Thank God for safety switches

[expansa1]

Has anybody ever had their 'Zoo-Med' wiring burn out on a clamp lamp???
Our safety switch tripped our power off in the reptile room averting a potential catastrophe. My wife happened to be there at the time and saw a few bright flashes from inside the Diamond enclosure.

Everyone should consider a safety switch or two if they don't already have one.

I wonder why they don't use a heavier guage wire or heat protection over the wiring near the ceramic fitting?

Expansa1

Turtle Caresheet
http://www.pilbarapythons.com/turtlecaresheets.htm

Australian Freshwater Turtle Conservation & Research Association (AFTCRA Inc.) Info
www.aftcra.org.au

 

[PilbaraPythons]

All my banks are fitted out with ceramic lamp holders that sit very flat and close to their mounted surface which is timber. After seeing your close call I now find it a bit scary.

 

[herptrader]

I presume the wiring that failed was done prior to you purchasing it.

It is a bit hard to tell but it looks like the frayed ends of the wire caused the short.

Was there a metal cap covering the wiring? (I have seen these fittings before but cannot remember this detail.)

Perhaps one of our resident sparkies would care to comment.

 

[dobermanmick]

What size lamp did you have in it ?

 

[shiner]

Judging by the excess wire hanging out of the wire clamping screws it no wonder this did not happen sooner, all ways make sure that all electrical connections are as neat as possible with no extra wire sticking out

It could have been worse, like a burnt down house!!!

Good on you for having electrical safety switches installed

 

[africancichlidau]

I don't understand how half the stuff gets into the country to be honest! I ALWAYS use a heatproof rubber flexible cord when wiring up ceramic lampholders. I have seen burnt wood, burnt wire etc so many times that I refuse to use ordinary flex anymore. It costs a couple of dollars more but stops things like this happening.

 

[NoOne]

Was it a pre wired fitting?

I've never liked the idea of external screw conections like that, it just seems wrong. All houses should have safety switches installed, i think in some states in now law to have in all houses or all new houses.
The only screw in fittings i use are the ones that bare wire and a small amount of insulation goes into the fitting it's self. Never had a problem with them.

 

[africancichlidau]

P.Pythons, is this the type of fitting you mean? I always put a piece of AC sheet behind this type of fitting to prevent burning of the wood it fixes to. AC sheet coupled with heatproof flexible cord and you're pretty safe mate

 

[SLACkra]

as an aquarium hobbiest of 4-5 years those things have saved my life on a couple ocations! especialy when i am dealing with fun old saltwater... accidentilly spilled a bit of saltwater and a bit went int the direction of a couple power bars in my room, twas fun thinking "well i am f*****"

andrew

 

[africancichlidau]

Oops!! forgot the pic

 

[olivehydra]

P.Pythons, is this the type of fitting you mean? I always put a piece of AC sheet behind this type of fitting to prevent burning of the wood it fixes to. AC sheet coupled with heatproof flexible cord and you're pretty safe mate

Looks like FC sheeting?? (Villaboard)

 

[soulweaver]

from that pic it looks wired well afro, just took you a few drill holes to get it in the right place

 

[SLACkra]

how much do you charge for wiring cages anyways phil?

just took you a few drill holes to get it in the right place

lol that looks like the enclosure i built, at least the bottom i have multiple holes which weren't right mm in diameter or wrong place, least you can't see them.

Andrew

 

[PilbaraPythons]

Yeah those are exact ceramic holders that I use. I actually just routed out a circular area just above the terminals but I agree that fibro sheeting as a spacer would be wise.

 

[expansa1]

I presume the wiring that failed was done prior to you purchasing it.

It is a bit hard to tell but it looks like the frayed ends of the wire caused the short.

Was there a metal cap covering the wiring? (I have seen these fittings before but cannot remember this detail.)

Perhaps one of our resident sparkies would care to comment.

The clamp lamp was not modified in any way and was 'as purchased'.
The clamp lamps come with a ceramic screw end on them covering up the wiring.

Expansa1

 

[expansa1]

What size lamp did you have in it ?

A 100 Watt Mercury vapour bulb.

Expansa1

 

[Davem54]

My house has't got a safety switch but I use a portable type one on all my herp stuff. They are available and are a good investment for safety. I think some of the power boards even have it in them. Maybe some condensation had got inside the fitting to cause it to blow.

 

[herptrader]

The clamp lamp was not modified in any way and was 'as purchased'.
The clamp lamps come with a ceramic screw end on them covering up the wiring.

Expansa1

A ceramic screw end would provide good insulation and not suffer from thermal damage.

The wiring does not look overly neat but my hunch is that the cable got twisted in use (possibly little diamond pythons climbing over it?) which in time has created the short.

Does the cord look heat affected? In the picture it is black but it might have been black already.

I am guessing that if you did not have a safety switch installed your breaker or fuse would have thrown pretty quickly.

 

[expansa1]

The clamp lamp is housed in a 'void' section above the cage and therefore nothing could come in contact with it or the bulb! Actually, after closer inspection, the cord does feel brittle at the end. So obviously it has been heat affected. You'd think that they would use heat proof wiring as
africancichlidau has already mentioned.
Expansa1


"The wiring does not look overly neat but my hunch is that the cable got twisted in use (possibly little diamond pythons climbing over it?) which in time has created the short.

Does the cord look heat affected? In the picture it is black but it might have been black already."

[/quote]

 

[moosenoose]

P.Pythons, is this the type of fitting you mean? I always put a piece of AC sheet behind this type of fitting to prevent burning of the wood it fixes to. AC sheet coupled with heatproof flexible cord and you're pretty safe mate

Looks like FC sheeting?? (Villaboard)

People who have been in the trade industry for years and years, or who are of 'considerable' age hehehe refer to FC sheet as AC sheeting, as it was always asbestos cement. I still get blank looks when I ask for it, because I still call it AC sheet from time to time :wink:

You really shouldn't have ANYTHING that is remotely flammable to a heat emitting source, plain and simple. I'm presuming that a regular circuit breaker would have cut the power before the cord warmed to a stage where it caught fire (as mentioned by Daavid also). But, the bigger danger may have been the possibility of having the wires drop and connect to the heat cage running a slight risk of electrocution to either the animal in the cage (imagine a nosey GTP lol) or worse, its keeper.

JMHO