Is this light safe?

[purple]

Hi everyone,

I just purchased an 220v LED strip light from a well know auction site. I spent £90 on it so wasn't exactly cheap. It has just arrived, but I have some reservations about it. It has a built in driver and the 2m power cable that is attatched to the light unit itself which they expect you to hook up to a mains supply with is just 22AWG 300v hookup wire like you would find on a circuit board.. Its so skimpy the thought of terminating this via an electrical switch or junction box to 1.5mm twin and earth just does not seem safe if not practical to me. I know LED's don't draw much current but would have expected a more substantial cable before it gets to the driver.

Also the entire run of the 5ft strip light is essentially made up of a alluminum heatsink that the LEDS and driver are mounted to, but there is no earth wire on the mains lead. My worry is the driver inside which is not accessible and not fixed very well may become unterminated accidentilly shorting to the alluminium frame and burning up the thin gage or causing shock.

The supplier states they are CE Marked and ROHS compliant and it has a sticker on (albeit a pooor quality one) stating to that effect. I know these have come from China so don't know if it's common practice for some suppliers to fake these and put the markings on without actual merit. Have I cause for concern?
or worrying over nothing?


Here are the specs and photo (and worth noting the sticker on the light actually states 60w not 50w)



All our LED lighting is CE marked and ROHS compliant,
Voltage = 230 AC - 120 LEDS.
Power is 50W. White - 5500 lumens.
Working voltage = 85-265V AC. With internal driver.
Comes with ceiling + suspension wire clips.
2 metre power cable.
Natural White Light 4000K
Long life LEDs (>50,000 hours).
Simple installation.
Dimensions: 1500mm (L) x 75mm (W) x 75mm H.
Polycarbonate enclosure + special opal diffuser.
Instant Light - Flicker Free - No Noise -
Elegant Aluminium box profile with opal difuser.
Ready to fit with wall or suspended mounting kit included.
No unusual wiring required.
Huge Energy saver and best of all "Natural Daylight Colour".

 

[Darkwood]

Hi, welcome to the forum, I have approved your thread in the general forum to get rapid response, when admin' is next on line you may be given DIY status and access and thread relocated but this will not affect any posts made.

 

[purple]

Thanks Darwood, Appreciated!

 

[Spoon]

The problem that can happen with some products that come from China is that they send an item off to get CE marked. When it passes they then redesign the product with cheaper items that are not CE compliant and sell it that way.

 

[purple]

The problem that can happen with some products that come from China is that they send an item off to get CE marked. When it passes they then redesign the product with cheaper items that are not CE compliant and sell it that way.

Thanks Spoon,

Yeah, That wouldn't surprise me. The main thing that's baffling me is the absence of ground wire when the entire housing it's pretty much made of aluminium. My understanding was that if the case was conductable, it should be ground. But then again, I am no electrician.

 

[amlu]

If is double insulated class 2 then it should be marked as such (square within a square symbol) and it does not need an earth connection.
post a picture of the cable that goes into it.
if its not double insulated but more like bell wire then you have a problem.

 

[Guest77]

Hi everyone,

I just purchased an 220v LED strip light from a well know auction site. I spent £90 on it so wasn't exactly cheap. It has just arrived, but I have some reservations about it. It has a built in driver and the 2m power cable that is attatched to the light unit itself which they expect you to hook up to a mains supply with is just 22AWG 300v hookup wire like you would find on a circuit board.. Its so skimpy the thought of terminating this via an electrical switch or junction box to 1.5mm twin and earth just does not seem safe if not practical to me. I know LED's don't draw much current but would have expected a more substantial cable before it gets to the driver.

Also the entire run of the 5ft strip light is essentially made up of a alluminum heatsink that the LEDS and driver are mounted to, but there is no earth wire on the mains lead. My worry is the driver inside which is not accessible and not fixed very well may become unterminated accidentilly shorting to the alluminium frame and burning up the thin gage or causing shock.

The supplier states they are CE Marked and ROHS compliant and it has a sticker on (albeit a pooor quality one) stating to that effect. I know these have come from China so don't know if it's common practice for some suppliers to fake these and put the markings on without actual merit. Have I cause for concern?
or worrying over nothing?


Here are the specs and photo (and worth noting the sticker on the light actually states 60w not 50w)

View attachment 30538

All our LED lighting is CE marked and ROHS compliant,
Voltage = 230 AC - 120 LEDS.
Power is 50W. White - 5500 lumens.
Working voltage = 85-265V AC. With internal driver.
Comes with ceiling + suspension wire clips.
2 metre power cable.
Natural White Light 4000K
Long life LEDs (>50,000 hours).
Simple installation.
Dimensions: 1500mm (L) x 75mm (W) x 75mm H.
Polycarbonate enclosure + special opal diffuser.
Instant Light - Flicker Free - No Noise -
Elegant Aluminium box profile with opal difuser.
Ready to fit with wall or suspended mounting kit included.
No unusual wiring required.
Huge Energy saver and best of all "Natural Daylight Colour".

Interesting.

 

[purple]

Thanks Amlu,

Here are some photos of the cable, and have also taken one of the safety sticker, it has a slight misprint i.e it's cropped a little but you can seem make out the double insulated symbol.

but I don't understand how an appliance marked as double insulated thus not requiring an earth can be true of an appliance with a complete metal exterior shell?

 

[purple]

Interesting.

Poor phrasing on my part. I know a watts a watt whatever it's supplying. Guess I meant you get more efficiency with
an LED vs Halogen, but like I say probably didn't communicate it that well, That's why I am in the DIY forum I guess

 

[tazz]

Its only drawing approx 0.22Amps, so the cable should be fine. It`s protecting the cable you need to think about. It requires low fusing 1-3 amp maximum if using a plug or fused spur. Double insulated means it does not require an earth wire

 

[Guest77]

Poor phrasing on my part. I know a watts a watt whatever it's supplying. Guess I meant you get more efficiency with
an LED vs Halogen, but like I say probably didn't communicate it that well, That's why I am in the DIY forum I guess

Quite right, that I agree with, I have LEDs all over my caravan and my house, and they are brighter than the old Halogen lights that were once fitted in my downlighters, they are still connected to the same size breaker though to protect the cabling which is used to run the lights.

 

[purple]

Its only drawing approx 0.22Amps, so the cable should be fine. It`s protecting the cable you need to think about. It requires low fusing 1-3 amp maximum if using a plug or fused spur. Double insulated means it does not require an earth wire

Thanks Tazz,

What about if this was getting added to the end of a radial circuit in a domestic installation?

 

[tazz]

22swg, works out approx 0.7mm, so just on the boarder of 6 amp capacity. (0.75mm = 6amp). Should be ok, on a 6A mcb,

 

[Guest77]

22swg, works out approx 0.7mm, so just on the boarder of 6 amp capacity. (0.75mm = 6amp). Should be ok, on a 6A mcb,

Depends on the cable length.

 

[tazz]

If in doubt, fuse it down with a fused spur.

 

[purple]

If in doubt, fuse it down with a fused spur.

Thanks Tazz, I think I'll put in a 1-3 amp fused spur in there then to be safe. So no need to be concerned about the metal enclosure and no earth then?

 

[tazz]

no, the internal driver will be selv, so hence becoming double insulated.

 

[HandySparks]

22swg, works out approx 0.7mm, so just on the boarder of 6 amp capacity. (0.75mm = 6amp). Should be ok, on a 6A mcb,

Less than 0.33mm² if the online tables I found are correct.

(0.65mm dia if a single strand)