Rewiring a warehouse lamp

August 21, 2010 3:06 PM

How to rewire a warehouse lamp?

I just bought one of these lamps, but would like to be able to have a plug on the end of the cord instead of wiring (since I'm in a rented apartment and can not do any sort of wiring).

Is there a good way to do this? My first instinct would be to get one of these from ikea, but the problem is getting the cord through that tiny hole at the top of the lamp.

Any thoughts? Also, what's the proper term for this type of lamp? Thanks.

posted by Sreiny to technology (7 answers total)

The Ikea lamp fixture comes apart (or you can force it apart) so you only need to run the cord through the hole. It's pretty simple stuff.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 3:19 PM on August 21, 2010

You can buy a replacement lamp plug at any hardware store. You insert the cord into the bottom and when you fold it over to close it it pierces the cord and completes the circuit.
posted by COD at 3:57 PM on August 21, 2010

I looks like the original wiring is still attached. Get any old plug with the same number of wires, say from some other appliance that you do not need any more. Be sure it is unplugged. Cut the wires on the old plug, strip the ends so the metal is exposed, say a centimeter, and twist them together with the wires coming out of the lamp, matching the colours.

I would use wire nuts for this (pic).

Just jam in the two wires that you want to connect and twist the nut until you cannot pull it off by tugging, a couple of turns. Make sure there is no metal visible. Then, if I were you, I would wrap that with electrical tape, just so it doesn't come undone.
posted by keeo at 4:49 PM on August 21, 2010

hm, that html didn't go as I expected. The image is here http://www.dansmc.com/wire_nuts.jpg

or maybe here?
posted by keeo at 4:51 PM on August 21, 2010

You want something called a "Swag Lamp Kit," they contain a chain to hang the lamp, hooks to hang the chain, the power cord and an in-line switch.

It's hard to tell from the picture, but it looks like the bulb socket is held in by the hook on top. The hook should unscrew from the socket, which lets you connect the wires to it. Don't forget to thread the wire through the chain before you wire up the socket, there's no way to thread the cord through the chain using the plug end.
posted by Marky at 9:29 PM on August 21, 2010

Marky has got it, I think.

Note that it is important to connect the threaded part of the bulb socket to the neutral wire, not the live wire. Neutral is the wire connected to the wide blade on the plug, and it is also the indicated wire (indicated with a white stripe or a rough texture).
posted by Chuckles at 1:05 PM on August 22, 2010

Not that keeo is wrong, but it won't look as nice.

And read/watch some tutorials online about rewiring lamps, just to improve your feel for how this stuff works.

Always wrap wire around screws in a clockwise direction, and twist wire to itself or other wires in a clockwise twist. This way when the fastener is applied it will continue to tighten the wire.
posted by Chuckles at 1:11 PM on August 22, 2010