Tinkerer
Member
- Location
- Virginia
- Occupation
- Master Electrician and licensed contractor: mostly retired
Nearly all luminaries for sale nowadays have this warning, yet over 2/3 of existing homes in the US, were built before 1985, and have 60 degree wiring (or worse). I constantly have customers buy lights for me to install, and I have to deal with this. Solutions seem to be:
1) Replace the wiring (or at least the last foot or two). This can be a difficult sell if it involves extensive drywall work to replace otherwise flawless NM. This solution can also complicate an electrical system by introducing a lot of barely accessible boxes. Not a viable solution in my opinion, unless the existing wire shows signs of damage!
2) Put heat shrink tubing on the wires. This may be a solution for dealing with wires that are already heat damaged, but it won't protect good insulation underneath, nor the insulation outside the box. Remember, many modern fixtures produce a lot of light and a lot of heat. Not a solution IMHO
3) Just go ahead and install it. After all, if you don't install it, the customer will just get some high school kid to do it. I admit doing this on occasion, and I expect this is what most electricians do, but it is not a good solution either.
4) Let's say this is a grandfathered situation, we are replacing a old fixture that may be even hotter than the one we are putting in. There is no reason to have it inspected because it is just maintenance. Still, UL tested this new fixture, and determined that it can get hotter than 60 degrees. This is not a solution either.
5) Identify a source of 60 degree suitable fixtures with enough variety to satisfy the decorating needs of homeowners. Manufacturers will realize there is a pent-up demand for 60 degree fixtures, and in the true spirit of capitalism, will start producing more of them.
In my opinion, there are two real mysteries:
1) Why do manufacturers produce over 90% of their products so that they can only legally be installed in less than 33% of homes? (The situation is probably even worse, since owners of older homes are more likely to replace their lights.), and
2) Why don't they make this information available on their websites and catalogs? The only place this information is reliably available is on the fixture itself. Often it is not on the box. I will give $100 to the first electrician who can show me one major manufacturer's catalog or website that shows for all fixtures, what kind of wiring it is suitable for.
FYI, According to UL documents, a fixture that has no such warning, is suitable for use on 60 degree wiring, which is why it is so irritating to find a box without the warning that contains a fixture that has the warning. UL doesn't require the warning on the box.
Gentlemen: your comments please.
1) Replace the wiring (or at least the last foot or two). This can be a difficult sell if it involves extensive drywall work to replace otherwise flawless NM. This solution can also complicate an electrical system by introducing a lot of barely accessible boxes. Not a viable solution in my opinion, unless the existing wire shows signs of damage!
2) Put heat shrink tubing on the wires. This may be a solution for dealing with wires that are already heat damaged, but it won't protect good insulation underneath, nor the insulation outside the box. Remember, many modern fixtures produce a lot of light and a lot of heat. Not a solution IMHO
3) Just go ahead and install it. After all, if you don't install it, the customer will just get some high school kid to do it. I admit doing this on occasion, and I expect this is what most electricians do, but it is not a good solution either.
4) Let's say this is a grandfathered situation, we are replacing a old fixture that may be even hotter than the one we are putting in. There is no reason to have it inspected because it is just maintenance. Still, UL tested this new fixture, and determined that it can get hotter than 60 degrees. This is not a solution either.
5) Identify a source of 60 degree suitable fixtures with enough variety to satisfy the decorating needs of homeowners. Manufacturers will realize there is a pent-up demand for 60 degree fixtures, and in the true spirit of capitalism, will start producing more of them.
In my opinion, there are two real mysteries:
1) Why do manufacturers produce over 90% of their products so that they can only legally be installed in less than 33% of homes? (The situation is probably even worse, since owners of older homes are more likely to replace their lights.), and
2) Why don't they make this information available on their websites and catalogs? The only place this information is reliably available is on the fixture itself. Often it is not on the box. I will give $100 to the first electrician who can show me one major manufacturer's catalog or website that shows for all fixtures, what kind of wiring it is suitable for.
FYI, According to UL documents, a fixture that has no such warning, is suitable for use on 60 degree wiring, which is why it is so irritating to find a box without the warning that contains a fixture that has the warning. UL doesn't require the warning on the box.
Gentlemen: your comments please.
Last edited: