Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Lighting Globes?

I'm planning on building a globe shelf in the near future, and was wondering what you guys use to light up your globes? (besides a lightbulb)

15 watt frosted bulb works for this globe collector. Any other ideas?

I have three Sinclair globes on a shelf over my desk 25 watts in each. Lights up my desk real nice

15 watts behind ad glass and 25 for the globe in a pump. but if your running 14/16 gauge cord wire to more then 5 globes I would stay at 15watts. so you don't over heat the cord.
Ethan, take one of your globes and place a 25 watt bulb in it turn it on and leave it for about 1 hour then touch the top of the globe body. then you can decide for yourself.

HEY BUCK GOOD POINT. CHEESE

This is always a good topic. We discussed this a while back where we talked about bulbs type and sizes. I put in a digital switch that lets me control how bright I want them. I put in 40 watt because I think they look much better. I only turn them up that high when other collectors or non collector friends come over. Most of the time they are about half power. Post us pictures when you are done building it.

Not to go against the Buck Grain here, but the average UL Listed 16ga2wire Lamp Cord (16/2 SPT-2) has a total 11Amp/1600W rating. So it you were to use this type of wire which is pretty easy to hide running 25W bulb...you could basically light up 64 globes on one line!
Alright...sounds rediculous, so let's cut that Into 1/3's and use 500W total for 21 total 25W bulbs. I also like the idea of a digital dimmer. They are expensive but can reduce the wattage on 21 - 25W globes and give a aomewhat better range
of lighting overall. I have seen a pretty good range of dimmer in Home Depot, Lowe's and similar for around $25-$40
But always make sure your dimmer is rated properly for more than 650W based on the entire 21 Lamp run described above. I will try to post what wattage equals in amps later. I use a 7amp Vacuum cleaner on a 16/2 ext cord and it barely gets warm. Also never overload outlets or power strips in a dangerous fashion. Be Safe - Not Sorry!
JM2C!!
Here's the scoop on wattage VS amperage: 500Watts equals 4.16Amps
To get your total amps based on your wattage...simple math: 100W divided by 120V = .83Amps per 100W bulb or total wattage created by 4-25W bulbs.
Bulbs are never Lamps & Lamps are never bulbs.
DOC & THE AMERICAN GARAGES

[This message has been edited by THE AMERICAN GARAGE (edited 02-21-2004).]

wow great info guys, like your ideal john. cheese

What about sockets? Where do you get them that you can mount to wood? Should I go to the salvation army and buy a bunch of lamps and massacre them for sockets and plugs?

Here is the switch I used. These are good for 600 watts and cost $30.
[img]http://images.lowes.com/product/027557/027557503884.jpg?wid=158&cvt=jpeg[/img]

I used these which clips right to the 16 gauge wire and these handle 10 amps. These are a couple of bucks.
[img]http://images.lowes.com/product/032664/032664539503.jpg?wid=158&cvt=jpeg[/img]

This plugs right into the item above. These are a $1.50 I think.
[img]http://images.lowes.com/product/032664/032664273100.jpg?wid=158&cvt=jpeg[/img]

I just made a groove big enough for the plug that clips to the wire to fit in a board and just run these down the shelf. The cool part is that in a year or so you can un clip them and move the globes around if you need to. I got this idea from Rex and he lights hundreds of globes like this.

nice post john. very help full way to go. cheese

Let me clear something up here... you can only run about 25 globes using 25 watt bulbs off 1 run then you need to make another run using the 2 items above.
The Ditigal switch i use is hooked up in the house on 14 gauge house wiring or romex and i used electical boxes and sockets with 40 watt bulbs.

Looks like a real clean set up Jarvis. When I retrofit my place I will try that method out. Thanks, Art

I've been worked in construction for 27 years, and have been around it all my life. There are right and wrong ways of doing things. I would NEVER use lamp cord and those clips. Lamp cord will NOT pass for wiring anywhere! Lamp cord is designed to be used in shorts lengths, with very little load.
If you do use those clips you should NEVER move them. They have little tabs that protrude through the insulation on the wire. If you move them to another location on the wire, there will be an area of exposed compromised insulation. Those clips and sockets are designed to be used as temporary lighting on construction sites. They are not meant to be nor are they approved for permanent lighting. Check with your local building inspector's office. Also check with your home owners insurance carrier.

Everyone should check out their wiring before adding a bunch of globes. See what else is on the circuit. 12 gauge wiring is good for 20 amps. 14 gauge is only good for 15 amps. In most jurisdictions 14 gauge wiring is only allowed for switch legs.

You don't want a fire, and if you do have a fire, you don't want to give your insurance carrier a reason to void your coverage. Ask your insurance carrier if they will pay for a claim if you have an electrical fire and they find out you've been using lamp cord to wire your globes.

Lamp cord and clips are a cheap way to wire globes, but they aren't the right way! Is it worth endangering your collection, or more importantly, your family to save a couple of bucks on wiring?
Bob



[This message has been edited by Lastgas15 (edited 02-21-2004).]

Your right Bob... but do you wire your lamps on the table with romex? We are not talking about wiring a house with these things but a few globes with very low amperage. I can say that when my house was built they put 20 amp breakers on 14 gauge wires on a few breakers. The inspector said that he has seen that plenty of times on houses built in the early 70's and told me I should fix it. That is more important than lamp cord running a few globes. I am not saying this is the best way to do it. I will say that in construction with these being used for temporary light... these get move every day and could cause bad connections and would be a threat more that sitting on a shelf. Don't use these if you don't feel comfortable ... if you live close to Bob you can pay him to come wire them up. LOL