how to wire CFL's?
- Thread starter bboy!
- Start date
AnonymousGrower
Active Member
A pretty simple way to get your cfls going is to get some socket adapters (PIC 1). You can pick them up at any walmart. after you get enough of those just stick 3 or 4 of your lights in a power strip or however many power strips you need. Then if you want to, you can get an appliance timer for your lights and plug the entire power strip right into that and you have yourself a fully automated cfl array. Heres an example setup (PIC 2)
PIC 1 :
PIC 2:
AnonymousGrower
Active Member
Shit, well im not too sure then, just search around online im sure you will find something
MrBlanco
Active Member
I made my lights by using some $2 sockets from Lowes and $.88 six foot extension cord from WalMart. Cut the female end off the extension cord, strip the wire covering back about 1/4", twist the wires, connect to the terminals, and cover it all with electrical tape. I mounted two on the bottom of a tote lid for an overhead light and two others are hanging from garden twine.
Depends on what you have available for sockets. I used sockets that had black and white wires already attached plus a screw for a ground. Get a heavy duty extension cord that is rated high enough for your total light wattage. Cut the male end off the extension cord however long you need it. Connect all black wires (or the hot connection if your fixtures aren't pre-wired) to the black wire in the extension cord and the white to white. Run wires to the ground lugs and connect them to the green ground wire and there you go.
If you have a lot of fixtures then break them down into smaller groups. I used 12 fixtures so I took 3 black wires and twisted them together with a short piece of black wire I stripped out of some Romex. Capped that with a wire nut and wrapped the connection with electrical tape. Now the second group of three I do the same thing except I add the wire coming from the first set in there too. So there are two ends of Romex and the three wires from the fixtures in this second wire nut. I then do the same with the other six fixture fixtures. This leaves me with two pieces of Romex that I twist together with the extension cord. Do the same with the whites. The ground can be done the same way or just one wire jumping to all the ground lugs.
It is very important that you make sure your wire is rated to carry the load you're using. The first piece of Romex I use carries enough power for those three fixtures. The second carries the load for six fixtures. The extension cord carries the load for all 12. If the wire doesn't have the watt rating printed on the exterior it should have the size. If it says 12/3 then that means 12ga wire(three strands). Just google what wattage your wire size will handle. Also don't put too many wires in a wire nut. If you're using solid wire like Romex then too many wires runs the risk of one pulling out. I also use electrical tape over my wire nuts. Any real electrician will tell you this is not necessary if you use the wire nuts correctly and this is true. The only reason not to use electrical tape is it makes a stick mess if you have to disassemble the connection.
If you have a lot of fixtures then break them down into smaller groups. I used 12 fixtures so I took 3 black wires and twisted them together with a short piece of black wire I stripped out of some Romex. Capped that with a wire nut and wrapped the connection with electrical tape. Now the second group of three I do the same thing except I add the wire coming from the first set in there too. So there are two ends of Romex and the three wires from the fixtures in this second wire nut. I then do the same with the other six fixture fixtures. This leaves me with two pieces of Romex that I twist together with the extension cord. Do the same with the whites. The ground can be done the same way or just one wire jumping to all the ground lugs.
It is very important that you make sure your wire is rated to carry the load you're using. The first piece of Romex I use carries enough power for those three fixtures. The second carries the load for six fixtures. The extension cord carries the load for all 12. If the wire doesn't have the watt rating printed on the exterior it should have the size. If it says 12/3 then that means 12ga wire(three strands). Just google what wattage your wire size will handle. Also don't put too many wires in a wire nut. If you're using solid wire like Romex then too many wires runs the risk of one pulling out. I also use electrical tape over my wire nuts. Any real electrician will tell you this is not necessary if you use the wire nuts correctly and this is true. The only reason not to use electrical tape is it makes a stick mess if you have to disassemble the connection.
MrBlanco
Active Member
Don't cut the male end off if you still want to be able to plug it in. 
I use automotive wire along with butt connectors and heat shrink for any wire connections I make. I used the electrical tape to protect the exposed connections on the back of the socket from moisture. GooGone and some paper towels will take care of any adhesive residue if I need to change anything. I personally chose not to go with the temporary sockets because I didn't want to use the power cord for hanging the lights and the low cost extension cords because they're rated for 13 amps, 125 volts, and 1625 watts. Four sockets cost me about $16. I plug all my lights into a powerstrip that's plugged into my timer. Just different means to the same end.
I use automotive wire along with butt connectors and heat shrink for any wire connections I make. I used the electrical tape to protect the exposed connections on the back of the socket from moisture. GooGone and some paper towels will take care of any adhesive residue if I need to change anything. I personally chose not to go with the temporary sockets because I didn't want to use the power cord for hanging the lights and the low cost extension cords because they're rated for 13 amps, 125 volts, and 1625 watts. Four sockets cost me about $16. I plug all my lights into a powerstrip that's plugged into my timer. Just different means to the same end.
What I meant was use the male end of an extension cord cut to length to use as the power cord. Yeah, if you cut just the very end off it's kinda hard to splice into thatDon't cut the male end off if you still want to be able to plug it in.
