Adding an inline switch?

[LadyHomeLover]

I have a string of fairy lights over my bed with no switch on it, making it awkward to switch on and off as it has to be plugged in and out etc.

Is there any reason why I cannot just buy an in line switch on ebay, cut the cable half way along and wire it in?

If it's OK for me to do it, are these inline switches all the same, or do I have to check some specifications?

LHL

 

[Taylortwocities]

The switch should be on the mains side. The lead to the lights is on the ELV 12volt side and there's no telling what the power supply would do with no load on it.

Get a remote controlled socket. They are cheap enough. Something like this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Status-SREM...411640300&sr=8-1&keywords=remote+control+plug

 

[plugwash]

First question are these lights direct mains powered or do they have some kind of transformer/power supply?

If they are run direct from the mains then there is no problem with inserting a switch in the wiring, if the switch you buy is single pole you should test to ensure that you insert it in the live conductor. Switches come in various current ratings but any of them should be sufficant for a set of fairy lights.

If they are run from a power supply then while you will probablly get away with switching the output it's better if possible to switch on the mains side. One option may be to make up an extension lead with an inline switch. If you do this make sure the switch has an earth connection and that you fit an appropriate fuse for the current rating of the switch and flex.

I'm not a particular fan of remote control stuff, it seems cool initially but remotes are easily lost, suffer flat batteries and are generally annoying.

Finally I would generally advise avoiding ebay as a source of mains electrical products.

 

[LadyHomeLover]

First question are these lights direct mains powered or do they have some kind of transformer/power supply?

If they are run direct from the mains then there is no problem with inserting a switch in the wiring, if the switch you buy is single pole you should test to ensure that you insert it in the live conductor. Switches come in various current ratings but any of them should be sufficant for a set of fairy lights.

If they are run from a power supply then while you will probablly get away with switching the output it's better if possible to switch on the mains side. One option may be to make up an extension lead with an inline switch. If you do this make sure the switch has an earth connection and that you fit an appropriate fuse for the current rating of the switch and flex.

I'm not a particular fan of remote control stuff, it seems cool initially but remotes are easily lost, suffer flat batteries and are generally annoying.

Finally I would generally advise avoiding ebay as a source of mains electrical products.

Thank you for the replies.

Oh dear, it is all sounding terribly complicated.

I really do not want a remote control, as scrabbling around in the dark for the button will be as annoying as having to plug in the plug.

There is no transformer, just a transparent cable from an ordinary socket to the lights.

Should I search for a "single pole" switch? (I don't even know what that means!)

I don't know what is meant by "insert it in the live conductor".

I don't understand what "switch on the mains side" means.

Should I just give up now, or am I just freaking out because I don't understand the jargon?

I should add that I often attach and detach plugs from appliances. Would that skill-set suffice for this little job of inserting an inline switch?

LHL

 

[Burnerman]

Homebase 090970 will suit you fine, at a 2 amp rating.
John

 

[LadyHomeLover]

Homebase 090970 will suit you fine, at a 2 amp rating.
John

It's a bit pricy with the postage... will THIS do?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fairway-2...al_Electrical_Fittings_MJ&hash=item5632cbcbda

 

[Jackrae]

Stick remote to bedpost with velcro and go for the safe option as suggested by taylortwocities. Working with mains wiring when you have zero knowledge has a fair probability of ending in a fatality. OK, we all have to learn, but it's better to learn by watching others rather than chancing it on your own in blind faith.

Would you start to drive a car, having asked how to, on a forum such as this, without first receiving some practical tuition.

And to crown it all you chose to ignore the recommendation about not buying potentially dodgy stuff from e-bay.

 

[bernardgreen]

The ebay item might work but it would need to be suitable for the type of cable.

It should have proper cable clamps to prevent the cable being pulled out of the switch which would leave bare live wires.

 

[LadyHomeLover]

Hmmm... so if I buy this switch from Selections hardware shop in Leighton Buzzard, it's safe, but if that same shop sells the same item to me via eBay then it's dodgy and will kill me?

I am told to buy from Homebase, but Homebase also has an eBay shop at http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Homebase?_rdc=1 but I must not buy via eBay.

I'm struggling with the logic here!

I don't think I have zero knowledge, since I have been wiring plugs for half a century. I know the difference between each wire.

I think the same point about it ending in a fatality could be made about my wiring plugs, surely? Is this job sooo different to that?

Jackrae, I find your "tone" rather rude, please don't use that tone with me. If you cannot be civil, please ignore my threads.

And I don't have any bedposts

Seems I will have to call an electrician and pay £50 for this task.

LHL

 

[Burnerman]

The Homebase one has cord grips (surely there's a branch near you?)
and it has a BS mark so it is made to standards.
It's the live wire that needs to be switched ( red or brown) the neutral is left alone but of course is covered inside the switch.
By one at your local hardware store if need be and they could well fit it......10 mins work.
Or at least, they would do up here
John

 

[JohnW2]

It's the live wire that needs to be switched ( red or brown) the neutral is left alone but of course is covered inside the switch.

True - but there's probably a bit of a problem here for the OP, who wrote:

... just a transparent cable from an ordinary socket to the lights.

I fear I have to agree that, under these circumstances, the level of LadyHomeLover's knowledge about these things is such that she really should not trust herself to be able to do this job (albeit a very small one) safely.

Kind Regards, John

 

[Burnerman]

Yep, point taken...I'd missed that, and thought that the bell wire stuff had gone long ago.
Fairy lights.......all wired in series so if one is dud, that's it!
John

 

[LadyHomeLover]

The Homebase one has cord grips (surely there's a branch near you?)
and it has a BS mark so it is made to standards.
It's the live wire that needs to be switched ( red or brown) the neutral is left alone but of course is covered inside the switch.
By one at your local hardware store if need be and they could well fit it......10 mins work.
Or at least, they would do up here
John

Getting to my nearest branch of Homebase would entail an 18-mile train ride each way, and a taxi from the station to the shop, and back. Cost of fares total about £17. Unfortunately, we no longer have any neighbourhood hardware shops. Even the nearest B&Q is 3 miles away by bus.

I don't know what JohnW2 is getting at when he says that my writing that the cable is transparent shows that I have so little knowledge that I should not do this job. The cable really is transparent ~ you can see the wires within. The plug is also transparent. I can provide photos. (Yes, I really can operate a camera LOL).

 

[Jackrae]

OK I'll try and be a little more helpful
You mentioned that the cable was transparent.
This creates a problem with wiring up of an inline switch as you have no way of identifying the line (aka live) wire.
There is a remote possibility that the individual wires may have a coloured tracer thread in them but unless you can confirm which is the line then there is only a 50:50 chance that fitting a single pole switch will switch the line.
If chance gets it wrong, you switch the neutral which means that all the lights remain live whilst not illuminated (not a safe situation)

 

[LadyHomeLover]

OK I'll try and be a little more helpful
You mentioned that the cable was transparent..
If chance gets it wrong, you switch the neutral which means that all the lights remain live whilst not illuminated (not a safe situation)

THANK YOU for explaining that.

I never dreamed that this simple-sounding task would turn out to be so terribly complicated.

Perhaps the remote control IS indeed the simplest option!

Blimey!

(PS I also bought the lights, the mattress, the bedding, the bedroom laptop, the reading light and the strip sockets on eBay, so I am probably nearly dead by now!)