I am in the UK.

If I wanted electrical power from an ordinary ceiling lampholder like
one of these:

http://www.connectstores.com/P.E.D/images/Cl003.jpg
http://cpc.farnell.com/productimages...rd/7947676.jpg

then it used to be possible to get cyclindrical electrical plug which
bayonetted into the lampholder. A couple of wires could be attached to
that plug and that way it was possible to use power from the light
socket.

Are such things still available?

Or have they been outlawed by some safety regulations?

"Andy" wrote in message
...
I am in the UK.

If I wanted electrical power from an ordinary ceiling lampholder like
one of these:

http://www.connectstores.com/P.E.D/images/Cl003.jpg
http://cpc.farnell.com/productimages...rd/7947676.jpg

then it used to be possible to get cyclindrical electrical plug which
bayonetted into the lampholder. A couple of wires could be attached to
that plug and that way it was possible to use power from the light
socket.

Are such things still available?

Or have they been outlawed by some safety regulations?

These bayonet cap adaptors were probably outlawed for safety reasons: -
liable to overloading misuse, no earth available and polarity not
gauranteed.

Jaymack

John McLean wrote...
... it used to be possible to get cyclindrical electrical plug which
bayonetted into the lampholder. A couple of wires could be attached to
that plug and that way it was possible to use power from the light
socket.

Are such things still available?

Or have they been outlawed by some safety regulations?

These bayonet cap adaptors were probably outlawed for safety reasons: -
liable to overloading misuse, no earth available and polarity not
gauranteed.

I haven't seen one available for a long time. In the early days of this
new-fangled "electric", houses often only had wiring for lighting so these
adapters were used for everthing else - including electric irons and room
heaters! More recently BC to two-pin adapters tended to be supplied with
electric shavers so that you could plug in to a desk lamp in a hotel room.
I still have one of these in perfect condition on my desk as I type! Apart
from the lack of earth and indeterminate polarity you need to remember that
lighting circuits are usually fused at 5amp for the entire circuit and so
the amount of power you could draw is very limited. However I do remember
we used BC plugs and sockets to extend strings of christmas tree lights when
I was a kid.

David

In message , Andy
writes
Are such things still available?

Or have they been outlawed by some safety regulations?

Yup. People overloaded the lighting circuits then beefed up the fuse
and burnt their house down.

--
Clive Mitchell
http://www.bigclive.com

David Lee wrote:
SNIP
Apart from the lack
of earth and indeterminate polarity you need to remember that
lighting circuits are usually fused at 5amp for the entire circuit
and so the amount of power you could draw is very limited.

I was in a house recently which had small round pin sockets (in the lounge)
wired via the lighting circuit. They were controled by the light switch and
designed to run table lamps. Quite a nice idea, one click of a switch & all
your table lamps come on.

Is that still legal?


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

In article ,
The Medway Handyman wrote:
I was in a house recently which had small round pin sockets (in the
lounge) wired via the lighting circuit. They were controled by the
light switch and designed to run table lamps. Quite a nice idea, one
click of a switch & all your table lamps come on.

Is that still legal?

Yes - and desirable over 13 amp sockets for this use. Stops the Hoover
being plugged in and blowing the dimmer.

Most wholesalers sell 2 and 5 amp 3 pin plugs and sockets which are
suitable for this use. Think the larger sheds may do so too.

--
*The e-mail of the species is more deadly than the mail *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Andy wrote:

I am in the UK.

If I wanted electrical power from an ordinary ceiling lampholder like
one of these:

http://www.connectstores.com/P.E.D/images/Cl003.jpg
http://cpc.farnell.com/productimages...rd/7947676.jpg

then it used to be possible to get cyclindrical electrical plug which
bayonetted into the lampholder. A couple of wires could be attached to
that plug and that way it was possible to use power from the light
socket.

Are such things still available?

Or have they been outlawed by some safety regulations?

They are not available for the simple reason that they never got
the appropriate BS approval.

As to why they were possibly never put forward for approval - well
the rest of the thread answers that

They are not intrinsically unsafe, it's the stupid things that some people
used them for without thinking, irons, heaters etc. - given they were
unfused, and rewireable fuses were common at the CU + handy pack of
5A/15A/30A fusewire hanging on a nail encouraged the unthinkable...

Our Christmas tree lights used to be terminated in one of these and plugged
in a handy lamp, sometimes using the other great now-unavailable item, the
1:2 BC adaptor. Heh.

Cheers

Tim

The Medway Handyman wrote:

I was in a house recently which had small round pin sockets (in the lounge)
wired via the lighting circuit. They were controled by the light switch and
designed to run table lamps. Quite a nice idea, one click of a switch & all
your table lamps come on.

Is that still legal?

yup

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

http://tinyurl.com/hdcjd

I bought a few of these from a local hardware shop a few years back. They're
great for powering xmas lights, especially as you can turn them on/off from
the light switch. Also worked well for powering my mirror ball motor.

I'm sure I've seen some old pictures of a woman doing her ironing and the
iron connected the main room light via one of these conectors!!!

http://www.74simon.co.uk/plugs.html

Mazz

On 01 May 2006, wrote:

http://tinyurl.com/hdcjd

I bought a few of these from a local hardware shop a few years
back. They're great for powering xmas lights, especially as you can
turn them on/off from the light switch. Also worked well for
powering my mirror ball motor.

I'm sure I've seen some old pictures of a woman doing her ironing
and the iron connected the main room light via one of these
conectors!!!

http://www.74simon.co.uk/plugs.html

Mazz



That last link is great. But he doesn't have the type I last used which
was just a bayonet adapter from which a lead came out.

The web page shows a more upmarket one where you can actually insert a
two pin plug into the back of the bayonet adapter.

Now if I can't get one then, hmmm, it's almost like one of Clive's
Projects (see sci.engr.lighting) to convert a lightbulb's own bayonet
plug into one of these!!!. Oh no. :-)

Andy wrote...
That last link is great. But he doesn't have the type I last used which
was just a bayonet adapter from which a lead came out.

The web page shows a more upmarket one where you can actually insert a
two pin plug into the back of the bayonet adapter.

Now if I can't get one then, hmmm, it's almost like one of Clive's
Projects (see sci.engr.lighting) to convert a lightbulb's own bayonet
plug into one of these!!!. Oh no. :-)

Andy

If you really want one then keep your eyes open in Junk and Charity shops
and car boot sales. Look out for old electric shavers and if you're lucky
then you may find one with a BC to two-pin adapter accessory (my Father used
to have one). You'll probably want the throw the manky old shaver itself in
the skip PDQ though!

David

"Andy" wrote in message
...
I am in the UK.

If I wanted electrical power from an ordinary ceiling lampholder like
one of these:

http://www.connectstores.com/P.E.D/images/Cl003.jpg
http://cpc.farnell.com/productimages...rd/7947676.jpg

then it used to be possible to get cyclindrical electrical plug which
bayonetted into the lampholder. A couple of wires could be attached to
that plug and that way it was possible to use power from the light
socket.

Are such things still available?

Or have they been outlawed by some safety regulations?

There's a pub in deepest darkest Kent in a little village called Plaxtol
that still has plenty of these lovely items running things like the lights
to the Bar Billiards table, the "extended" wall lights and other quaint
contraptions.

This is a pub that, in my 30 years of going there and knowing the landlord
*very* well, and being slung out of in a totally incapacitated state, has
not changed one iota since he took over.

By the way, it came 3rd in last years CAMRA awards in Kent.

Bloody good ale, very simple bar food and a straight talking landlord that
will sling you out if he don't like the look of you, especially if you are
wearing only a vest on top!

Long live the Luddites .... LoL!

Andy wrote:
I am in the UK.

If I wanted electrical power from an ordinary ceiling lampholder like
one of these:

then it used to be possible to get cyclindrical electrical plug which
bayonetted into the lampholder. A couple of wires could be attached to
that plug and that way it was possible to use power from the light
socket.

Are such things still available?

not legally

Or have they been outlawed by some safety regulations?

banned from sale in '70 or '71

No polarity, no appliance fuse, no earth, very low current rating, and
no realistic cord grip. Plugging them in meant handling the pendant
holder with its often perished partially bare rubber wiring, often also
with no proper cordgrip. They could be endlessly christmas treed too,
unlike square pin adaptors. And of course the BC sockets had uncovered
unprotected live connections, so increasing the use of those while
balanced atop something doesnt help safety any.

They tended to encourage falls from chairs while temporarily dazzled,
burns from light bulbs, and shocks from the rubber wiring and bare
socket pins. They also caused falls at ground level due to wires draped
from on high, and could rip pendants sockets off their wires. And the
bulb burnt the rubber appliance mains flex, making bare live patches
appear. These plugs are even less safe with modern pvc wire.

The whole lighting circuit was fused at 5A, but there are other loads
on it already, plus the bulb holders were typically rated in the region
of 1-2A. I dont know if BC sockets still have current ratings printed
on them. So the power you can not-really-safely draw is low. That didnt
stop people putting silly loads on them though, like irons, heaters,
etc.


Way back, before electricity was metered, it was charged according to
the number of lights you had, and sockets were a lot extra, so it was
common for houses to have lighting but no sockets, hence the spread of
BC plugs.

Later, in the days when round pin sockets were always fittred, it was
common to have just one socket upstairs, in the hallway, and none in
bedrooms. So again BC plugs came the the rescue.

If you decide to make a BC plug, CFLs have a plastic base which is
amenable to drilling, cutting etc and generally ways to fit a cover
securely. You would however be contravening the most basic of
regulations, placing yourself at assorted risks, as well as anyone else
in the house, and I dont know what the insurance co would say in the
event of a claim. Nor the judge.

I cant really think of any reason to use them today. An electric noose
in case suicide by hanging fails? whatever your reason is, I suggest
thinking again.


NT

wrote in message
oups.com...

I cant really think of any reason to use them today. An electric noose
in case suicide by hanging fails? whatever your reason is, I suggest
thinking again.

Are there better tools for an arsonist then?

On Mon, 01 May 2006 14:23:11 GMT, "Mazz"
wrote:


I'm sure I've seen some old pictures of a woman doing her ironing and the
iron connected the main room light via one of these conectors!!!

My mother used to do that Ca 1951-2.

The assembly of bayonet lampholder, dual adapter, 150 watt bulb
(bare), and bayonet connector for the iron used to swing around like
crazy as she was "Dashing away with a smoothing iron" to the tunes of
"Housewives Choice".

The whole set up was nasty, rubber insulated twisted flex which
hardened and got crumbly, zero or ineffective strain relief whilst the
weight of the whole lot including 2-3 metres of Iron flex hung from a
ceiling rose.

Makes me cringe to think about it.

DG

In message , Andy
writes
Now if I can't get one then, hmmm, it's almost like one of Clive's
Projects (see sci.engr.lighting) to convert a lightbulb's own bayonet
plug into one of these!!!. Oh no. :-)

The monstrosity of great luminosity was inspired by the old two way BC
adapters. They would have a new lease of life these days with the
lightweight CFL's.

--
Clive Mitchell
http://www.bigclive.com

In message ,
"dennis@home" writes

wrote in message
roups.com...

I cant really think of any reason to use them today. An electric noose
in case suicide by hanging fails? whatever your reason is, I suggest
thinking again.

Are there better tools for an arsonist then?



Oh yes.

--
Clive Mitchell
http://www.bigclive.com

On Mon, 1 May 2006 15:58:11 UTC, Owain
wrote:

I know I've got a "how to make an electric kettle" article somewhere.

My Dad did that once...think it was inspired by something in Practical
Mechanics!

It was a cuboid thing made from copper sheet, presumably brazed or
something. Standard electric kettle element, filler cap and a curved
copper pipe out of the top. Added an oven timer from an electric cooker
(easy to come by as he worked for a cooker company - Tricity) and a
teapot and a built in table lamp, home made again. Oh, and a mains
powered buzzer.

Voila! A D-I-Y- Teasmade! My parents used it for years.

--
The information contained in this post is copyright the
poster, and specifically may not be published in, or used by
Avenue Supplies, http://avenuesupplies.co.uk

wrote:
Andy wrote:


Way back, before electricity was metered, it was charged according to
the number of lights you had, and sockets were a lot extra, so it was
common for houses to have lighting but no sockets, hence the spread of
BC plugs.

Later, in the days when round pin sockets were always fittred, it was
common to have just one socket upstairs, in the hallway, and none in
bedrooms. So again BC plugs came the the rescue.


During the war it was illegal to use power sockets at all because of
lack of electricity.
A light socket plug could be made by breaking the glass off an old
tungsten bulb and attaching fly leads to the wires inside.
(Ok its only a joke).


John2

Have just taken some photos of the 2 bayonet plugs I have, these are the
type that hardwire direct to the appliance.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/domain_...779_resize.JPG

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/domain_...780_resize.JPG

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/domain_...781_resize.JPG

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/domain_...782_resize.JPG

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/domain_...785_resize.JPG

Mazz

Andy writed in :

I am in the UK.

So is it legal or not to install Euro Schuko sockets in a UK house - if the
answer is 'yes it's legal' - must they be wired according to UK (ring main)
standards (in which case AFAIUI - possibly dangerous) or only on a radial
circuit?

The message
from "David Lee"
contains these words:

If you really want one then keep your eyes open in Junk and Charity shops
and car boot sales.

Or make one from a dead light bulb and some epoxy and a bit of flex.
After all, this is uk.deadify-yourself.

--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

Mike the Unshavable wrote:

Andy writed in :

I am in the UK.

So is it legal or not to install Euro Schuko sockets in a UK house - if
the answer is 'yes it's legal' - must they be wired according to UK (ring
main) standards (in which case AFAIUI - possibly dangerous) or only on a
radial circuit?

Someone on the IEE (sorry IET) forums claimed that their BCO said he would
accept a Part P job done partly to German VDE100, specifically a schuko in
the bathroom, which is apprently allowed under German regs, with caveats
(30mA or lower RCD, 16A MCB, correct zone, fed from same CU as lights etc).

http://www.theiet.org/Forums/forum/m...0AND%20English

Don't think anyone's claimed to have put it to the test yet.

Cheers

Tim

In message , writes
I've got one like that on a lead for my line earth loop tester so thatI
can use a lighting circuit (non RCD protected) to get an indication of
the earthing quality of RCD perotected circuits. I really should update
it. My megger is a nice one in an oak box, and takes ages to get up to
speed.

You really want to treat yourself to a new earth loop impedance tester.
They've had units that don't trip RCD's for years.

--
Clive Mitchell
http://www.bigclive.com

Bob Eager wrote:

My Dad did that once...think it was inspired by something in Practical
Mechanics!

Oh what a magazine that was! My dad got it and I always read it vidly.

Voila! A D-I-Y- Teasmade! My parents used it for years.

A Teasmade! What a product!

It takes you back..................


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

The Medway Handyman wrote:
Bob Eager wrote:

My Dad did that once...think it was inspired by something in
Practical Mechanics!

Oh what a magazine that was! My dad got it and I always read it
vidly.

I read it avidly as well......


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

In article .com,
writes

banned from sale in '70 or '71

Still available for sale in Woolworths in about 1983. I know, 'cos I
bought one (and probably still have it somewhere.) It was white, and
the cap had a nylon locking screw to prevent it coming undone and
exposing the screw terminals during removal from the lampholder.

--
(\__/)
(='.'=) This is Bunny. Copy and paste bunny into your
(")_(") signature to help him gain world domination.

I was in a house recently which had small round pin sockets (in the
lounge)
wired via the lighting circuit. They were controled by the light switch
and
designed to run table lamps. Quite a nice idea, one click of a switch &
all
your table lamps come on.

I hope so, I've just fitted such a system to my loft conversion! (Actually
three of them so that the bedside lights can be turned on/off independently
at the door).

Christian.

On 01 May 2006, Guy wrote:

The message
from "David Lee"
contains these words:

If you really want one then keep your eyes open in Junk and
Charity shops and car boot sales.

Or make one from a dead light bulb and some epoxy and a bit of
flex. After all, this is uk.deadify-yourself.


I've started already! :-)

In fact what I want to do is reposition my TV aerial which is in the
loft. It has been really hard getting the right position for the aerial
and I need the TV to be there as I adjust its direction and position.

As the TV has no earth then I figured it's ok to run it off one of the
hanging lights in the loft (there are no mains points there). The TV is
a portable and uses about 70W when steady so the current loading should
be ok.

On 01 May 2006, wrote:

Have just taken some photos of the 2 bayonet plugs I have, these
are the type that hardwire direct to the appliance.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/domain_...MG_1779_resize
.JPG

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/domain_...MG_1780_resize
.JPG

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/domain_...MG_1781_resize
.JPG

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/domain_...MG_1782_resize
.JPG

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/domain_...MG_1785_resize
.JPG

Mazz


Very nice. And in cool white too. And no Bakelite in sight either.
I'm jealous!

Andy...
In fact what I want to do is reposition my TV aerial which is in the
loft. It has been really hard getting the right position for the aerial
and I need the TV to be there as I adjust its direction and position.

As the TV has no earth then I figured it's ok to run it off one of the
hanging lights in the loft (there are no mains points there). The TV is
a portable and uses about 70W when steady so the current loading should
be ok.

I'm sure that you will be able to tell me why it's not a sensible
suggestion - but what on earth is wrong with a 13amp extension lead? It
would be much safer and much more useful.

David

In article ,
Andy wrote:
As the TV has no earth then I figured it's ok to run it off one of the
hanging lights in the loft (there are no mains points there). The TV is
a portable and uses about 70W when steady so the current loading should
be ok.

Stick a 13 amp socket fed off the lighting circuit via a FCU with a 3 amp
fuse and clearly label the FCU and socket with a warning about max loading.

--
*If all is not lost, where the hell is it?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 02 May 2006, David
wrote:

Andy...
In fact what I want to do is reposition my TV aerial which is in
the loft. It has been really hard getting the right position for
the aerial and I need the TV to be there as I adjust its direction
and position.

As the TV has no earth then I figured it's ok to run it off one of
the hanging lights in the loft (there are no mains points there).
The TV is a portable and uses about 70W when steady so the current
loading should be ok.

I'm sure that you will be able to tell me why it's not a sensible
suggestion - but what on earth is wrong with a 13amp extension
lead? It would be much safer and much more useful.


Ah! There's my secret plan to have a mains powered radio when I am
working in the loft (it's lit, and clean so I use it like a sort of
shed).

I could spur from the lighting circuit to a wall socket but that's
really asking for trouble one day.

Andy wrote...
Ah! There's my secret plan to have a mains powered radio when I am
working in the loft (it's lit, and clean so I use it like a sort of
shed).

I could spur from the lighting circuit to a wall socket but that's
really asking for trouble one day.

Provided your radio is double-insulated and doesn't require an earth then
you could fit a 2-pin plug and install a shaver socket. AFAIK they are
still permitted on a lighting circuit. However I ran a spur up from a
socket in one of my bedrooms, when I was decorating, to a double in the
loft - problem solved.

David

Andy wrote:
I am in the UK.

If I wanted electrical power from an ordinary ceiling lampholder like
one of these:

http://www.connectstores.com/P.E.D/images/Cl003.jpg
http://cpc.farnell.com/productimages...rd/7947676.jpg

then it used to be possible to get cyclindrical electrical plug which
bayonetted into the lampholder. A couple of wires could be attached to
that plug and that way it was possible to use power from the light
socket.

Are such things still available?

Or have they been outlawed by some safety regulations?

ISTR seeing some Argos light fittings that came with such a plug on.
The idea was the fitting goes over the existing pendant and plugs into
it, thus no wiring abilty needed. This was maybe 3 years ago


NT