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Author
Topic: Electrical Question
Ares
posted 07-07-2007 04:54:21 PM
Question!

I bought one of those nifty chinese paper lanterns in China Town the other day, it didn't of course come with the actual socket or anything...

Now, I have found some goodies in dad's tool area. One is a socket with leads (white and black wire thingies), the other is an electrical wire with one of those switches part way down.

Dad is fishing, so my question is how would I connect the two together (i have those wire end...cap things)? I know nothing about wiring and I don't feel like blowing a fuse or electrocuting myself. Most of the stuff I found on Google was how to wire a socket without leads.

Naimah
In a Fire
posted 07-07-2007 05:38:37 PM
Yea, you should just be able to strip the insulation off of each wire, twist the two wires together, put the cap on and twist. You should be good to go then. Lights don't have polarity so it shouldn't matter which wire goes to which.
Ares
posted 07-07-2007 05:48:23 PM
quote:
Naimah painfully thought these words up:
Yea, you should just be able to strip the insulation off of each wire, twist the two wires together, put the cap on and twist. You should be good to go then. Lights don't have polarity so it shouldn't matter which wire goes to which.

Oh,okay. I figured they did since the socket has a white and a black wire! I'll try that out, thanks!

Maradon!
posted 07-07-2007 05:48:32 PM
Reversing the polarity is how you make a blacklight.
Maradon!
posted 07-07-2007 05:49:36 PM
Oh, and, for love of crap don't put a high watt bulb into a paper lantern please.
Azakias
Never wore the pants, thus still wields the power of unused (_|_)
posted 07-07-2007 05:49:44 PM
When you say leads... what? In electrical terms, leads are those things that you use with a multimeter to test the voltage/resistance/current capacity of a circuit. I dont think that is what you mean.

Wire endcaps... terminal lugs? Are they plastic settings with a metal loop at the end?

And just from my own opinion, having been working as an electrician and getting shocked plenty of times, I suggest waiting for someone who knows a bit about wiring before you go connecting wires. Its only a light circuit, but you could end up doing damage to the item itself. There's lots of factors, from the gauge of wire you nedd, splicing, etc. Twisting a wire to form a connection is a big nono and extremely unsafe, electrically speaking, not to mention a definate fire hazard.

"Age by age have men stood up and said to the world, 'From what has come before me, I was forged, but I am new and greater than my forebears.' And so each man walks the world in ruin, abandoned and untried. Less than the whole of his being"
Maradon!
posted 07-07-2007 05:52:39 PM
quote:
Azakiasing:
Twisting a wire to form a connection is a big nono and extremely unsafe, electrically speaking, not to mention a definate fire hazard.

What? Maybe without any kind of splicing cap, but twisting and sometimes even folding the twist over once to better fit the cap is in the NEC steps for splicing house-voltage lines.

nem-x
posted 07-07-2007 05:53:47 PM
Azakias
Never wore the pants, thus still wields the power of unused (_|_)
posted 07-07-2007 05:54:13 PM
quote:
How.... Maradon!.... uughhhhhh:
What? Maybe without any kind of splicing cap, but twisting and sometimes even folding the twist over once to better fit the cap is in the NEC steps for splicing house-voltage lines.

She never mentioned a splice in her description, so I was thinking people were telling her to twist the wire and leave it at that.

If you can properly splice the wire, then its perfectly safe.

"Age by age have men stood up and said to the world, 'From what has come before me, I was forged, but I am new and greater than my forebears.' And so each man walks the world in ruin, abandoned and untried. Less than the whole of his being"
Ares
posted 07-07-2007 05:54:18 PM
Ares
posted 07-07-2007 05:55:57 PM
I dunno what leads are, the package said "socket with leads".

And I use those energy saving bulbs that are like 13W.

Naimah
In a Fire
posted 07-07-2007 06:04:02 PM
I told her to put the cap on after twisting the wires together. Twisting the wires together is only to make it easier to get the cap on.

To damage a light socket you'd have to be running an insane amount of power through it. Even then the tungsten would probably give out before any real damage happened.

Getting an electrician to hook a lamp up would just be silly.

Naimah fucked around with this message on 07-07-2007 at 06:04 PM.

Azakias
Never wore the pants, thus still wields the power of unused (_|_)
posted 07-07-2007 06:54:52 PM
quote:
Check out the big brain on Naimah!
To damage a light socket you'd have to be running an insane amount of power through it. Even then the tungsten would probably give out before any real damage happened.

True, but I dont do house wiring. We've burnt out quite a few socket receptacles (not fun, believe me) on the aircraft.

And I never said to get an electrician to do it, just to get someone who might know a bit more. Messing with electricity, no matter how small the amount, is dangerous.

"Age by age have men stood up and said to the world, 'From what has come before me, I was forged, but I am new and greater than my forebears.' And so each man walks the world in ruin, abandoned and untried. Less than the whole of his being"
Maradon!
posted 07-07-2007 07:09:46 PM
This thread reminds me of the time when my sister and I were little kids and I told her to stick her finger in a light socket, and she did it before I could stop her.

I felt kinda bad at the time but in hindsight it's actually pretty funny

Naimah
In a Fire
posted 07-07-2007 07:25:01 PM
Unless you are trapped the amount of electricity coming out of the wall isn't really dangerous to a full grown person. I know, I've shocked myself enough times.

Electricity is only dangerous if you are a total idiot or are dealing with way more of it then you should be.

Azakias
Never wore the pants, thus still wields the power of unused (_|_)
posted 07-07-2007 07:28:21 PM
quote:
Naimah had this to say about Robocop:
Electricity is only dangerous if you are a total idiot or are dealing with way more of it then you should be.

I work on airplanes, so I guess this applies to me.

"Age by age have men stood up and said to the world, 'From what has come before me, I was forged, but I am new and greater than my forebears.' And so each man walks the world in ruin, abandoned and untried. Less than the whole of his being"
Alidane
Urinary Tract Infection
posted 07-08-2007 12:27:03 AM
quote:
Azakias posted

Messing with electricity, no matter how small the amount, is dangerous.


Those 9V batteries are goddamn baby-killers.

Mortious
Gluttonous Overlard
posted 07-08-2007 12:32:27 AM
Burn it.

Burn it with fire.

Naimah
In a Fire
posted 07-08-2007 01:02:30 AM
quote:
Azakias thought this was the Ricky Martin Fan Club Forum and wrote:
I work on airplanes, so I guess this applies to me.

Military grade radar counts as way too much electricity.

Toktuk
Pooh Ogre
Keeper of the Shoulders of Peachis Perching
posted 07-08-2007 07:14:57 AM
quote:
The logic train ran off the tracks when Maradon! said:
This thread reminds me of the time when my sister and I were little kids and I told her to stick her finger in a light socket, and she did it before I could stop her.

I felt kinda bad at the time but in hindsight it's actually pretty funny


I used to trip the breakers in our house by jabbing coat hangers into various electrical sockets when I was like 4 or 5. Shocked the shit out of myself every time.

-H

Azakias
Never wore the pants, thus still wields the power of unused (_|_)
posted 07-08-2007 08:03:08 AM
quote:
Alidane was listening to Cher while typing:
Those 9V batteries are goddamn baby-killers.

Contrary to popular believe, voltage aint what kills you.

Even a small shock is enough to set your rhythms off.

"Age by age have men stood up and said to the world, 'From what has come before me, I was forged, but I am new and greater than my forebears.' And so each man walks the world in ruin, abandoned and untried. Less than the whole of his being"
Ja'Deth Issar Ka'bael
I posted in a title changing thread.
posted 07-08-2007 10:29:32 AM
quote:
Azakias had this to say about Captain Planet:
Even a small shock is enough to set your rhythms off.

Aint nothing gonna break my stride,
Nobodys gonna slow me down, oh no, I've got to keep on moving

Lyinar's sweetie and don't you forget it!*
"All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die. -Roy Batty
*Also Lyinar's attack panda

sigpic courtesy of This Guy, original modified by me

Alidane
Urinary Tract Infection
posted 07-08-2007 12:17:16 PM
quote:
Azakias posted

Contrary to popular believe, voltage aint what kills you.

Even a small shock is enough to set your rhythms off.


No shit. My point was, you're not really in any appreciable danger until you have enough voltage to overcome the resistance of your skin.

Khyron
Hello, my mushy friend...
posted 07-08-2007 12:24:55 PM
quote:
Ja'Deth Issar Ka'bael spewed forth this undeniable truth:
Aint nothing gonna break my stride,
Nobodys gonna slow me down, oh no, I've got to keep on moving

It's old and it's been posted a lot but it still makes me laugh.

All times are US/Eastern
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