Hi,
I've recently replaced an ancient crumbling ceiling rose in a toilet with one of these http://www.diy.com/nav/decor/lighting/outdoor-lighting/Vema-Frosted-Shade-Bulk-Head-10307588
I've got it all wired up and working, but as a novice, I'm a bit baffled as to why modern light fittings don't seem to include any kind of junction box for connecting between the switch cable and the lighting circuit. They just seem to have live neutral and earth connections.
As the light is on the end of the circuit, fortunately I only had two sheathed cables in the ceiling at that point - the main lighting cable, and the switch cable - with no additional cable for lights further along the circuit.
In the end I just took both sheathed cables into the light housing, used a 15A choc block to join up the circuit live and the switch cable (then connected the switched live and the neutral across the lamp, and both earths to the housing earth point). The choc block is inside the enclosure with the bulb - visible when you unscrew the shade for bulb replacement - the case / shade unscrews with hand turning wing nuts and doesn't require a tool to open.
So this all works, and in this case doesn't seem to be electrically different to if the light had its own terminals for this, but would be awkward to hook up or swap out a ceiling rose for a light fitting that isn't at the end of the circuit using this method (or to extend the circuit from there) - at which point I'd presumably have to have a junction box.
The cost of adding junction box points into lights would surely have to be minimal (pennies), so I don't get why they don't come with appropriate connection points to avoid hassle and external wiring with more connection points to potentially fail.
I'm pretty sure I haven't made things less safe than they were, as the old fitting was apparently made of something with the texture of cadbury flake, had loose connections, the switch cable wasn't marked, and the (metal) switch plate wasn't properly earthed before I swapped it.
Is the choc block approach an okay thing to do, or would it cause condemnation by the pros? There are no exposed wires and I guess the shroud on the choc block screws should prevent any unwanted contact. Maybe I can just wrap a bit of insulating tape around the block and call it a day? I've read around about it, but wasn't sure if choc blocks in this situation are ok (inside the housing, but in a user servicable area where the bulb is changed.)
I've recently replaced an ancient crumbling ceiling rose in a toilet with one of these http://www.diy.com/nav/decor/lighting/outdoor-lighting/Vema-Frosted-Shade-Bulk-Head-10307588
I've got it all wired up and working, but as a novice, I'm a bit baffled as to why modern light fittings don't seem to include any kind of junction box for connecting between the switch cable and the lighting circuit. They just seem to have live neutral and earth connections.
As the light is on the end of the circuit, fortunately I only had two sheathed cables in the ceiling at that point - the main lighting cable, and the switch cable - with no additional cable for lights further along the circuit.
In the end I just took both sheathed cables into the light housing, used a 15A choc block to join up the circuit live and the switch cable (then connected the switched live and the neutral across the lamp, and both earths to the housing earth point). The choc block is inside the enclosure with the bulb - visible when you unscrew the shade for bulb replacement - the case / shade unscrews with hand turning wing nuts and doesn't require a tool to open.
So this all works, and in this case doesn't seem to be electrically different to if the light had its own terminals for this, but would be awkward to hook up or swap out a ceiling rose for a light fitting that isn't at the end of the circuit using this method (or to extend the circuit from there) - at which point I'd presumably have to have a junction box.
The cost of adding junction box points into lights would surely have to be minimal (pennies), so I don't get why they don't come with appropriate connection points to avoid hassle and external wiring with more connection points to potentially fail.
I'm pretty sure I haven't made things less safe than they were, as the old fitting was apparently made of something with the texture of cadbury flake, had loose connections, the switch cable wasn't marked, and the (metal) switch plate wasn't properly earthed before I swapped it.
Is the choc block approach an okay thing to do, or would it cause condemnation by the pros? There are no exposed wires and I guess the shroud on the choc block screws should prevent any unwanted contact. Maybe I can just wrap a bit of insulating tape around the block and call it a day? I've read around about it, but wasn't sure if choc blocks in this situation are ok (inside the housing, but in a user servicable area where the bulb is changed.)