Help with pipe bookcase with light switch.

jblakes

Good evening, 

I've in the process of connecting a pipe bookcase, I want to attach this Valve to a light above and plugged in, with uk plug. 

As you can see, this only had two wires, how do I connect this to a uk 3 pin, without risk of being shocked? Do I need to put an earth in, if so how. 

Do I connect this up with a 2 pin wire? 

Can somebody please help? 

Kind regards
James

ThisIsWeird

Hi James.
Please do this in elv. It shouldn't make any practical difference - low voltage LEDs will perform just the same as mains. It'll just mean a wee trannie needed to power it.

jblakes

Ideally I want to use a e27 bulb and I'm not sure what to do with your advise, not technical

Ectophile

I assume that's a switch disguised as a valve?  Otherwise, if it's a real valve, it would chop the wire in half when you turned it off.  Which would turn off the light, I suppose.

You have two choices when wiring an electrical appliance with touchable metal parts:

1. Double insulate everything, including using insulated and sheathed cables (such as normal mains flex).  That way, there's no chance anything live could touch the metalwork.  Then don't use the Earth pin on the plug.  The wires in your picture are not double insulated.
2. Earth the metalwork.  Use a 3 core flex.  Make sure that the green and yellow stripy wire is firmly bolted to the metalwork.  Check that all of the metalwork is actually connected back to the Earth wire (as paint or lacquer may break the connection between sections).

If you don't know how to do either of those, don't do it.

jblakes

No it's a real value, just been modified inside to accommodate a switch inside. I guess I understand the first option, the second one is am assumed guess.

It surely can't be that hard to do, they sell pipe lamps in most places

CSI_Yorkshire

jblakes said:

It surely can't be that hard to do, they sell pipe lamps in most places

"They" sell many things in many places that I wouldn't try to build myself at home with little knowledge.

ThisIsWeird

jblakes said:

Ideally I want to use a e27 bulb and I'm not sure what to do with your advise, not technical

'Not technical'.
That's why I'm strongly suggesting low voltage via a plug-in transformer. You won't kill yourself or anyone else.
(The transformer will be a unit just like the one on your laptop or virtually every other electrical device in your home - you plug it in to a mains socket, and it'll give you the required output, say 12V DC. 
Yes, the bulb choice could be limiting, but it's really worth considering if you insist on DIYing this.
Could you show an example of the type of light fitting you hope to use? 

jblakes

This is what I'm looking at doing, you can see they have a Valve light switch to the left middle. Ive looked online and can't find anything to purchase. 

Which is why I wanted to make one. Now I just need to figure out how to wire it properly. 


Kind regards
James

CSI_Yorkshire

You can get ELV bulbs in the E27 shape, I'm pretty sure.  That would be the safest option.

A little transformer that plugs into the mains, then everything else is just + and - like wiring from a battery.

daivid

I think it would be worth trying to find an electrician to do this for you. I doubt the cost would be prohibitive considering the likely materials costs, and savings over buying the unit made for you (if you did find one). If you get a professional to wire it up you may be able to get just what you want rather than compromising for what you can do.

FreeBear

Took me a little while to find those things for sale. An ebay listing is about the closest I could find.

Made in China, so probably no CE approval. Switch is rated 3A @ 125Vac or 5A @ 12Vdc - Do NOT use this to switch a 240V lamp. Low voltage (12-24V DC) only.