low voltage spotlights

[ray316]

can anyone or any electricians on this forum tell me if you can put low voltage spotlights into tongue and grove . l have just bought t&t to put onto the ceiling, l also bought 5-20watt spotlight to fix into the ceiling boards.On reading the spotlight notes it says recommend not to fix to wood, polystylene,etc.Fix to plasterboard or masonery. Will these light generate to much heat for t&t or will this be ok,or is there any protection l can put around the holes l drill out.

 

[Steve]

We have a false wooden ceiling in our bathroom (about 11 inches below the real ceiling, to hide the cracks in the plasterboard where the rafters come down), with 3 mains halogen spots in it, its just the cheap thin wooden t&g they sell in the sheds, its been there now for about 6-7 years. Used to have 20W SELV lights, but changed them to 50W 230V lights when the transformers kept blowing. No fires, no marks, nothing, they get left on all night every night. Form your own opinion.

 

[ray316]

thanks for the reply, l have bought the cheap t&t to cover the kitchen ceiling of artex that looks a mess.l,m only using 2 inch battens to screw to the joists then putting t&t onto this.l only want a small gap between ceiling and false ceiling to put cable and transformer into, just need info weather spotlights are ok in t&t.

 

[Steve]

To be honest, i would hesitate with putting the lamps in a confined space like that. Could you possibly cut out a bit of the messy artex ceiling above, for ventilation? Also, depending on the size of kitchen, you might want to consider brighter lamps. When we upgraded our 20W ones to 50W, we were amazed how much brighter they are, and it makes the room look so much fresher.

 

[securespark]

Follow the instructions with regard to:

The maximum wattage allowable in a combustible ceiling ie is the fitting "F" marked?

The minimum void depth allowable.

The minimum distance from joists etc to allow air circulation for cooling.

If in doubt, ring the manufacturers.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Could you possibly cut out a bit of the messy artex ceiling above, for ventilation?

Be careful if you do - some old Artex contained asbestos....

 

[baldelectrician]

For those types of ceilings I usually use these :

Jcc site for spec
Model JC 3007

http://jcc-lighting.co.uk/index.php?group2=23&catid=24&id=14


http://jcc-lighting.co.uk/files/inst_sheets/JC3007InstSheet.pdf

I use them all the time, never had any problems.
Make sure you use a good quality tranny and lamp (osram philips etc)

Make sure you have enough clearance- 135mm for those ones. It makes a difference - more heat dissipation therefore less tranny problems.

 

[securespark]

I can feel my Osram hat coming on again!!

I have always used Osram lamps (VG) and now I'm using the mouse transformers - Osram Halotronics - they're very good. Never had a duff tx, and only a couple of lamps (replaced under warranty of course!)

 

[ray316]

isn.t there any kind of heat resistant material of some kind l could put around the cutouts for the spotlights, any ideas.

 

[ray316]

l,ll ask the question again, does anyone know if there is any heat resistant material l can put around the cut-outs ready for spotlights,because l want to put spotlights into t&g. cheers

 

[Steve]

We have a false wooden ceiling in our bathroom (about 11 inches below the real ceiling, to hide the cracks in the plasterboard where the rafters come down), with 3 mains halogen spots in it, its just the cheap thin wooden t&g they sell in the sheds, its been there now for about 6-7 years. Used to have 20W SELV lights, but changed them to 50W 230V lights when the transformers kept blowing. No fires, no marks, nothing, they get left on all night every night. Form your own opinion.