OK, so I’m finally hooking up my recessed lights. I’m puzzled by why the wiring inside the lights is 18/2? Specifically, almost all light fixtures I’ve installed have 18/2 wire.
Why isn’t it a safety hazard to run 14/2 or 12/2 wire to a light fixture that has 18/2 wire inside?
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Replies
Because you can put 1500 watt bulbs in the fixture.
The overload protection (circuit breaker) is designed to protect the wiring from overload.
The fixture wiring is designed for the amount of load that the fixture can handle.
I think I'm still confused. Let me clarify. If 12/2 cable is needed for a 20 amp circuit because the amp draw is too much for 14/2 cable, then how can 18/2 handle a 15 or 20 amp current?Or, wait a minute here, my brain is churning...is the amount of current hitting the fixture's 18/2 wires determined by what the fixture is drawing and NOT by what the breaker is "sending"?
Edited 7/20/2005 9:15 pm ET by Thang
ding ding ding And we have a winner!
Now, what gauge do I use when rewiring an old 40s style floorlamp?
A person with no sense of humor about themselves is fullashid
A feeler guage?
You got me on that. I have no idea. I will say that my floor lamps use "lamp chord" as that is what sold in my hardware store. Since I've never had to cut one, I don't know what the guage is.
I was wondering about the interior wiring to the sockets as in the old 3 socket variety and the translucent base with a night light in it.Collected a number of them over the years.
A person with no sense of humor about themselves is fullashid
> ...is the amount of current hitting the fixture's 18/2 wires determined by what the fixture is drawing and NOT by what the breaker is "sending"?
Yes. The 12/2 or 14/2 branch circuit wiring in the walls can get loaded to an unknowable amount, because who knows how many things may be plugged in downstream of a particular section. So it needs a breaker of the right amperage limit to protect it.
The 18/2 in the fixture should normally either see the load of a light bulb, for which it is adequate, or possibly a dead short, which will trip either size breaker fast enough to not build up a lot of heat. The big fire danger is having too much current for the size of wires for long enough to heat them up.
So, it's not a good idea to use one of those screw-plug adapters to run a toaster.
-- J.S.
The circuit breaker is there to protect the wiring in the wall, NOT whats pluged in or the final fixture. A final fuse would be nice to have, check the Xmas lights plugs as some of them have tiny fuses built in.