU handy. To make things worse you've just had the walls tiled at considerable expense. It's plug time!