I, personally, think it's better to just have a purpose built unit with a lamp and plug. My reasons are:
1) I don't want to hunt for a house lamp with a 100W incandescent bulb in it. This is only going to get tougher as more lamps become fitted with modern low energy bulbs and incandescent bulbs for lamps become scarce. Having a dedicated socket with a hundy bulb in it means it's not in service as a home lamp and getting used up.
2) I don't like having oddly wired plug strips around that anyone else could use incorrectly if they didn't know better.
3) With those friction contacts you've essentially doubled the chances of a poor contact due to oxide or fatigue where a purpose built lamp with a plug on it is a securely soldered plug.
"Take two placebos, works twice as well." Enzo
"Now get off my lawn with your silicooties and boom-chucka speakers and computers masquerading as amplifiers" Justin Thomas
"If you're not interested in opinions and the experience of others, why even start a thread?
You can't just expect consent." Helmholtz
I, personally, think it's better to just have a purpose built unit with a lamp and plug. My reasons are:
1) I don't want to hunt for a house lamp with a 100W incandescent bulb in it. This is only going to get tougher as more lamps become fitted with modern low energy bulbs and incandescent bulbs for lamps become scarce. Having a dedicated socket with a hundy bulb in it means it's not in service as a home lamp and getting used up.
2) I don't like having oddly wired plug strips around that anyone else could use incorrectly if they didn't know better.
3) With those friction contacts you've essentially doubled the chances of a poor contact due to oxide or fatigue where a purpose built lamp with a plug on it is a securely soldered plug.
Hi Chuck, great advice as always. Understood all your points. As I rarely use one, like twice in 5 years, it was only a cheap as chips way... all I need tbh... but didn't seems to work plugging in my diddy 5 w amp, ie neither the amp lit nor the bulb lit then diminished.
Checked plug, fuse. So my wiring was next to check. But this as lowly as it is ( noone but me here, & clearly labelled Current ltr Only! on it) did work before.
Anyway thanks, will check continuity for corrosion issues on contacts. Thanks, SC
Good points Chuck, but with regard to 3, they’re sprung contacts, the same arrangement is in wall outlets etc. And rather than being soldered, wires are typically terminated with screw connections identical to those of the right of the photo. Cable clamps take mechanical stress off the terminals.
Good points Chuck, but with regard to 3, they’re sprung contacts, the same arrangement is in wall outlets etc. And rather than being soldered, wires are typically terminated with screw connections identical to those of the right of the photo. Cable clamps take mechanical stress off the terminals.
Hi there pdf.. does it matter which way round I plug amp & lamp in the sockets?
What's kinda weird is that everyone is using the same box, switch and plug arrangement.?. Mine is just a ceramic base and socket like the one in Jason's post (sans conduit box, just the ceramic base) with a male AC on one end of the cord and a female AC on the other. I understand the switch allows a fast response if something is REALLY wrong. But if that's the case I know it instantly and have either the plug in my hand (so just unplug) or the amp switch (just flip it).
I thought something like my minimalist version was what everyone used. Now I see that everyone has two plugs and a switch.
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