New Brass Lampholder. Is it safe?

[stem]

A friend of mine has asked me to fit a brass lampholder to a standard lamp for which she has purchased a fancy Edison Screw decorative lightbulb (E27) in place of the current plastic bayonet lampholder.

The new brass lampholder arrived and I was surprised to see that it didn't have an earth connection, only a plastic screw at the base to clamp it onto its fixing which is a threaded connection embedded into the wooden lamp.

The inside of the cylindrical body is lined with what looks like cardboard, but the base section I've marked with an arrow is metal and the wiring terminals are only a few mm above it. I have tinned the wires before connecting them to prevent any stray whiskers poking out and made sure that the insulation is right up to the terminals. However the lack of an earth connection worries me slightly. The fitting is rated 240V (AC) and sold in the UK by a UK company, so it must be OK right?

The full spec of the lampholder can be seen here.

 

[RandomGrinch]

Apparently the 'cardboard' inner counts as the double insulation - this may need some investigation!

Edit: the website and company appear to be slightly more legit than some of the suppliers we have seen recently. Were there any CE and double insulation markings on the packaging/instructions?

After some further thought, and if that really is just 'cardboard', I would fail it in a PAT for the fire risk alone - I don't know how it would cope with a 100W filament bulb - are there any maximum wattage warnings?
I would be far more comfortable with something like this:

https://cpc.farnell.com/pro-elec/lh-br-1-2-assembled/brass-1-2-lampholder-screwless/dp/PL02881

albeit not ES, I've built a number of lamps with them.

 

[ericmark]

I remember the problem with PAT testing, and I decided if no Class II sticker, it failed, as I do not have the skill or insurance to say it is class I or class II, so with my own stuff, I know how many tungsten bulbs I still have, so again would not use it.

 

[stem]

Thanks both

@RandomGrinch Having looked on the web I can find 'bayonet' brass lampholders with the earth connection / screw, similar to the one you have posted, but not an 'Edison Screw' version with a switch; they all appear to be like the one I have. I'm a bit loath to order another on line and be in the same situation. I've called in to a couple of electrical distributors without success too.

Mine does have a note about the cardboard....not sure about it being a "socket" though

However, I have just noticed that in one of the photos, it shows a circular cardboard disk....I didn't get one of them maybe that's what's lacking.

 

[ericmark]

I have questioned BA22d bulbs, where they have a metal shell, and no class II mark, with E27 or USA E28 there is no option, you can't have an earth on the bulb, and with old tungsten they are too hot to touch when switched on, it is very likely nothing wrong with the holder, but since it has a switch built in, clearly need to touch it, with no switch may have taken a chance, but I have worked in Hong Kong and seen what they make, and would not really trust anything not from a British supplier. Even then I would be cautious.

 

[JohnW2]

.... but I have worked in Hong Kong and seen what they make, and would not really trust anything not from a British supplier. Even then I would be cautious.

A common view, but where do you think the electrical products sold by "British suppliers" are usually manufactured?

Kind Regards, John

 

[RandomGrinch]

However, I have just noticed that in one of the photos, it shows a circular cardboard disk....I didn't get one of them maybe that's what's lacking.

I'm afraid I don't know if the lamp holders meet standards, or not. But I am not convinced from what I have seen.
In a recent thread about some direct from China imports, Flameport was correctly writing a product off, solely for not having the right paperwork.
Although, I feel in some cases, there can be a degree of pragmatism. If this was in my own home, I knew I would only use low wattage bulbs, the lamp was in a low risk environment and I was generally happy with the standard of construction; then yes, I may choose to use the lamp holder.
After all, who gets their houshold appliances PATested?

However, as this is a product that you are wiring for a friend, where you can't control the environment, my risk assessment would change.

You may be able to ask the suppliers for proof of compliance, but I would be tempted to swap the bulb to a bayonet.

 

[Ragnar_AT]

This is a US design and most likely ES26 rather than ES27. That means it doesn‘t necessarily conform to any European standards and an ES27 lamp will be a poor fit, leaving considerably more thread exposed than it should. I wouldn‘t fit thi socket.

Proper ES27 sockets have an earth terminal but ones with built-in switches are rare. The only ones I‘ve seen have pull-chain switches rather than rotary ones (I live in Austria, where Edison sockets are the de-facto standard and BC22 is virtually unknown among the general public).

 

[RandomGrinch]

This is a US design and most likely ES26 rather than ES27.

Could be, interesting point...

 

[stem]

Difficult to measure the bulb holder, when I take it back to it's owner and get the E27 bulb I might me able to get a better idea. But is does say that the length of the screw is "min" so it could be still be longer than the lengths stated.