| meow2222@care2.com 2006-12-16, 1:25 pm |
| Ian Stirling wrote:
> In sci.engr.lighting Alex Coleman <no@no-email.com> wrote:
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> It's quite a lot.
> From memory, maybe 30Kg?
> Which'd be a total of 60Kg for the flex.
One can lift a grown man off the ground with 3 core 3A flex wrapped
around them. So 2 core not wrapped would carry at least 1/3 of that
weight.
That weight rating will drop by a half again when youre standing atop a
chair and wobble sideways, using the light as a support, since under
sideways pull one core is in tension and the other in compression. When
the tensioned core breaks, then the other core will take over, but with
the same breaking strain, so you get 2 bites of the half cherry.
But the bigger risk is the lack of effective cordgrip in the
lampholder, because
a) if those wires come out you get left with bare live wires dangling
instead of dead ones
b) wires usually fail at the ends rather than the middle, for various
reasons.
c) loose or damaged copper at that point causes arcing, which can cause
fire.
NT
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