I bought a lamp that has a metal shade. The sticker says max 60 watt but it clicks 3 times like a 3-way with the light coming on on the second click. How do I determine what max 3 way bulb will be safe?
How to determine what max 3 way bulb will be safe in the lamp
bulblampsafety
Related Solutions
First off you do not want to hang the light by the socket that you purchased. With the poke in holes for the wires this is NOT an acceptable mounting system for your lamp - heavy glass or not.
Next note that the wire used to hang lamps is a special type that has strengthing cord built into the cable.
The conventional hanging lamp fixture has a two piece socket assembly that has a top part that slides up on the cord. The cord is then knotted with a special electricians knot that puts equal tension in all the conductors and fibres in the cord. The ends of the wires then attach to the lower portion of the conventional socket via screw terminals. Finally the top and bottom parts of the socket firmly snap together to hide the knot inside. The hanging lamp assembly pulls against the knot to transfer the weight into the cord from the ceiling.
Procedure
- Turn off power to the lighting circuit
- Test that power is off using a non-contact voltage detector (NCV) and/or Cat-II multimeter.
- If necessary to prevent cable chafing, fit a cable grommet to the backplate cable opening. (since the backplate may be heated by the lamp, you may need to look for a grommet that can be used in hot conditions)
- Strip the insulation from the ends of the live and neutral wires.
- To the screw attach an earth wire (bare or green/yellow in UK)
- In the hole above the embossed "L" push the live wire (brown in UK).
- In the hole above the embossed "N" push the neutral wire (blue in UK).
Notes
- The push-fit connections are unusual in UK fittings and are intended for solid-core wires (not stranded)
- The holes connected to the metal strip are not for powering the light.
- The fitting appears to be designed for use with a separate junction box fitted in the ceiling.
Live wires from a light-switch sometimes have the wrong colour insulation but are marked with red tape (indicating switched-live).
Typical wiring for a ceiling lighting fitting in the UK is as shown below
Note that this image does not show the strain relief that must be present on the hanging cable. Fittings with exposed metal parts will need a protective earth connection. The one you have looks like it particularly needs this!
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Best Answer
If it says 60 watts max, then the maximum wattage bulb you can safely use is 60 watts. If you could find a 3-way incandescent bulb like a 20-40-60, that would be safe. But I've never seen one that small.
With such a low acceptable wattage, the lamp may have been designed with CFL or LED lamps in mind, you can get something like an 11-23-34 Watt CFL 3-way bulb that gives light equivalent to a 50-100-150W incandescent. That would be perfectly safe in this lamp, assuming that it fits inside the "harp" or whatever holds the shade on.
3-way LED's are a little harder to find, but they do exist and they often are closer to a standard light bulb in size and shape, so they may fit better in your lamp.