Is this lamp still safe to use?
November 9, 2024 8:43 AM   Subscribe

The bulb socket of my lamp got chipped. Is it safe / fixable, and if so, how?

It’s this model of standing floor lamp. The turn-switch for the lamp is on the side of that socket, and I have young kids, so their little fingers would be able to touch the silver part of the bulb socket while the lamp is being turned on or off. (Which makes me think it’s unsafe).

So… can I fix it?

A home wiring job would be doable- but I don’t quite trust home wiring jobs because we did one once with a Home Depot kit, and the lamp mildly shocked someone (!) but I guess I could be talked into trying again…
posted by nouvelle-personne to Home & Garden (11 answers total)
 
Easiest would be if you still have the pieces or pieces that were broken off, then you could simply glue them back into place with a little epoxy.

If not, then one option would be to replace the socket (the whole plastic part, including the switch). This would involved a tiny bit of wiring, but it would be pretty simple. Step one would be to take the current socket off the lamp (take a picture before disconnecting any wires). If you can do that, then you can find a matching part online or locally and it should be easy to reconnect the wiring.

Otherwise, you could try some putty epoxy to fill in the gap (I'd recommend wax on the large plastic nut that holds down the lamp shade to prevent the epoxy from sticking to it).
posted by ssg at 9:11 AM on November 9, 2024


This is the sort of socket you would need. It's a straight forward replacement the only thing to watch for is to attach the wire currently going to the shell to the new shell (and the centre wire to the center). IE the white neutral wire should go to the shell but lamps often have something besides insulation colour indicating the identified conductor. Because both wires are at the bottom of the socket that can some times take careful observation. You'll need a small and medium sized flat screwdriver
posted by Mitheral at 9:43 AM on November 9, 2024


Right, you want to be extra sure that neutral is connected to the outer body and hot is connected to the tip/center. Normally this is done via context clues such as wire color, wire marking, or observing how the old socket was wired. Have some caution here, because often cheap electronics don't have correct wire colors if it reduces their cost. Perhaps the old socket was wired correctly, or maybe someone changed the cord incorrectly at some point in the past. Main point, might want to get a $5 multimeter and quickly tone out the cord to the plug to be absolutely sure. this page has an image showing hot/neutral for the plug and socket.
posted by Rhomboid at 11:26 AM on November 9, 2024


To expand on 'tone it out' since that's vague: put the meter in continuity mode by selecting the horseshoe symbol (Omega - ohms - the unit of resistance) and then the wifi symbol (the icon for sound). Sometimes these are different notches on a dial, sometimes the audible tone mode is an extra button. The meter should beep when the two leads are touched. Touch one to the wider prong at the end of the cord and the other to the outer shell of the light socket, and the meter should beep if wired correctly. That's it. Don't go anywhere near an actual outlet with the multimeter, that's not necessary. Virtually any junk meter off amazon will work for this, it don't gotta be good or accurate.
posted by Rhomboid at 11:36 AM on November 9, 2024


I think I might be missing something. Will the lightbulb still screw into the socket? Does it turn on?

If so, there is very little danger to using the lamp. You would really have to work hard to hurt yourself with it (like stick your hand up to touch the exposed metal bit while standing barefoot in a puddle outside).

In any case, there’s no wiring to be done here. Gluing the original piece back on is probably the best bet if you still have it. You can also model something out of putty (make sure it’s not flammable) and glue that on to make sure little hands are excluded.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 1:06 PM on November 9, 2024 [1 favorite]


Best answer: That's pretty irresponsible to say, given that in this type of design the power switch is like a centimeter away from the chipped area, so you are definitely putting your hands right there.

Is touching the outer shell dangerous? The answer is only 'no' if a long series of other facts are true: the cord is wired correctly, the socket is wired correctly, the plug is polarized, the polarity has been respected and not overcome by some hillbilly contraption, the neutral line in the house is close to ground and hasn't raised in voltage due to other branches carrying current, and my god so many others. [the ENTIRE REASON the third prong had to be invented, by the way]
posted by Rhomboid at 1:23 PM on November 9, 2024 [5 favorites]


Best answer: 1. It’s not safe to use because of the chance the exposed metal is electrically hot, as described by Rhomboid.

2. It’s also not safe to use because the exposed metal will be physically hot when the lamp is in operation.

3. Because of the heat, glue is also a bad idea.

Replace the lamp socket. Personally I would disassemble it, take a picture of where the wires are connected, maybe mark one wire with tape if they’re too hard to tell apart*, and then disconnect the wires. Then I’d take the socket to the hardware store so I could buy an exact replacement. When assembling the lamp with the new socket, I’d refer to the picture I took, and/or the tape, to make sure I connected the same wires to the same terminals.

* If the wires are different colors you can differentiate them that way, but sometimes they’re differentiated by some characteristic of the insulation, like shape (round vs square), texture (smooth vs ridged), or markings (possibly a faint line printed on only one). If you’re not sure what marking means what, you can at least use tape to mark the one that connects to the outer portion of the original socket, and leave the other wire (which should be the “hot” wire if the lamp is currently wired correctly) bare.

I also have a multimeter and I’d check continuity the way Rhomboid explained, but my first approach would just be to replicate what was there.
posted by fedward at 3:23 PM on November 9, 2024 [2 favorites]


Does anything screw on to those threads on the broken part? I don't think that's meant to be an insulator, it's a structural thing reused by multiple lamp models where some have a different thing that screws on there instead of using a lampshade. I think it's likely structural, not part of insulation for the electrical.
posted by mikeh at 3:54 PM on November 9, 2024


Best answer: The broken bit normally covers the shell (the threads) of the light bulb socket. The shell is metal and part of the electrical circuit. The chance of electrocution is low but not zero as Rhomboid laid out.

That is why the shell is recessed so deeply in the housing; to prevent touching the shell.
posted by Mitheral at 4:42 PM on November 9, 2024


the ENTIRE REASON the third prong had to be invented

The third prong which, notably, does not appear on any indoor lamp for sale today.

Still, might as well error on the side of caution. As fedward mentioned, any way you cut it the metal is likely to get very hot.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 7:23 PM on November 10, 2024 [1 favorite]


If you still have the plastic section that broke off, glue it back on as others said above.

Others have discouraged using glue or epoxy but I don't think their reasons hold water.

Reinforce it with some duct tape for even more security.

If you don't still have the plastic section that broke off, just cover the gap with duct tape. Check it in a few days to make sure the duct tape is not melting or one of the other dreaded hazards others have mentioned above.

The switch is visible in the photo and there's no particular reason that anyone using the switch at that location would stick their fingers up and contact a thermally hot part of the lamp, assuming they don't already do so (that would be a different issue). Humans are sort of self-correcting that way.
posted by JimN2TAW at 10:37 AM on November 12, 2024


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