Have you ever seen this before : http://barnabys.blogs.com/photos/uncategorized/800_021_chandelier_85lamps.jpg
I think it’s a fantastic chandelier and was hoping to build it for a class. Has anyone tried to do something similer? I know the bulbs are 15w E27 bulbs, probably frosted. Do you think it’s wired in series or parallel? What are those translucent things at the top? Any ideas?
those are connectors.
but it’s not a good idea to have bulbs stacked like that - fire hazard!
If you wire them in series, then if one globe blows, your whole chandelier goes out.
The connectors at the top are a standard electrical fitting. I doubt it would pass safety standards though becasue it’s possible to touch them.
Could you do a similar thing with low voltage lights? (12V)
Low voltage seems like a good idea. They don’t have to be too bright. Are there 15 watt bulbs that are 12v? The whole thing should run of 110 volts. All the photos i’ve seen of it don’t look too bright… http://12.172.4.131/collection/browse_results.php?criteria=O%3ADE%3AI%3A1|G%3AHO%3AE%3A1&page_number=25&template_id=1&sort_order=1
and what exactly is a “connector?” Does it have a more technical name, or are there different types?
This is already a huge help.
They are generally called Terminal Blocks
Electrical wholesalers will stock a huge range
I’ve seen alot of stuff like this. The reason is simple, all of the materials here are widely and cheaply available. In fact, we have about 5000 of those E27 sockets downstairs at work. They’ve been there for years since we outsourced production.
As ufo stated, it will not pass UL or CSA standards. According to code, all connections must be done behind an enclosure, typically metal. Although, I’ve used this terminal blocks before. If you tighten the wire down in them, they shouldn’t come out for a long time. Moreover, the worst case scenario is that the wire leading to the bulb falls out, and those won’t carry voltage.
Oh, yeah the 15W bulbs will definately be 110v. I would suggest experimenting with 12v lights, but the bulbs are typically smaller and more expensive than a 15W A19. Also, the transformers may limit what you can do with 12v if you want to make a chandalier with a ton of bulbs like this one.
Good luck, and keep us up to date.
