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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2000
    Location
    Drop Bear Capital of Gippsland (Lang Lang) Vic Australia
    Age
    74
    Posts
    2,238

    Default Put in some fluoro's......

    Got 4 twin fluoro's a couple of years ago and now have finally got around to puuting them in so I cvan work the night shift.
    Decide that I will do 2 at a time and want to wire to a power point given that they draw bugger all, 74watts per unit.
    Anyway I go out and buy 10 metres of cable and two plugs, a grand total of about $35.00 and set to work, beeee yooooo teeeee, let there be light, all is well with brown to earth (dirt is brown)
    Sorry, just a little humour, I can wire a damned plug.
    A few days later I go to get some more cable and plugs for the next two, I am walking through the electrical section of out local Shifty Link Hardware when I spy upon some 5 metre extension leads, at a mere $5.95 each and rated at 10 amps.
    Be buggered, why the hell should I buy all the bits for $35.00 when I can get two 5 metre extensions leads, chop off the female end and wire into fluoro's?
    Boom Boom, come home with the goods, quicksnip and strip and I have the next two working with a saving of $23.00, now the question is.......
    WHY THE HELL DIDN"T I DO THIS FIRST TIME AROUND
    Stupidity kills. Absolute stupidity kills absolutely.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Donnybrook ... sorta
    Age
    59
    Posts
    0

    Default

    Iain
    I've made use of the same (and th e 3m ones sometimes) for similar purposes ... seems a waste to cut off the the female and throw it away but what the heck ... like you say ... the product is cheaper than the sum of the parts ... figure that
    Ramps

    When one has finished building one's house, one suddenly realizes that in the process one has learned something that one really needed to know in the worst way--before one began.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Graceville. Qld
    Age
    78
    Posts
    27

    Default Fluro's in workshops

    Iain,

    You may/may not be up to speed with this but here goes.

    Fluro lights flicker at a rate [I think] of 60 cycles per second. If you have rotating machinery in your workshop ie lathe, rotating blades etc and they happen to be rotating at around the same rate as your fluro is flickering, it gives the appearance that the rotating object is stationery - you can guess what can happen from here. There are many reported cases of people putting hands onto 'stationery' objects with grim results.

    From a cost point of view, fluros are the go, but above your rotating machinery, a floodlight/incandescent is the safer option

    Regards

    Colin Howkins
    Graceville Qld

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Perth - SOR
    Age
    78
    Posts
    56

    Default

    Yep, I do too. Given that you can buy extension leads up to 15mtrs you could wire up the largest shed on a shoestring - no! an extension lead would be better.

    Denn

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2000
    Location
    Drop Bear Capital of Gippsland (Lang Lang) Vic Australia
    Age
    74
    Posts
    2,238

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Colin Howkins View Post
    Iain,

    You may/may not be up to speed with this but here goes.

    Fluro lights flicker at a rate [I think] of 60 cycles per second. If you have rotating machinery in your workshop ie lathe, rotating blades etc and they happen to be rotating at around the same rate as your fluro is flickering, it gives the appearance that the rotating object is stationery - you can guess what can happen from here. There are many reported cases of people putting hands onto 'stationery' objects with grim results.

    From a cost point of view, fluros are the go, but above your rotating machinery, a floodlight/incandescent is the safer option

    Regards

    Colin Howkins
    Graceville Qld

    Ah Grasshopper, if one notes carefully the wiring in the internals you will notice that the phasing is arranged so that the cycling is opposite on each tube, thus a steady light and no flickering, also the rate here is 50 fps (flickers per second ), good ole US of A has 60 hertz.
    My argument against this too is that I am not deaf and I can hear the machine running plus if I am intending to use a machine I should be aware that it is running.
    Of course the same ruling applies to incandescant lighting and you cannot eliminate this unless you use a full wave rectifier, which is something of an expensive overkill for a home workshop.
    Remember the strobes you used to place on the turntable to check the speed? (remember we used to give an apprentice a torch to check them with ).
    Ramps, it does hurt to cut off the female end and no matter how long you stare at it, it is still going to be useless, bearing this in mind, I still have the two useless ens in a drawer in the shed, I know they are absolutley useless but they are brand new and sqeauky clean and just not suitable for binning, even though they are a sealed unit and cannot be used for any application apart from chucking at cats.
    Here we go, a new thread starter, weapons for use against marauding moggies.
    I had better stop before someone thinks I am related to Mr Wild Dingo
    Stupidity kills. Absolute stupidity kills absolutely.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Gorokan Central Coast NSW
    Age
    80
    Posts
    941

    Default

    Iain, start a "That might come in handy one day" bin. You will find that most things in it will be very handy at some time in the future.........usually about two days after you've had a clean up and thrown the damn thing out.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jul 2000
    Location
    Drop Bear Capital of Gippsland (Lang Lang) Vic Australia
    Age
    74
    Posts
    2,238

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Termite View Post
    usually about two days after you've had a clean up and thrown the damn thing out.
    I know
    Although yesterday I needed to do some sanding but the hose adapter for my rotex is split and the mew one hasn't arrived, solution, get a cable tie and wrap around the end so I can attach the hose, now, I have a big plastic jar of cable ties in the shed....................somewhere.
    After an hour searching I'm buggered if I can find them so I head off to the local hardware and buy a bag of them (so I can use one), works a treat, get the bag and put it on the shelf next to the jar of cable ties that I can't find
    Stupidity kills. Absolute stupidity kills absolutely.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Kentucky NSW near Tamworth, Australia
    Age
    86
    Posts
    1,067

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Colin Howkins View Post
    Iain,


    You may/may not be up to speed with this but here goes.

    Fluro lights flicker at a rate [I think] of 60 cycles per second. If you have rotating machinery in your workshop ie lathe, rotating blades etc and they happen to be rotating at around the same rate as your fluro is flickering, it gives the appearance that the rotating object is stationery - you can guess what can happen from here. There are many reported cases of people putting hands onto 'stationery' objects with grim results.

    From a cost point of view, fluros are the go, but above your rotating machinery, a floodlight/incandescent is the safer option

    Regards

    Colin Howkins
    Graceville Qld
    Hi Colin

    When you belong to this forum long enough you discover there are very few new subjects covered, you just need to be able to find them.

    This subject on strobing was covered a couple of years ago.

    And Iain you probably remember it.

    https://www.woodworkforums.com/showth...nical+Bulletin

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2000
    Location
    Drop Bear Capital of Gippsland (Lang Lang) Vic Australia
    Age
    74
    Posts
    2,238

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Barry_White View Post

    And Iain you probably remember it.

    https://www.woodworkforums.com/showth...nical+Bulletin
    I didn't but thanks, I had forgotten the candle option (50 or 60 Hz candle sir )
    Stupidity kills. Absolute stupidity kills absolutely.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    0

    Default

    Well Iain, I sort of had a similar experience.

    Got the fluros from a salvage yard dirt cheap, doubles, big heavy fellas nobody wanted. And there they sat for two years 'cos the thought of buying cable and plugs for more than the lights cost me just darn annoyed me. (Dumb logic).

    Had a clean up day and was tossing out some old damaged extension leads, that had too many heavy things fall on them, when all of a sudden I had a thought, leads all good apart from a bit in the middle + fluros gathering dust somewhere = light in the shed.

    Durh !!! So now I have light in the shed and what a thrill it was. You have reminded me to get some more and some cheap extension leads and do the garage as well.

    Cheers
    Pops

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Towradgi
    Posts
    2

    Default

    Iain, you could also be related to Wongo

    One of my lesser used flouros on hooked up with an extension lead to powerpoint, the one over my lathe
    Pat
    Work is a necessary evil to be avoided. Mark Twain

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    In the shed, Melbourne
    Age
    53
    Posts
    0

    Default

    G'day Iain,

    Quote Originally Posted by Iain View Post
    and cannot be used for any application apart from chucking at cats.


    Hadn't thought of chopping an extension lead.
    I make things, I just take a long time.

    www.brandhouse.net.au

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Japan。
    Age
    49
    Posts
    37

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Iain View Post
    WHY THE HELL DIDN"T I DO THIS FIRST TIME AROUND

    Because you never asked?

    Still remember going in to the local bunnies a few years ago when they had some sale on shortish extension leads.

    We asked if there was a limit to the number we could buy. Manager said as many as we wanted to buy.

    So we bought them all.

    Almost a pallet sized box worth of the stoopid things.

    Got the apprentices to practise their flex stripping skills, and recycled the dud sockets. Then we all chipped in wiring them into flouro's that had somehow been delivered without leads on them.

    In the end, we were busy in the shop for a few days, the lighting mob dodged an expensive bullet, the boss made some unexpected extra cash, which he used some of to buy us beer and sausages with.

    Plus we made the Bunnies managers eyeballs stick out about 3 inches.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    sydney
    Posts
    1

    Default Wasted Female ends?

    I usually buy a bit longer than needed, and then wire a male plug (quite cheap) to the cut female bit and I end up with another extention cord. Yes, I also hooked up a floro set to the garage - now I can see what I'm doing after 5pm. Got my at Flemington Markets for $15 includes twin tubes and a white hood and it comes plugged - just connect to extension cord to wall socket. Might hook up another set right under my work table - will wait if I could get those enclosures that looked like aluminium/mirrors - those at some new offices.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Nicholls ACT
    Posts
    0

    Default

    Short extension cords are quite useful. But for those you have already cut off you can use them to protect the male plugs on corded tools. For some reason the prongs often get pushed together by clumsy placement of boards and things when to lazy to put things away properly. (would not buy an extension cord to do this though - it just saves you having to chuck them at the moggies)

    Pusser

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