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Calling All Electrical installers/Engineers

hey all im make and e40 lamp for my plants i dont have the e40 bulb fitting yet but i have the 3core cable i.e (borwn=live,blue=neutral,yellow/green=earth) now it says on the cable packet..... max rating at 240 volts=16amps 3840 whats does this mean and what plug would i need to put on this 3 core cable to make it a 240watt e40 lamp and does it matter on the bulb socket ? please help i know where the wires must be wires to on the e40 bulb fitting i just dont kno about the wattage :p


Richard
 
Av8tor1 is the more the electrical engineer around here but watts = amps x volts so 240volts x 16amps = 3840watts is the load capacity of your cable. The lamp socket has to have a load capacity of at least 240watts if you going to put a 240watt bulb in it. Exceed either load capacity and things will start smoking.

And remember, incandescent bulbs throw out a lot of heat. Don't cook your plants.
 
"like if the 3 core wire's max ratin at 240v and 16amp what will be the wattage of the lame i make ?"


The wattage of the lamp is dependant on the bulb.

The 240v/16amp rating on the wire only tells you the maximum amount of electricity you can run through the cable without burning it up.

Based on NotaNumber's calculation you can draw at most 3840 watts through the cable at 240v.

To figure out how much wattage you will actuall use you need to get the specificaitons of the bulb and if there is a ballast the specifications of that.

If you are simply worried if you will burn up the cable with a single light bulb, I would highly doubt it!
 
I believe the E40 is a HID lamp designator... in other words it has a ballast. In this case the load will be more then the bulb rating itself. You will have the load of the ballast to add into the equation.

Simplest was to make sure you do things right is go by the manufacturer's recommendations.

Look for a data plate on the ballast or fixture somewhere, maybe contact the manufacturer if you cant find any information. Having a wire that is oversized isnt harmful, having one that is undersized can be a fire hazard. As NAN and Tony have stated, the cable numbers are a recommended maximum rating. But even this has to taken with a grain of salt... if it is in free air or conduit will affect the safe load carrying capacity of a conductor. In the states you would go by the National Electric Code, Im sure where you are there is something simular

However, it sounds as though... and forgive me if Im wrong, but sounds as though you are pretty lost... In a case like this, I would advise you seek someone out who can come and help you. In addition to the safety concerns, most likely there are also electrical regulations that you probably have to meet, failure to meet these could result in legal issues down the road.

Av
 
However, it sounds as though... and forgive me if Im wrong, but sounds as though you are pretty lost... In a case like this, I would advise you seek someone out who can come and help you. In addition to the safety concerns, most likely there are also electrical regulations that you probably have to meet, failure to meet these could result in legal issues down the road.

I quote this because it merits repeating and emphasizing. If you don't understand the electrical parts and the principles behind them completely, please find someone who does.

Tinkering around with high voltage gadgets is literally taking your life and other lives into your hands. Realize that you can easily electrocute yourself or someone else, or burn your house down. Ask yourself if you trust your knowledge enough to risk that.
 
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