Does this thing exist?

[devi]

I'm making lanterns and lampshades, and I want to test them, so what I'd like is this: a bare lightbulb on the end of a flex, so you can loop the bulb end over a rafter to hang down like a normal ceiling light and plug the other end into the wall. I seem to remember the builders having one when my home-home was being built back in the late 80s. But the searching I'm doing so far hasn't turned up anything like it. It's either your standard light fixtures or devices that let you plug lightbulbs straight into American sockets (which seem to be mainly sought after by weed-growers).

Anyone seen anything like this? Several lightbulb sockets on the same flex would be even better.

Comments

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

You will need:

* One of these...
* ...one of these...
* ...and some of this.

Plus a screwdriver and a bulb to use with it.

The only thing I don't know is which fuse rating is most appropriate.

[mzdt.livejournal.com]

as small as you can buy - 1A @ 240v is still 240W, so normal incandescent bulbs will take a quarter of that, low energy ones a twentieth. The smallest plug fuses readily available are probably 3A. To be fair, though, the fuse protects the cable, so as long as the cable will carry 3A without heating effects, 3A fuses will be fine. 1A if they can be found, though.

If an doubt of any misuse (or the general public) stick the whole lot on a plug-in RCD adapter, too.

[hatter.livejournal.com]

And for several on the same plug, take some extra lengths of flex, strip both ends, add another bulb holder on one end, screw both the mains and the spare flex into the terminals on the first bulb holder, daisy chain eac new one onto the last. If you're using real bulbs, you'll need to do some maths to figure the best fuse, 1A is still good for 3x 60W, you probably want 3A if you're using several 100W bulbs or 4+ 60W bulbs though.

I've still got one of these in my loft with a plug that drops through the loft hatch, because I've not got around to wiring something better in.

the hatter