Downlights in contact with wood lathe.

[spynage]

Hi.

I recently fitted some downlights to a customers bathroom via a 3rd party. He supplied the fire rated ip65 lights. I also fitted them with transformers as I felt the presence of the wood lathes below 2 layers of plasterboard constituted a combustible material. Was this enough? There was a loft conversion above so they had to be fire rated. They didn't have a f and triangle symbol however. I also removed the lathe around the immediate area of the housing.

For future purposes can anyone recommend a fire rated light that is suitable for combustible surfaces? Also am I right in assuming the bulbs can be no more than 35w?

Thanks.

 

[Darkwood]

Having a transformer does not reduce the risk of fire, in anything it would increase it, its the temperatures reached by the lamp that are the concern when mounting into a combustible surface.... You need to seek manufacturers guidelines with regards to suitable mounting options as fittings vary.

Unless a ceiling is a lowered false ceiling with the original ceiling fully intact then fire rated fittings are required as standard- 'building regs' you are required to maintain the fire rating of the material you mount into.

Clearing the lats will be fine as long as the clearance is the same that the instructions state from the joist work.

IMHO for future ref' forget LV fittings and fit GU10 these then can be fitted with energy efficient lamps of varying nature giving more flexibility.

 

[Guitarist]

As darkwood has said, it's the heat of the lamp which is the fire hazard, not the voltage. I don't quite understand what you are saying though....he supplied the fittings, but you decided to install transformers to reduce the heat? Either they are mains units or ELV units.
The maximum wattage is down to the manufacturers instructions, some can handle 50w, others only 35w.
What you should have done in this case is stipulated fire-rated LED units which generate negligible heat and are suitable for most environments.
Sorry to sound harsh, but it sounds like you have a little knowledge, but not a full understanding. This is a dangerous combination...

 

[Knobhead]

From the OED


[h=3]Lathe

noun[/h]

• a machine for shaping wood, metal, or other material by means of a rotating drive which turns the piece being worked on against changeable cutting tools.

[h=3]verb[/h][with object]

• shape with a lathe: I have lathed metal in a machine shop

[h=3]Lath
noun (plural laths /lɑːθs, lɑːðz, laθs/)[/h]

• a thin flat strip of wood, especially one of a series forming a foundation for the plaster of a wall.
  
• [mass noun] laths collectively as a building material: [as modifier]:a lath and plaster wall

 

[Darkwood]

Ironic i work on lathes all the time and i missed that but having said that i did put LAT but im just practising E-shorthand

 

[trev]

I was going to make a really (un)funny comment about how the downlights should be kept away from the rotating chuck but as per, Tony beat me to it