diy hood light. 29 florescent 27 watt day light bulbs

247Plants said:
My christmas tree isnt made out of water and I dont wrap lights around my aquarium.

14 gauge is only rated for 15 amps when the insulation is intact and the proper connections are used, you are thinking of 12 gauge. And if you go by building standards here in California, from memory when I was an electrician, we couldnt put more than 14 total receptacles on one circuit. As far as heat goes, you will not only have the heat that builds up from the current, you are also introducing heat from the bulbs and ballasts themselves. Add into that condensation and its a recipe for fire. This isnt my opinion here, I draw this from experience. ANY exposed wire is a possible fire hazard, whether it be in a box, running through a wall or in this case, above an aquarium. Why do you think that UL wont put their stamp on a lot of aquarium light fixtures? Because its hot electricity hanging over a box full of water.
dont just guess thinking that i dont know what im talking about. i do my research. maybe i should spend about twice as much as it would regularly cost to build a plywood stand for a 180 gallon tank and over build the crap out of it and never even finish it. sounds like a plan.



I am starting to wonder if you are here for advice or to find somebody who agrees with your ludicrous ideas. You thank this guy for giving you advice that is lukewarm at best, yet argue with the people who are giving you practical advice that is built from experience and careers? I think you need to go back and reread your threads and look at them from a practical point instead of trying to argue that what you know is best. Obviously you dont do your homework or any kind of real research before you do these projects that you claim are one of a kind.
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i didn't ask for advise at all. i post to give people ideas. i have all the advise i need unless i am asking a question. as i said before my father in law is a general contractor with an electricians license and he states that it is safe. i am also in school for industrial electrical maintenance and my instructor also states that it is safe.
and i would like to know what code book you got that 14 gauge solid copper wire is rated for 15 amps and even if it was that still covers my amperage. but according to my uglys book(if you know what that is ,used to be electricians helper) it states that this wire is rated for 20 amps. and i never calmed that this was one of a kind. and my canister filter is still waiting proof that it is not one of a kind. you still haven't shown me any pics of a 5 gallon bucket under a tank and operational. sill waiting on that and by the way it is still working great and no leaks. o and as far as a limit on fixtures you are thinking about plugs not lights. and my light is for a specific purpose and will only have 27 watt compact florescent bulbs not incandescent bulbs or any other kind so my requirements are much lower than regular ones.
 
lol Im not going to get in a battle of wits with an unarmed person. Have fun with this and all your future projects.

You have cemented my opinion that you arent capable of taking in valuable information and using it to your advantage. Have fun with that.
 
well yall keep wating for that said fire in bout 6 months (that will never happen). O and by the way all metal is made to be solderd. thats the whole point it bonds and a certan temp. read a book or go to school. and the reason i had to use a torch was because my soldering gun was acting up and i didnt feel like going to the store to buy another. a few of my connections were done with a soldering gun. yall just keep hating.
 
iamvictor2k said:
well yall keep wating for that said fire in bout 6 months (that will never happen). O and by the way all metal is made to be solderd. thats the whole point it bonds and a certan temp. read a book or go to school. and the reason i had to use a torch was because my soldering gun was acting up and i didnt feel like going to the store to buy another. a few of my connections were done with a soldering gun. yall just keep hating.
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Please use proper grammar before advising others to go read a book or go back to school.
 
wow man i think you are taking this was to seriously, we are concerned because that is exposed wiring (while the sodering might be well done) it doesn't mitigate the fact those sockets look like thay where made with sockets that where clearly made not for that. also this is over water. to be quite honest though you're being quite rude about it and that really isn't productive here.

i do have a question why so much light that is just a rediculas amount of light and really not that efficiently done. if you really wanted to make a good fixture it would have been better to use less bulbs have them length wise and have something form of reflector (even simple white pain relax more then what you have going).

i really would like an explanation on the amount of light though
 
Aside from all the hate mongering, and the "it's all wrong" comments, I still find the concept to be interesting. I think credit is due for the attempt at a DIY lighting project. I have read all the advice and arguments and I don't see any difference in his design than some of the commercial hoods I already have in use, with the exception of mine being housed in plastic instead of wood. I have incandescent hoods that have cheaper bulb socket than the ones Victor has used. So does that make him so wrong? If so then what about these commercial hoods I have? They aren't even UL approved!

The only 2 things I would have done different would be to insulate all connections and used less wire.
 
wesleydnunder said:
There's a reason you had to use a torch on the solder connections. Those sockets are not "listed for the use" with those type terminations, which means, they are not designed for solder terminations. Nor are the prongs on the timers.

People who know what they're talking about have tried to tell you the faults with the project yet, as 247plants pointed out, you tell the one individual who agrees with you that he is the one who knows what he's doing. 247 plants is a technician who did electric work for his job. Sploke was an elecrical engineering major. I'm a master electrician and electrical inspector. Begin to see a trend here? It's the ones who know what they're doing whose advice you're ignoring. Fine, when the house burns down and you try to make a claim, the first thing they're going to look at is the incorrect way the hood wiring was done and toss the claim out.

Mark
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I don't think there is nothing else to say here. Good Luck Victor,You are gonna need it. :FIREdevil:
 
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