Do I need to earth this? (UK)

[Matt Hill]

Hi all

DIY-er here I have this lamp. It's old. Early 20th century I think... I need to rewire it and put in a new bulb socket if I want to use it AND keep my house safe!

Obviously currently there's no earth. But it being metal and me being in the UK I need advice on how to rewire this. Does it need earthing, does it need shielding of some kind between the socket and body? Is this a DIY project or should I pay a professional!?

Thanks in advance!

 

[James]

Have you checked in the base of the lamp, it may well be earthed there.

 

[Matt Hill]

Have you checked in the base of the lamp, it may well be earthed there.

Hi James, thanks for the reply.

I've checked the base and it's not earthed as far as I can tell - the metal base of the lamp is screwed into wood base, which in turn has a half-inch slab of lead underneath it for weight. My great-grandfather's handiwork I think

 

[Wilko]

Hi - unless the lamp is double insulated it needs to be earthed. The figure 8 flex is single insulated and so an immediate fail, sorry.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

There might or might not be room for an insulated and sheathed flex inside the tubes and knuckles, in which case if the sheath extends to within a suitably all-insulated lampholder, and the cable is not at risk of mechanical damage in the knuckles, there may be no need to earth it. Alternatively, there might or might not be satisfactory earth continuity through the knuckles depending on whether they have metal or insulating friction washers.

It looks like it might originally have been a machine worklight, which were often powered from a 50V transformer for safety and long lamp life. The extra-low voltage option is possibly still a good idea, perhaps a 12V LED lamp and a suitable plug-in transformer, in which case neither earthing nor double-insulation are required. As you've probably realised the present lampholder is not original anyway, it would have been a metal-bodied type.

 

[Matt Hill]

... perhaps a 12V LED lamp and a suitable plug-in transformer, in which case neither earthing nor double-insulation are required...

Excellent idea! What would I need for this - somethig like a GU10 / MR11 kit?