Fluorescent Lighting.

[skum]

Hi,
I am in the process of building a timber light box for viewing film on. I am following some plans that require the use of two fluorescent tubes. Lacking knowledge in electrics I have purchased two complete fittings. To these I have attached a lead and plug. However in the instructions for the fitting its says they are not suitable for attaching leads. The leads I have used are with an earth wire. However, here in Denmark not many homes or appliaces have plugs/leads with an earth. I can plug them into the power point but the earth is basically redundant as there is just a hole and no wire in the power point. I have been told that this is ok as we have a safety circuit breaker installed in the house. Is this the case?

Further to this I was thinking of removing the fluorescent tubes from their metal fittings and fastening them and the ballast/starter etc inside the light box (timber) in order to reduce its overall weight. However upon closer inspection of the fittings I see that the earth is actually attached to the metal fitting itself. Given that in my current situation I cannot use the earth is it possible/safe to do this?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

 

[plugwash]

Hi,
I am in the process of building a timber light box for viewing film on. I am following some plans that require the use of two fluorescent tubes. Lacking knowledge in electrics I have purchased two complete fittings. To these I have attached a lead and plug. However in the instructions for the fitting its says they are not suitable for attaching leads. The leads I have used are with an earth wire. However, here in Denmark not many homes or appliaces have plugs/leads with an earth. I can plug them into the power point but the earth is basically redundant as there is just a hole and no wire in the power point. I have been told that this is ok as we have a safety circuit breaker installed in the house. Is this the case?

how safe is safe?

i presume by "safety circuit breaker" they mean RCD. This certainly not a setup us electrically paranoid brits would approve of. however its also certainly extremely common with older installs in europe and it doesn't seem to kill enough people for the governments to force action to rewire older buildings.

A RCD will usually take the power out fast enough to prevent death in the event of a shock but it can't be gauranteed especially if you have heart problems already.

Further to this I was thinking of removing the fluorescent tubes from their metal fittings and fastening them and the ballast/starter etc inside the light box (timber) in order to reduce its overall weight. However upon closer inspection of the fittings I see that the earth is actually attached to the metal fitting itself. Given that in my current situation I cannot use the earth is it possible/safe to do this?

the main issue i see here is if something goes wrong with the ballest/started causing it to get hot.

 

[skum]

Thanks for the reply. Seeing as though I have already attached a 3 pin plug/cord with an earth to it I may just make it future proof. Maybe one day I'll have an earth to plug it into.

As I have removed the components from the metal housing I was wondering to ensure the earth is functional should it be attached to the metal plate upon which the ballast sits? If so, should I just exend the earth wire from the plug and attach it to that plate?

 

[plugwash]

sounds reasonable to me.

 

[delmel]

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