Any electricians in the house?

[mrG]

Hey guys, just curious about something!

I have a room in my apartment that is fairly large, but its meant for storing garbage and stuff in, so theres no outlets in there. BUT there is a light socket that takes regular sized light bulbs.

Someone suggested me one of these things:

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/cinemasupplies_1896_1984426

It screws into the socket, I can still put a lightbulb in there, AND I can plug stuff into it. My question is... how much stuff could I get away with plugging into here? Does it matter based on the telerence of the socket? Could I .. say.. hide my fileserver in that room and power it off this (if I can find out with a 3-pin to include a GND connection).

I know the answer is probably "NO, you're going to melt your apt down." or "now's a good time to buy renting insurance." But.. still thought I should ask anyways!

Thanks!

[Cough]

The light fixture is probably rated for a 60 watt bulb. Start there. That means that the expected current is about an amp.

Even if you stretch to say 200 watts, that is only a couple of amps.

Even though the circuit will have a 15 amp fuse on it, that is the current capacity of the wiring in the walls. The wiring in the light fixture itself will definitely not be able to take that much current.

So the answer, as you suspected is "no"

[dolphie]

I was gonna say to try it, and it would probably just blow a breaker/fuse if it was too much.
Then again, I wouldn't try it in MY house :P

[Paolo]

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/cinemasupplies_1896_1984426

[FastFokker]

Check the socket, many sockets tell you specifically how much wattage maximum is allowed.

Some sockets say only 60W max, some 100W, some 150W.. it just depends. If it doesn't say, I would only put minimum power devices onto it, and only use it when I'm around.

As already stated, your circuit is likely at 15amps, and even the wiring in your home would be 15amps, UP TO the socket itself, which could use minimum gauge wiring, using too much power will put intense heat on the wiring and well you know the potential outcome.

[Birdman]

Could I .. say.. hide my fileserver in that room and power it off this (if I can find out with a 3-pin to include a GND connection).

Absolutely NOT. You shouldn't find anything like that with a ground pin. While the light fixture itself is grounded the bulb and socket won't be.

Save yourself and your equipment a lot of trouble and figure out a different way of doing things.

[Jim123]

Depending on how the switch that controls the light is wired, it may be possible to use a combination switch and receptacle.

http://www.hardwarestore.com/media/product/601168_front200.jpg

Unfortunately if you are not familiar with electrical wiring this is a replacement that should be done by a qualified electrician.

[CheapScotsman]

The problem with using the screw in fixture that allows you to plug stuff into it are (a) the wiring for the light fixture itself isn't probably adequate and (b) the light fixture would have to be on full time in order for your server to have power.

Jim123 ideas is the way to go.

[WheatKing]

not to mention that light plug sockets like you have pictured, don't have a ground.. meaning that running a computer on it would be a big no-no.

The main wiring will be behind the light switch, in which case you could use the switch above, or under the light.. .. you could possible get away with a box extender and run a wire out of that to the wall to a proper plug recepticle.