Home Emergency Lights

[me]

That is good to know. I'd imagine there is some form of flame inhibition. At least I would hope. This is one reason I buy name brand lights instead of all the Chinese knock off available on Amazon.

Yes, there's some pretty terrible electrical stuff that crops up on the likes of amazon and ebay uk sites, despite our regulations.

Here's a good example of a mains extension, for the shear number of breaches of British Standards and CE regulations, I think they may have been trying to break the record.. It's off ebay, but I'm sure I've seen them for sale on amazon a few years ago, when it was posted on a "bargain" deals website, until the product listings all got pulled.



It also proves the earth is hollow ;O)

 

[Chetlaham]

I saw that video. Scary thing is, it is more of a norm than an exception on Amazon and Ebay. I've purchased hair dryers off Amazon that literally not only lacked a thermal fuse and high limit thermostat, but the fan motor would not turn right out of the box. Lamps cords with what had to be 28AWG aluminum wire. Live 120 volt cords that have popped out of appliances. Fake NRTL listings. It goes on and on.

Some of the top selling electrical devices are adapters and surge strips without a functioning ground. I'm not kidding, the power strip literally comes with a 2 prong plug, but with 3 prong receptacles on the body complete with shiny metal tongs in each earth slot.


https://www.amazon.com/live/video/091c07691b254a6a8cd32c3be46ee48f?ref_=dp_vse_lbvc_1





An Edison lamp screw shell does not offer or make a ground-






People brag online about how they can now plug their 3 prong AC and what not into a 2 prong ungrounded outlet with few even considering that a danger exists.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Mine was a flashlight which plugged into an outlet we'd had for years...

However it had gotten outmoded enough that I probably just threw it away upon its inability to provide that "portable lighting" in the pitch darkness when we'd had that last recent (night time) power outage...

So it'd just better be candles, though, there I'd been doing the Sabbath Thing lighting too of them every Friday night and Saturday, it's Havdala (beginning of the new week--Shavuah, in Hebrew, it's called)...

Looks like I will have to look into a generator, at least if I want lights, and a working fridge, if I must choose the most important things to keep running when the juice goes out...



-- Dave

 

[phillymatt53]

I saw that video. Scary thing is, it is more of a norm than an exception on Amazon and Ebay. I've purchased hair dryers off Amazon that literally not only lacked a thermal fuse and high limit thermostat, but the fan motor would not turn right out of the box. Lamps cords with what had to be 28AWG aluminum wire. Live 120 volt cords that have popped out of appliances. Fake NRTL listings. It goes on and on.

Some of the top selling electrical devices are adapters and surge strips without a functioning ground. I'm not kidding, the power strip literally comes with a 2 prong plug, but with 3 prong receptacles on the body complete with shiny metal tongs in each earth slot.




View attachment 316814



An Edison lamp screw shell does not offer or make a ground-


View attachment 316810

Chet, I fully agree with you.
As much as I dislike "modern" consumer products, the one thing that really burns me up is the lack, the ignorance, of the manufacturers making these non-compliant hazards.
They're certainly not up to current Electrical Code Standards, and should be banned.
But what do you want from China, eh?

 

[Chetlaham]

China is just appealing to a vapid consumer demand. If there is a market for it, they will build it.

 

[me]

China is just appealing to a vapid consumer demand. If there is a market for it, they will build it.

One thing that particularly amazed me was that somewhere in china, a factory churns out fake 3 core flex using substandard (non-copper) conductors, with an empty earth sleeve, as if it is going to fool anyone, for the sake of saving a small amount of cheap aluminium. Mind you seeing as we are taking china, I wouldn't be too surprised if someone is actually paid to pull the earth conductor out of the cut lengths of flex, for the scrap value. Of course there's no point in having the earth wire, when the sleeve on that stupid plug's earth pin will insulate it from the earth receptacle in the socket.


At least in your extension, they got the shape of the plug holes right ;o) But, I guess there's a fair chance that they've reversed the polarity on inverted row of sockets, as they have with Clive's.

We also get a lot of chinese products like USB power supplies that were designed for the US market, where they'd just about function moderately safely at 120V, and they do a version with a UK plug, without making the modifications for 240V, such as increasing the creepage gaps between AC and DC etc, so the DC side can go live, or they may just catch fire or blow up.

 

[Chetlaham]

One thing that particularly amazed me was that somewhere in china, a factory churns out fake 3 core flex using substandard (non-copper) conductors, with an empty earth sleeve, as if it is going to fool anyone, for the sake of saving a small amount of cheap aluminium. Mind you seeing as we are taking china, I wouldn't be too surprised if someone is actually paid to pull the earth conductor out of the cut lengths of flex, for the scrap value. Of course there's no point in having the earth wire, when the sleeve on that stupid plug's earth pin will insulate it from the earth receptacle in the socket.


At least in your extension, they got the shape of the plug holes right ;o) But, I guess there's a fair chance that they've reversed the polarity on inverted row of sockets, as they have with Clive's.

We also get a lot of chinese products like USB power supplies that were designed for the US market, where they'd just about function moderately safely at 120V, and they do a version with a UK plug, without making the modifications for 240V, such as increasing the creepage gaps between AC and DC etc, so the DC side can go live, or they may just catch fire or blow up.

My understanding, from what I've heard, been told and found out from research is that Chinese companies will build code, brand specific or listed products for a major reputable company for a period of time. Once the contract runs out, the tooling, workers and intellectual property will stay, whereby the Chinese manufacturer starts producing knock-off, counterfeit or dangerously cheapened version of the previous goods with the same manufacturing equipment.

That might explain the hollow earth. They previously manufactured compliant copper flex only to then re-use the same equipment for manufacturing two core aluminum flex. The extruders and jacketers not being able to handle a core missing.


It is just a guess, I am just as curious why they left the earth wire hollow.


Regarding reversed polarity I heard a rumor that in some parts of China they just don't earth the neutral of the 380Y/220 volt supply. Line and neutral are left floating above earth under normal conditions so polarity would not matter with sockets and consumer goods. No idea if true but it does explain the carelessness in polarization.

 

[phillymatt53]

Since this thread is mostly about Chinese Manufactured products, I'll toss in my own findings, which shouldn't surprise anyone.

China manufacturers rely on superficiality - the "visual effect", to increase the desire for unsuspecting customers to purchase something.
They also enhance things in "sneaky ways", fooling the potential customer.
For instance, they add weight to products, in order to claim something is more expensive, or "High End". - which, of course, it is not.

In my repair shop over the years, since outsourcing of products increased, I've seen these "effects" quite a lot.
A "Hi End" brand of CD player, Yaqin brand, housed in a heavy thick aluminum cabinet with visually stunning styling, and sold for $700, was basically a lie, pure junk.
In fact, when I opened it up to troubleshoot it, the actual CD mechanism was a cheap plastic mech, a leftover stock model used in common Sony boomboxes.
The internals of this CD player were also adorned with vacuum tubes poking out of the top of the stunning cabinet, which basically was "for show", nothing more.
And of course, when I attempted to aquire any Service Manuals for it, they were unavailable. - "secret documents" I was told.

Another piece that came in was an "Emerson" branded clock radio, styled in a "vintage" 1950s design.
It was hefty when picked up, and at first I thought it felt "beefy", but the superficiality kicks in with that one, because once opened up it contained a common cheap clock mech, and cheap transistor radio guts.
Oh, and the weight? - it had a substantial brick of cement glued inside to the bottom of the case. - and even the brick was crumbling due to poor manufacturing.

As I've stated, superficiality sells preoducts, always did, but the Chinese have taken it to new heights.
A pretty dress for appearance, some fancy dazzling LED lights, makes you want to buy it.

 

[circlew]

I saw that video. Scary thing is, it is more of a norm than an exception on Amazon and Ebay. I've purchased hair dryers off Amazon that literally not only lacked a thermal fuse and high limit thermostat, but the fan motor would not turn right out of the box. Lamps cords with what had to be 28AWG aluminum wire. Live 120 volt cords that have popped out of appliances. Fake NRTL listings. It goes on and on.

Some of the top selling electrical devices are adapters and surge strips without a functioning ground. I'm not kidding, the power strip literally comes with a 2 prong plug, but with 3 prong receptacles on the body complete with shiny metal tongs in each earth slot.


https://www.amazon.com/live/video/091c07691b254a6a8cd32c3be46ee48f?ref_=dp_vse_lbvc_1

View attachment 316814



An Edison lamp screw shell does not offer or make a ground-


View attachment 316810



People brag online about how they can now plug their 3 prong AC and what not into a 2 prong ungrounded outlet with few even considering that a danger exists.

Before the pull chain light socket with 3 prong receptacles, people would use one of those grounding adapters to plug a 3 wire cord into one. For some reason, my mom thought it was OK to plug a dehumidifier into one in my bedroom closet (she was usually much smarter than that). I came back, went down to my room (in basement), and there was a strong burned smell. The dehumidifier had stopped, and the light socket was blackened. I unplugged the appliance, inspected its cord and plug, which were not damaged, and removed the destroyed pull chain socket and ground adapter from the ceiling fixture. I then removed the porcelain fixture to inspect it for damage, and it was OK. I reset the tripped breaker, and the lights were back on. I called my mom down to show her what had happened, and chastised her greatly for doing something so stupid. When my dad returned from playing golf, she heard the same from him. It easily could have caused a major fire, as the closet and side wall had wood paneling.

 

[Chetlaham]

I'm not sure about the actual current capabilities of pull chain sockets or medium screw base sockets but they are typically listed at 660 watts at 120 volts. So 5.5 amps max, if that.

If you ever need a plug receptacle at a light socket, go this route:


https://www.amazon.com/Leviton-9726...90-8e8a-5b731ae66d3b&pd_rd_i=B00002N5FR&psc=1

These are often used in attics and closets with HVAC equipment where a separate 120 volt outlet isn't present. It satisfies both having a light source and a place to plug in tools when the equipment needs service/repair.

 

[circlew]

Sometime back in the late 1970s I installed an emergency light in the hall by the basement stairs, and I'm thinking it was a Dual-Lite EZ-2. It lasted for about 8 years before the battery went bad. As the battery was about as expensive as a complete unit, I decided to replace the fixture. The new one was an earlier version of the Lithonia shown in the original post. I used it until I started the renovation several years ago. I still have it packed up, but I imagine it would need a new battery.

It's not necessary to have an obtrusive emergency light. There are regular fixtures that have emergency lighting function as an option. These include a battery, inverter, charger, and test button as part of the package.

 

[phillymatt53]

I've gotten those Mister Beams lights, inexpensive, common battery-operated lights.
They make motion triggered lights, night lights, etc.
Both indoor and outdoor types.
So far so good after 8 years use.

 

[Chetlaham]

Sometime back in the late 1970s I installed an emergency light in the hall by the basement stairs, and I'm thinking it was a Dual-Lite EZ-2. It lasted for about 8 years before the battery went bad. As the battery was about as expensive as a complete unit, I decided to replace the fixture. The new one was an earlier version of the Lithonia shown in the original post. I used it until I started the renovation several years ago. I still have it packed up, but I imagine it would need a new battery.

It's not necessary to have an obtrusive emergency light. There are regular fixtures that have emergency lighting function as an option. These include a battery, inverter, charger, and test button as part of the package.

Do you still have access to that light? I remember the early Lithonias used wedge bulbs, a black NiCad battery and relay switch-over. I kind of miss them, but the newer versions are technically better and more reliable.

I remember those trauffers with the built in bodines. They'd have a bright red indicator and black test switch either in the fixture's ballast channel or on a separate j-box beside the fixture where it was visible. Typically only one tub would light partially upon an outage. I remember adverts where they claimed they could light a failed tube during an outage.

Nice to see this has been adapted to LED panels.

 

[circlew]

Do you still have access to that light? I remember the early Lithonias used wedge bulbs, a black NiCad battery and relay switch-over. I kind of miss them, but the newer versions are technically better and more reliable.

I remember those trauffers with the built in bodines. They'd have a bright red indicator and black test switch either in the fixture's ballast channel or on a separate j-box beside the fixture where it was visible. Typically only one tub would light partially upon an outage. I remember adverts where they claimed they could light a failed tube during an outage.

Nice to see this has been adapted to LED panels.

Chet, I'm not sure where I put the light. It could be at storage, or here somewhere in the basement.

In addition to the integral battery packs in fixtures, there are central battery/inverter systems that provide full power to fixtures 120 or 277) of any type. They come in various capacities I'm sure they're somewhat expensive.

 

[Chetlaham]

Chet, I'm not sure where I put the light. It could be at storage, or here somewhere in the basement.

In addition to the integral battery packs in fixtures, there are central battery/inverter systems that provide full power to fixtures 120 or 277) of any type. They come in various capacities I'm sure they're somewhat expensive.

Indeed. There are even central DC systems which can give DC power of various voltages to exist signs and EM heads.

 

[me]

While power cuts are extremely rare here, with our high electricity prices, it can be worthwhile getting a "solar" battery and inverter, to charge up off-peak, on cheap rate electricity and power the house during peak rate, and you can calculate the payback time more accurately than for solar panels.

 

[phillymatt53]

While power cuts are extremely rare here, with our high electricity prices, it can be worthwhile getting a "solar" battery and inverter, to charge up off-peak, on cheap rate electricity and power the house during peak rate, and you can calculate the payback time more accurately than for solar panels.

UGH!
While your post was honestly made to help and suggest solutions to others, it strikes a sour note with me with the mention of solar power.

This is because I'm bombarded almost daily with the same annoying "Solar Energy" phone calls, attempting to get me to purchase and have installed those solar panels up on my roof.
These "scam calls" don't respect my wishes to stop calling, I've tried everything possible.
Telling them "NO, I'm not interested, please remove my number from your list" doesn't register with them.
I've even told them that the only thing going on my roof will be rain or snow.
These calls are just as annoying as those Microsoft" scam calls from years ago.
Call blocking is worthless, they change their numbers like we change our underwear.

Besides, the reality is that solar is not a reliable source of power, nor is wind power. These solicitors try to convince and condition people to believe false and biased information.
They don't tell you that the lifespan and disposal of solar panels isn't pleasent.