Who Does Lamp Repair In The Dallas Area?

Buying an One-time Lamp – Know What You Are Getting

I work on old lamps. That's what I exercise, simply what nigh buying an sometime lamp? Say you found that perfect lamp at a local flea market to sit down on that table that has been begging to accept something to evidence off. Here are some important points that volition help you lot in your buying venture. If y'all are the wheeler/dealer type, y'all might find this information gives you some bargaining power in scoring the deal. Since there are more lamps that use a traditional socket/switch combination.  This first set of Tip's are associated with these blazon lamps.

• Attempt to use a standard incandescent bulb for your tests. Both floresent and LED bulbs can quondam flicker when turned on, but an incandescent is a lot easier to validate the switch and socket.
• Does it work? Cycle it through the on/off sequence a couple of times. Is the calorie-free brightness betwixt transition from On to Off well-baked and intended? Or does the light sort of stutter between settings?  Information technology should be crisp, but bank check or change the light seedling. Note: If it is a 3way switch, it volition bicycle an extra click before and subsequently the bulb illuminates when not using a existent 3 way seedling. That's still okay. Floresent and LED bulbs may flicker when they are first turned on, so that is normal to.
• If you lot don't have access to ability, turn the switch several times. Dose the switch have a overnice positive "click", almost like snapping your fingers? If and then, that's good! If it's kind of mushy between clicks, the switch is showing some internal wear.
• The cap and beat out should fit together well and stay together. If information technology'south a loose fit betwixt, it may need replacing.
• Most table lamps are built with multiple pieces. Await to see that the lamp is solid and doesn't act like it wants to practice the hoola hoop. Even though this might seem like an like shooting fish in a barrel prepare, the unabridged lamp may have to be taken apart to exist fixed properly.
• Look inside the socket, it should be relatively clean, limited grayish clothing to the tip. If its near black in colour and the tip is noticeably pitted or miss-formed, it may  exist time for a new socket.
• Near sockets use a cardboard or paper sleeve and yet do today. This keeps the wiring and socket from touching the shell. It also provides a flake of insulation so the lamp shell does not get too hot. Wait at the color of cardboard. The darker the paper-thin, the hotter it has gotten, possibly too hot. If it breaks by the bear upon, it is deteriorated beyond its usable live. It also tells us the internal wiring at the socket could exist  in a like status. Meaning it will demand a full rewire.
• Await at the cord; it should not take whatsoever nicks, cuts or cracks in it. Almost lamps have plastic cords and they should accept kind of a satin luster to the finish, not deadening or flat (almost chalky). The cord should exist pliable and should (reasonably) spring dorsum to its natural state.  Cord vesture is usually in this order; ane)loss of pliability, 2)slight color change to boring, three) cracking and breaking up. I typically recommend irresolute the string if any of these signs are nowadays.
• Plug: information technology should be solidly fastened to the string with none of the string signs mentioned above and no exposed copper wires. No blackness electrical soot marks around the metal spades on the plug. The spades should also be clean and smooth, no nicks or gouges.
• Plug II:  If the plug/cord looks like the un-polarized  1 below, the plug and string is almost 60 years old and should be replaced. After 1962 the US National Electrical Code standardized on the polarized style also pictured above. This was for a condom reason to better protect the consumer.

This covers most of the electrical issues, next time I will talk about looking at the body or fixture itself as all problems are not equal and may exist a claiming, expensive or not worth fixing.

Hopefully this volition help you exist an informed consumer and aid in scoring a ameliorate deal on that new observe. If you notice a lamp that needs some TLC, let me know as I tin can fix it.  Good Hunting.

Christmas Lights, Electric Rubber and Adopting LED Engineering science

The U.S. Fire Assistants (USFA), estimates  240 abode fires involving Christmas copse and another 150 domicile fires involving holiday lights and other decorative lighting occur each yr. Together, these fires result in 21 deaths and $25.2 1000000 in direct property impairment.

For some reason, I am believed to exist a Scrooge when it comes to decorating for Christmas. Normally, I let my family deal with all the  details including unpacking all the decorations, placing ornaments on the tree, getting the doggie Christmas collars out, etc. But I do serve equally the pack mule in unloading the attic to get information technology downstairs out of the attic,  simply a Scrooge I'k not!!… Ok, perchance curmudgeon.

Point Ane: Christmas lights in all their celebrity are a huge waste product of free energy. Iv strings of C9 (sometime school) regular Christmas lights can consume 1800 watts of ability or ane.8 kwh. On an private business firm basis, it may not seem like much but add information technology to about 25% of all households and information technology works out to be a lot electricity. Not to mention, the selected idiots that beautify their business firm to the indicate that you lot tin can no longer recognize it. Ok, so y'all kind of go me at this point, so lets move on.

I have officially inverse my tune!!!!!!!!Believe it or not, I bought Christmas C7 lights (on auction) to hang exterior. We're talking outline the firm type lights… This is a big footstep for me. So with all this lead-in, where am I headed you lot inquire. Dont forget, this is a blog about home maintenance anyway!!

Before we become to far, let it be known what corporeality of lights I have installed.

• 3 – Strings of 200 count C7 outdoor LED lights
• Total bulbs= 600
• Wattage per string 19.2W
• Total waste matter of energy 57.6Wh
• About the equivalent of i 60W light bulb, well-nigh of us waste product that much energy on any given day

I volition contain my excitement to exterior decorations and electrical load, just lets recall what the NEC code says nearly connected devices:

NEC 210-23  15 and 20 Amp co-operative circuits: …The rating of any one string and plug connected utilization equipment shall non exceed 80% of the branch excursion rating. Furthermore… the total rating of equipment fastened in place shall not exceed 50% of the branch-circuit. In short, no i plug should exceed more than 80% of the circuit rating and that any stationary equipment (i.e. dishwashers, waste disposer) that constantly draws power should not exceed l% of the rated circuit. Typical residential branch circuits (outlets, wall switches and fixtures) may be rated at 15 or twenty Amps.

And then, we have a circuit budget of roughly 1100 watts for a standard plugged outlet ((15A*120V*.8pf)*80%).

Choosing the Lights: If you dont already ain exterior lights, go for  the LED versions (C7 or C9). Past far, they will last the longest and toll the to the lowest degree to run. C7 and C9 are bigger bulbs and are easier to manage. If you accept intendance of them, they could concluding a life time. Additionally, the prices have continued to fall over the terminal few years.

The following chart is a full general guideline is adequately conservative. Nearly Christmas lights volition provide the limitations and wattage. Every bit mentioned in my calculation to a higher place, at eighty% you have a budget of 1100 watts, at fifty% your budget would be 720 watts.

C7 or C9 Lamp Wattage	Lamps per Outlet	Lamps per 15 Amp Circuit	Lamps per xx Amp Excursion
.6 Watts (LED)	250 Lamps(bulbs dim the farther your runs are from principal ability source)	2400 Lamps	3200 Lamps
1 Watt (LED)	250 Lamps(bulbs dim the farther your runs are from main power source)	1440 Lamps	1920 Lamps
2.5 Watts	300 Lamps	576 Lamps	768 Lamps
3.7 Watts	250 Lamps	389 Lamps	519 Lamps
5 Watts	175 Lamps	288 Lamps	384 Lamps
7 Watts	125 Lamps	205 Lamps	274 Lamps

Key Points to Christmas Light Installations:

1. Stay inside the wattage limitations mentioned; 1000W at eighty% and 720W at l%. The lite packaging should provide you to total wattage. Only subtract information technology from your total wattage upkeep as you organize your lighting plan.
2. Attempt to either use a defended electric excursion  or ane that does not have a lot of static or dedicated load.
3.  Limit the string to cord connection to no more than 3 or what is provided as the manufacturers recommendations.
4. Limit the per outlet load to no more than than l% of the per circuit limitation. 80% dominion: 500W. l% rule: 360W
5. Use timers or remote control switches to turn the lights on and off to limit the energy usage.
6. Dont autumn off the roof
7. Merry Christmas… BOB

LED Bulb Technology, More Light, Less Wattage

Unless you lot have been under a rock for the past 3-iv years, LED light bulbs have been creeping into the stores for about the final 8 years. As with whatever new technology, the initial cost is college than normal, yet, as manufacturing processes are refined the prices starting time falling. As an early adopter, I started fiddling with LED bulbs in 2008 and wrote my first article on using LED bulbs in a landscape lighting organisation in 2009. Back then, a MR16 based bulb was near $25. Today that same bulb is  less than $half dozen.  (See Whole House Landscape Lighting)

Additional incentive to move away from incandescent bulbs driven by our government volition event in incandescent bulbs beingness just specialty bulbs and less for full general use. The prime number directive in their initiative is to reduce consumption of electricity, and for the most part this is what most of the published propaganda supports. Nigh all written documentation shows you a comparison chart to reach a near equivalent lighting level with a huge savings in consumption.All the same there is a undercover the government is not telling you. With this change in engineering, many existing fixtures can really supply more light (using LED's), without beingness unsafe or exceeding the wattage limitations of the fixture pattern. So, what does this really hateful; With traditional lighting wattage limitation in fixtures are all based on using incandescent bulbs. In older houses, it can be hard to become more low-cal in certain places of a abode without making major upgrades or adding more than fixtures. If you live in a firm built before the 2000's in that location are typically fewer light fixtures and outlets causing it to be difficult to get more light in a room without calling an electrician by adding lights or outlets.  With an LED bulb replacement you may be able to go a lot more than lite out of the same fixture without risk without exceeding the wattage limitation of the existing fixture. There is one unproblematic rule:Never exceed the manufacturers wattage limitation of an outlet or fixture. This rating is usually stamped or labeled on the socket or fixture

Just for a moment, lets get in the weeds to understand why this will piece of work. Hither are a couple of definitions that will help in agreement the concept.

• Wattage: In simple terms, a watt is considered a unit of power. Information technology is not actually a measurement of light. Simply since the invention of the incandescent light bulb we take used the consumption of power (wattage) rating as a reference to the light output. As for an incandescent light it consumes a lot more power than  light produced. An incandescent low-cal consumes (by generating estrus) almost ninety-95% of its ability to produce the amount of low-cal it produces. In other words, its almost five% efficient.
• Lumens: Simply put; Lumens is as a measurement of the total corporeality of visible light, regardless of the consumed power or wattage. And so, even though there is a relation, they don't exactly correlate.

An incandescent bulb heats up a metal filament (tungsten) in a controlled surroundings (seedling). That metal turns super hot resulting in both visible and non visible low-cal also every bit a lot of rut. Where a LED (lite emitting diode), radiates light in a narrow spectrum, without the loftier amount of rut plant with the incandescent seedling.

Heat: Since LEDs radiate lite, they emit very little oestrus. In comparison, incandescent bulbs release 90% of their energy equally heat and CFLs release about 80% of their free energy as heat. LED'south use almost 75% less energy to produce the aforementioned amount of visible light. This should be the  AH-HA moment for you lot.

Taking advantage of the LED: Lets say yous take a fixture that is rated at lx watts, like perchance an former recessed kitchen light institute back in the 1950'southward. Its in the correct location, but you want more low-cal. So without changing the fixture (assuming the socket and wiring is intact), y'all can upsize the bulb to a 2600 lumens equivalent, and still only use 30 watts of power. As a measurement of light you went from 800 lumens to 2,600 lumens with an increment of over iii times the light of the original sixty watt bulb!! Impressive huh!! Granted the government will recommend that y'all replace the bulb with the 7 watts (800 Lumens)LED seedling. By using the 2600 lumens bulb you tin increment your available lighting without having to change the fixture or exceed the wattage limitation. Granted you will nearly 23  boosted watts of  power, but I don't even have to practise the math to tell you its a lot cheaper than having an electrician add together new fixtures. The chart to the left is a elementary conversion of standard bulb wattage's vs. lumens.

The LED seedling is a great advancement and nosotros will continue to see new uses and options with the technology. Hopefully I'll have reasons to write futurity articles about LED'south.

Recent Refurbish Projects

Life has been busy at Dallas Lamp and Light!! As with most lamps, much of our business concern is associated with electric rewiring, however nosotros all the same piece of work on long-term projects of our own besides as customer projects that crave a bit more work to bring them dorsum to life. I have included a sample of a few of our latest projects. I tried to testify before and after where I could.

I had a client call nearly a light fixture that was in her firm as a kid. While cleaning out here parents house they found it disassembled in a box. She couldn't call up what it looked like but this is what she brought, minus a couple of parts.

We found some suitable parts to put it back together and had to assemble it hanging

The chandelier was produced in the late 1940's-50's by the Holophane company. Known for their refractive calorie-free shades they produced a lot of light. Even though this item model is no longer produced, the Holophane brand (at present endemic by Acuity) has been producing industrial lighting since 1906.

This is a wood chandelier, that was electrified, just all the guts were gone. It was missing a few parts and so we had to come to a creative solution.

All new electrics, for 40W bulbs, new candle covers and a unique center piece that simply happened to friction match.

These 2 items might become in the "guess what this is" category, so if you haven't figured information technology out yet, these are inverted antique pool table legs

The customer wanted the lamps to remain quondam or rustic looking and then I use a lot of recycled hardware. I haven't seen the shades he has picked nonetheless, merely they will definitely be conversation pieces

These were originally 2 very nice brass Stiffle lamps. The finish was a flake worn. The customer was looking for an all new wait. We stripped and sprayed them in gloss white enamel.

Ane of the original lamps pictured to the left before the process of disassembly, and respray

This was an interesting and challenging restoration. This is a hanging swag lamp made upwardly of 6 sections, two of the sections were cleaved and had to exist repaired. The project was media blasted, repaired, rewired and coated with a matt black painted finish. The lamp is used outdoors and shows-off some interesting shadow patterns at night.

All original brass was stripped and recoated with a textured pulverization coating of antique brass. All electrical was replaced as well.

These three fixtures started life as hanging swag lamps. The customer wanted them to be pendant fixtures to hang over a counter/bar area. We replaced the chains with pipes, added new canopies and swivels and so they would hang correctly, as well as all new electrical and porcelain sockets for high wattage bulbs.

This was a conversion from a two bulb lamp to a single. All new hardware and electrical was included.

As you can run into from the original picture on the right. This was a pair of lx's brass lamps. The brass finish was worn, so we media blasted the former finish and recoated information technology with an antique brass painted terminate. All electrical was updated as well. The matching pair is available for purchase.

Green Vase Fashion Lamp

We ran across this distressing little greenish vase lamp a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately the vase was in good shape, even though everything else was gone. The vase did have some markings but nothing that I could source dorsum to its origin. For the most part, y'all would have found this in a parlor in the thirty'south and 40'due south, peradventure on summit of a free-continuing radio.  Information technology stands well-nigh 11 inches without the lamp hardware.  The first moving picture is earlier we started.  Follow the story to run into where it goes.

Lamp Assessment: The vase lamp was intact, and there was a  lilliputian article of clothing on the gold leaf only not enough to be an issue. All the lamp parts were gone and I recollect they left the cord in the base merely so someone would recognize it as a lamp.

Disassembly:  There really wasn't much to disassemble on this one, since most everything was gone equally the neck, harp and fixture switch was already gone.

The designer was not involved in this one, and then I am operating without a net. This should be a fairly like shooting fish in a barrel restoration to get it dorsum in service.

The Restoration Plan:

1. Use light bodied solvent to clean the surfaces
2. Lightly polish
3. Add Check rings and neck to elevate the harp base and lamp socket
4. Replace the electric socket, switch and string

The Restoration:

• The cleaning and polishing proceeded as expected. The ceramic cease was durable and it merely took a adept cleaning.
• I used a two″ neck with a eight″ harp to extend the height to virtually 21″. All hardware is new, brass in color to all-time lucifer the gold leaf trim
• All electrical was replaced including the socket, switch and cord. The wiring and string were replaced with a period right lamp string and plug finish. I used a knob switch to use with  a standard i wattage bulb
• I added a string bushing at the base of the lamp and a new felt bottom to the base so the ceramic  surface would non scratch a desk-bound meridian.

As you can encounter in the final picture, it looks similar a existent lamp!! I also added a pocket-size finial.  Another survivor project, equally it turned out to be a prissy functional, safe working lamp that will give many more than years of service.

This was a "similar new" restoration, and we started with a good patient equally the lamp vase body was in good shape, information technology but need new hardware and wiring.

Shortly afterwards I finished this 1, I noticed it gone from the shelf, figuring it got sold. Ended up, my daughter took a fancy to it, so it is now at her house.

If yous have an old lamp on its last leg, let us aid you bring information technology back to life or requite it a new domicile. Call us or email united states with you next lamp project.

BOB

Dallaslampandlight@gmail.com

Rodale Model 87 Industrial Desk Lamp

While on vacation a couple of weeks ago, nosotros were able to option up a few lamps along the style. We typically expect for the ones that appear on their terminal leg and are sitting off in the corner. Sometimes they end up as parts, other times they can be brought back to life. In this case, I constitute this Rodale #87 behind a display case. In the thirty's and xl's, the American Industrial Age was in full swing. Several manufacturers made these highly durable desk (goose neck) lamps for businesses and manufacturing settings. The first picture is earlier nosotros started.  Follow the story to see the process.

Lamp Cess: The lamp was intact and other than the cord, appeared functional. Electrically, it didn't matter equally it would be completely rewired.  The decorative base was a chip tarnished, and clam vanquish comprehend had a couple of "character dings" in it.

Disassembly: I took the lamp apart and found it structurally sound. The goose necks are commonly the problem in these types of lamps. Sometimes they can loosen upwards considering the inner flange is just flared to continue them in place. This ane looked good. These lamps were built tough.

Per the designer, she wanted to leave every bit much of the patina as possible on this one. It had some white speckles, from some unknown source. And then the plan is to just clean it equally best as possible.

The Restoration Plan:

1. Utilise light bodied solvent to clean the surfaces
2. Lightly smooth
3. Replace the electrical socket, switch and cord
4. Re-surface the base of operations so it will sit flat and non wobble and add felt to the base of operations.

The Restoration:

• The cleaning and polishing proceeded as expected. I did take a little of the finish off, but not enough to change the appearance
• We replaced all the electrical parts including the socket, switch and string. The wiring and cord were replaced with a flow correct lamp cord and plug end.
• Using fourscore grit sand paper combined with a flat surface, I was able to smooth the base. Then I added a piece of felt to the base of operations and then the metal surface would non scratch a desk top.

As you tin can encounter in the final picture, the appearance didn't really change much in the picture as that was the plan. If you expect close, you can encounter the built in newspaper clip holder and pencil rest. To add a 21st century touch, I besides dropped a 2g nothing drive on the base of operations too.  I consider this a survivor project as it turned out to be a nice functional, condom working lamp that will give many more years of service.  I like the way this one turned out, I may actually continue this in my office for a while. If it grows on me, it may stay.

If y'all have an old lamp on its last leg, let united states of america help you bring it back to life or give it a new home. We tin can either proceed them intact as we did this 1 or do a complete "like new" restoration.

Who Does Lamp Repair In The Dallas Area?,

Source: http://dallaslampandlight.com/

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