regular socket and timer???

[unionwirewoman]

short circuits can happen due to various problems . maybe you stripped the wire too long and it's touching something , maybe you did'nt twist the wire nut tight enough and it touches the wrong wire , maybe there's a break in the insulation . there's alot of maybes . a ground acts as a means to trip the breaker . in years past it wasn't used . now don't get me wrong , there is alot of stuff in the NEC that is just down right ridiculous but this is one of the things to pay attention to . i know that i really don't want to be the path to ground if the circuit decides to blow . sorry, i'm only a second year apprentice in commercial/ residential wiring but i get my info from my fiance'(22 years of experience) and his father(40 years of experience) in the trade . i have nothing against "getting the job done" but i guess if you do it for a living , you get a little picky !

 

[xke4]

Thanks for all your input. I have a real fear of electricity that dates back to the buzz I used to get as a kid when plugging in the Christmas Lights so until I can rustle up a real electrician, will this work for now? Can I use an ordinary lightbulb in the metal unit that I use the big red heat bulbs in? That way I can plug my timer into the wall receptacle with the metal light attached to it. This is probably a really obvious, basic ( dumb blonde) question to those of you with electrical expertise but I really appreciate your wisdom and patience! Carolyn

 

[unionwirewoman]

i'm a little confused . do you have a timer already ? if you do does it have a plug in built into it to plug the light into ? the base of the heat lamp will work with a regular light bulb (the metal unit)

 

[xke4]

Yes, I have a timer and a socket to plug it into independent from the light shown in the picture. But when the fellow installed it, he put it right against the light switch above it and if I plug in my timer, I forfeit a plug. Off to TSC this morning for further investigations. I envy your knowledge!!!Carolyn

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
All kidding aside, if one was to come out of that with a timer, then to a gooseneck lamp, a drop light or a clamp-fixture, is it really all that necessary to do a ground? I'd really like to know because it's just like me to kludge something like that, then find out that was a really bad plan dewd...

Fill me (us) in please.

No a grounding type receptacle isn't necessary as long as the appliances you plug in don't have a third ground pin. If the appliance (timer, lamp, etc.) does has a third grounding prong then it needs to be plugged into a grounding type receptacle.

The third grounding pin on any appliance is to protect you from electric shock. If an appliance has a metal housing, i.e. old power tools, very old radios, and such, then that housing will be connected to ground by the third wire. If a wire were to come loose inside the appliance and touch the metal housing, the ground wire ensures enough current flows to trip the circuit breaker or blow a fuse. Without the ground wire, the case can become energized without anything happening until you touch it and you become the path to ground, receiving a shock.

A lot of appliances don't have a three wire grounding cord on them anymore because the enclosures are made of plastic. In the power tool world they refer to this as "double insulated". The wiring itself is of course insulated and the tool housing is made of plastic to eliminate any risk of shock which also eliminates the need for the third wire, there is nothing to attach it to...

 

[SeaChick]

This is all very interesting.... we just set up a timer system in our new coop.

We actually added a plug receptacle, then plugged the timer into that and wired a plug onto the light fixture wire that plugs into the timer. (Photos below) Hm, that isn't very clear..... basically instead of the cable running from the switch or junction box directly to the light, we cut it and terminated it at a plug receptacle instead. Then took the previously hardwired cable that went to the light and wired a plug onto it that plugs right into the timer.

One thing I will add is that a compact flourescent works just fine for light and draws much less amps (13 watts gives the light of 60!). Also, I don't know where you guys are mounting those bare lightbulbs, but aren't you afraid the chickens might fly into them and break them? I bought a porcelain socket like you've shown but my DH returned it and bought a cheap ($10) outdoor light fixture with a guard. I thought he was being WAAAY overcautious but then I noticed after a week that there were dirt smudges on the ceiling of the newly white-painted coop: so evidently the girls are having flying freak-outs in there and banging into the ceiling. I'm now glad we put the guarded light fixture up! Silly chickens!

(The yellow thing is a thermostatic plug that turns on the water de-icer when the temp gets to 38 degrees)

Good luck!
Stacey

 

[MissPrissy]

When I wired my poultry barn I replaced exactly what was in there with the exact same thing except the wiring. LOL This barn was built in 1915 and still had the knob and tube wiring and the porcelain fixtures. One of the reasons I used the porcelain with the socket built in is because they were on sale and were very inexpensive, it saved me having to wire both lights and outlets, and the lights are on a pull chain and I don't have to turn them all on at one time and didn't have to go in and wire switches for each light.

I have 5 rooms, 25 ft x 25 ft, for chickens/poultry and 1 stall, 25ft x 30ft, for goats. It would have cost me a small fortune to wire everything with new lights, multi outlets and multi switches. I went for quick and easy and serves my purpose. I will be adding an outdoor light with the new time changes coming because it will dark before I will be able to get all the barn chores done in the evening.

 

[tpantali]

What a great discussion.

Can someone give me a bit more information on the termostatic plug? Our neighbor mentionned it when helping to wire the copp but I really did not follow-up on that part of the conversation.

 

[SeaChick]

We got our thermostatic plug at Lowes. It is in the section that has roof de-icer materials and heating tape for keeping pipes from freezing and the like. It turns on at 38 degrees, although I would have preferred 32 degrees. I think there's one available on line, I will look...
Stacey

 

[SeaChick]

OK, here's another one. It turns on at 35 degrees.
http://www.gundogsupply.com/thermocube.html

Ours is called "Easy Heat" Freeze Free Thermostatically controlled device for Pipe Heating System.

Stacey