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Hi,
I build lamps from copper piping and various other bits and bobs (including the occasional trumpet!!).
The lamps are made from sections of copper pipe connected to elbow joints and other copper plumbing connectors. The lamp terminates at a brass lampholder at one end and a plastic clamp at the other to prevent the cable being pulled through the lamp.
I use 3 core cable rated at 3amp (I think - this is supplied read-made by a lamp parts supply company and complies with regs). It has an in-line on/off switch and a fused plug at the end. Each cable is sheathed in plastic and there is an outer sheathing covering all 3 cables i.e. 2 layers of plastic sheathing. I connect the other end to a brass lampholder which has a screw down earth terminal in a ceramic housing.
The copper pipe lengths and connectors are joined using a copper glue, rather than solder. This is done for speed, tidiness and to avoid the risk of melting the inner cable by brazing.
The issue that concerns me is that this glue is not electrically conductive, and so the body of the lamp does not have earth continuity end to end. It finishes at the first glued join.
Does this matter?
There is no chaffing risk to the inner cabling as it is firmly held at each end and there are 2 layers of plastic protecting the wires, with no break in the wiring inside the lamp. So no chance as far as I can see of an exposed wire touching the lamp body. And the lampholder is earthed so no issues from there to the first joint.
I worry because a PAT tester says 'it's a grey area', whereas another says it's fine.
Thoughts?
And thanks in advance.
Julian
 
It probably complies, as you state the cable is insulated and sheathed throughout its length, and adequately secured at the first point of entry. But you would need to submit it to a test house if you wanted someone to certify that it does. Only then will you have a document to wave at any user who does something daft and makes the body live somehow.
 
All electrical equipment brought into use in the EU must be CE marked, in theory that covers a lot of ground but in practice the kind of work you're doing can be covered by fairly simple self-certification. A test house would offer useful validation but nothing in the legislation says you must use one.

The Lighting Industries Association has guidance on the regulations. They have a PDF here detailing the CE standards applicable to various types of lighting. Look at Annex 1.1-Luminaires, EN60598-1 is the main one relating to your question. I'm not too familiar with EN60598-1 but as I understand it any exposed metalwork must pass an earth bond test to hold a resistance of less than 0.5 Ω for at least a second, with greater than 10A AC applied. That rules out glue and I'd look at alternative ways to provide a secure earth bond.

Don't be put off by the CE standards, most of it is covered by simple steps, mainly.
  • Mark the product with the manufacturers contact details
  • Provide a 'manual' (can be a slip of paper)
  • Specify in the manual what CE lamps can be used in your luminaire.
  • List the CE standards in the manual.
  • Use CE compliant wire.
  • Mark the earth bond point with the proper symbol.
  • Fit a plug suitable for the intended sale territory, with correct fuse if appropriate.
  • Use strain relief on the wire.
  • Make sure the earth wire is the last to take the strain if the strain relief fails.
  • Confirm earth bonding to exposed metalwork (EN60598-1 flavour of PAT test).
  • Stick a CE label on it.
It's mostly common sense and when you've done one light you can do it for all of them without much fuss. Kudos to you for asking the question, there's a lot of dodgy stuff around and not everyone takes electrical safety so seriously.
 
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Good advice there, hopefully EN60598-1 can offer some guidance to the OP about the metalwork beyond the section connected to the earthed lampholder. Many luminaires do not have earth continuity to parts through which a sheathed flex passes, but there may be specific requirements for supports, bushings etc. If they are clear-cut in the standard, then it might indeed be possible for the OP to self-certify the product.
 
Thanks all for your input. A quick Google of EN60598-1 - ouch - pricey! Anyone out there got a a spare copy I could peruse..? :)
I am sitting looking at an IKEA lamp which probably does not have effective earth continuity from the lampholder to the metal base (the component parts are screwed together with a plastic bushing at the join). However, the main area where this one differs from mine is that it uses a plastic bulbholder and is double insulated. Could I do the same? My parts supplier has plastic bulbholders plus a little plastic widget to electrically separate the holder from the rest of the lamp (it has a 10mm nickel thread to connect to rest of lamp).
However, even using this approach, I am still left with the cable being routed through a metal structure with glued joints and therefore no earth continuity end to end. Is this an ok solution to get around the issue, or must I get hold of EN60598-1 to be sure?
Thanks for all your help.
 
You can often find the standards at your local library, worth trying there before handing over any cash. I'm not expert on domestic product standards and I don't know if using an insulated lampholder avoids the requirement to earth exposed metalwork, I'd have thought not.
 

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