Fire damaged flory in false ceiling

[Adam Smith]

Hello all,

Just been to look at a fire damaged light fitting in a shop. A component inside the fitting had over heated and melted through the diffuser and started a fire. I have found the problem was this little critter:
View attachment 17123

Obviously this one is from another fitting that was fine. The burned out one I found on the floor covered in melted plastic! I imagine that it is some sort of starter or choke? It was connected between L and N at the terminal block.

In every light fitting these are just left resting on the plastic diffuser which is what caused it to melt.

So on to my question. I was thinking of fixing a steel conduit saddle to the metal case and sliding the tube in to it so it is suspended off the plastic and on to something that will cope a little better with dissipating the heat. Do you think this will be an adequate solution?

Oh and checked over the installation and board... All looks fine there.

Many thanks

 

[Marvo]

I can't see the picture you attached but if the component was connected across the L-N then it's probably a power factor cap. The fitting should work without it. You can replace it and they normally have little 'ears' on them that attach it to the body of the fluorescent fitting which will have corresponding holes in it. If the clips don't hold them for some reason I'd just use a cable strap to secure them, under normal circumstances these PFC capacitors shouldn't get very hot.

To be honest if it burned the diffuser as well I'd probably replace the entire fitting.

 

[Adam Smith]

Thanks for the reply Marvo.

I'll take them out and see if they run OK if the client accepts my estimate.

The whole fitting is going to be changed, all the internal wiring and transformers are completely knackered in there now, and the diffuser is currently splatted all over the counter and a big stack of 7th day evangelist preacher CD's! (IT's a Christian bookshop... (Thankfully missed the giant tub of communal wafers!))

The other fittings do have holes for some kind of fixing, but that is nowhere to be seen, so I'll have to cable tie or clip it in some way

 

[KAS1]

didn't you realise that the fittings had PFC capacitors installed in them, as you've put some sort of starter or choke, or have I misread the question?

 

[Adam Smith]

didn't you realise that the fittings had PFC capacitors installed in them, as you've put some sort of starter or choke, or have I misread the question?

I wasn't to sure what function the cap was performing when I first looked in there, my assumption was it was part of the ballast for the lighting.

 

[KAS1]

Leading and lagging and all that sort of thing comes to mind, PFCU I think maybe I'm wrong but do they look anything like starters or chokes nowadays?

 

[grantr37]

Leading and lagging and all that sort of thing comes to mind, PFCU I think maybe I'm wrong but do they look anything like starters or chokes nowadays?

you're not going to start going on about complex numbers, reluctance, reactance, permiativity and phasor/argand now are you? lol

 

[sedgy34]

New fitting job done collect payment in wafers lol

 

[Phillcbr400]

By the time you've messed about replacing the internal gear it would be cheaper to just replace the whole fitting