Electrical Safety Tip


At work, a guy in the office across from me.
"What's burning? Something smells."
I walk in and notice something familiar from the past. The best I could describe it was like an overheated circuit board; something electronic that went south. We guessed a fluorescent ballast went in one of the 2 ceiling fixtures. Kill the ceiling fixtures, and used desk lamps; write a work order for repair.

The next day, the guy says he can still smell it and it appears to be originating from one of the desk lamps. I smell it, and yeah, there's that smell.
"The switch doesn't work, either" sez he.
Trying it, it freewheels; busted.

CSI closeup time. Look for the NEC mandated sticker on the inside of the shade.
"To avoid the possibility of fire, use no larger than a 70W Type A lamp." (paraphrased)
Examine the lamp. Odd, made-in-Mexico, Phillips long life 120v/230v. Obviously industrial stuff; as is the job site.

135 Watt lamp. Fried the switch, smoked the lampholder. Damn near a 100% overload. That little sticker, with it's MAXIMUM watt figure, is one of the most important safety features in your home or work area.

Please check all your lamps and fixtures for this sticker vs. installed lamp. Fixed in place or portables. Incandescent lamps are 90% heat and 10% light.

Thanks for reading this far.
shasta
Remember any lamp over 50w anywhere on the telephone pole transformer that does not have 10ga wiring and cryo-treated sockets will degrade the audio performance of your equipment (and that of every house on the block) by 13.499876%.
My ears can tell!!

NOT
Nice refreshing and illuminating (pun intended) post. Thanks for the reminder.
Shasta, good point -- often overlooked. Certainly worth mentioning even if it's not audio:)!