Replacement for Flourescent Strip Lights on Small Stage

[riveralt]

Are "F rated" floursecent strip lights readily available? or are they a special order item? A did a quick search of the internet but it didn't reveal any.

F’ Mark is a mark indicating that a luminaire is suitable for mounting on to normally combustible surfaces. A luminaire is the complete lighting unit, consisting of one or more lamps.
F marked lamps are normally associated with halogen downlights and you would not normally find flourescent strip lights displaying the f mark.
The other thing is that if a lamp does have an f mark displayed then there will be an additional symbol that dicates how far the lamp must be from combustable materials i.e. 500mm.
The problem you have is that the building must have a fire safety order (fire safety risk assessement) in place. Within that you would have to show how each potential area for fire including the stage area is minimised.
Your local fire safety officer can check that such a document exists and most certainly your insurance company will expect one to be in place.
With that in mind, as BAS stated earlier, it might be time to stop talking to us and instead talk to the person who might inspect your fire safety risk assessment and get their advice.

 

[RF Lighting]

Get some LED tubes.

 

[stem]

Talk to the person who might inspect your fire safety risk assessment and get their advice.

The "Responsible Person" says that in the "Fire Risk Assessment" it refers to "The wiring of the electrical installation being subject to a PIR" and if rectification is found during the PIR, then it should be done. Although the building was refurbished 3 years ago, it had fluorescents behind the pelmets previously that had passed 3 PIR's

Get some LED tubes

Do they produce the same level of light? The ones demonstrated to me at a distributor seemed a little dim, difficult to assess properly in a foreign environment.

 

[SUNRAY]

Get some LED tubes

Do they produce the same level of light? The ones demonstrated to me at a distributor seemed a little dim, difficult to assess properly in a foreign environment.

Oooo good luck with those, I dont like them yet and by the sound of it neither do lots of others. I know of several situations where LED tubes have been replaced with HF fluo's.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

The "Responsible Person" says that in the "Fire Risk Assessment" it refers to "The wiring of the electrical installation being subject to a PIR" and if rectification is found during the PIR, then it should be done. Although the building was refurbished 3 years ago, it had fluorescents behind the pelmets previously that had passed 3 PIR's.

Try pushing back onto the person who did the PIR and ask him what professional expertise he has in fire risk assessments which lead him to believe that he has acted professionally in disconnecting the lights.

i.e. does he actually know what he's doing, or is he just an electrician who simply looked at the lights and on the basis of no specialist expertise whatsoever just decided they were a fire risk?

 

[riveralt]

Talk to the person who might inspect your fire safety risk assessment and get their advice.

The "Responsible Person" says that in the "Fire Risk Assessment" it refers to "The wiring of the electrical installation being subject to a PIR" and if rectification is found during the PIR, then it should be done. Although the building was refurbished 3 years ago, it had fluorescents behind the pelmets previously that had passed 3 PIR's

You are at a frustrating impasse then.
Under the legislation passed under the Blair/Brown government most of the safety legislation was given as 'guidance' subject to risk assessment.
When I queried this with Jack Straw, the Home Secretary (I kid you not) at the time, his reply was 'lets the courts decide'.
The consequence of this is that risk assessments have become either buck passing or so risk averse that nothing gets done.
Personally, the fact that you have had three PIR's previously that have not highlighted this as an issue. The steps you have already taken to minimise the risk, flame retardant curtains, immediate access to fire extinguishers etc. Coupled with the fact that the lamp has been in situ for a number of years without any obvious signs of causing damage to the curtains or surrounding area should be more than enough to satisfy anyone that short of totally removing the luminaires you have done everything in your power to minimise the risk.

 

[SUNRAY]

Talk to the person who might inspect your fire safety risk assessment and get their advice.

The "Responsible Person" says that in the "Fire Risk Assessment" it refers to "The wiring of the electrical installation being subject to a PIR" and if rectification is found during the PIR, then it should be done. Although the building was refurbished 3 years ago, it had fluorescents behind the pelmets previously that had passed 3 PIR's

Having re-read this are you saying the fittings were replaced with new ones in the refurb 3 years ago and the previous fittings passed ok but not the recent ones?

 

[stem]

Having re-read this are you saying the fittings were replaced with new ones in the refurb 3 years ago and the previous fittings passed ok but not the recent ones?

I probably confused the issue slightly here. The stage was enlarged and the whole building was rewired, the original fittings were re-used though.

 

[SUNRAY]

Having re-read this are you saying the fittings were replaced with new ones in the refurb 3 years ago and the previous fittings passed ok but not the recent ones?

I probably confused the issue slightly here. The stage was enlarged and the whole building was rewired, the original fittings were re-used though.

I may have missed it but how hot do the fittings get?
I assume that as they have been disconnected that they were in fact getting hot and a temperature reading was taken and logged on the paperwork.
Is there any sign of overheating, scorching, discolouration? It may simply be that a fitting has deteriorated and does indeed need repair/replacement.

 

[stem]

I wasn't there when the PIR was done, but a guy who was says that he was invited to touch them by the electrician, he says they were all more than "warm" but not as hot as a radiator. He doesn't recall any temperatures being taken, it was all based on touch as far as he is aware. No temperature is recorded on the paperwork.

Inside they still look like new, no discolouration or scorching of any of the wires, ballasts etc., or the MDF to which they are affixed.

 

[riveralt]

I wasn't there when the PIR was done, but a guy who was says that he was invited to touch them by the electrician, he says they were all more than "warm" but not as hot as a radiator. He doesn't recall any temperatures being taken, it was all based on touch as far as he is aware. No temperature is recorded on the paperwork.

Inside they still look like new, no discolouration or scorching of any of the wires, ballasts etc., or the MDF to which they are affixed.

Do the tubes have a distance minimum rating on them?
If they do and its normally 500mm and the curtains are closer than that then this may be the reason for their removal.

 

[SUNRAY]

I wasn't there when the PIR was done, but a guy who was says that he was invited to touch them by the electrician, he says they were all more than "warm" but not as hot as a radiator. He doesn't recall any temperatures being taken, it was all based on touch as far as he is aware. No temperature is recorded on the paperwork.

Inside they still look like new, no discolouration or scorching of any of the wires, ballasts etc., or the MDF to which they are affixed.

Do the tubes have a distance minimum rating on them?
If they do and its normally 500mm and the curtains are closer than that then this may be the reason for their removal.

Its a tough one