I want to wire a security light to a regular light plug. How do I do this?
Question:I have a Designers Edge L-1820 150W HPS "Dusk till Dawn" security light. Out of the box, I thought I could plug it into the wall, but it just has a bare white and bare black wire. Can I wire it to a standard wall plug so I can just plug it in? If so, how?
Answers:
Your new light fixture is intended to replace an existing wall mounted light fixture. The correct way to mount it would be to install a junction box where you want the light and run power to it.
This would be pretty cheezy, but you could attach a junction box to the wall surface, and then mount the light to that. Use a watertight fixture box, and run conduit from it down to near the receptacle you'll connect to. At the bottom of the conduit, attach another junction box. Run a black, white and ground 12ga THHN conductor from the light down to the lower junction box. At the lower junction box, wire in an "extension cord" (SJ cable, like Mark said, or canabalize a good, heavy duty exterior extension cord. Run the extension cord out the bottom of the junction box (so water does follow it into the box), and use a cable clamp to secure the cord in the box. This is pretty cheezy, but it will give you a safe install without doing it the right way.
Assuming this is an exterior setup, make SURE the receptacle you're connecting to is GFCI protected. If it isn't, replace it with a GFCI receptacle. I'd use the grey plastic j-boxes and conduit. The conduit connects to the j-boxes with glued fittings, like PVC water pipe, and is the easiest way to get a watertight install.
You are better off to phone the company on the box, they probably won't tell you how to do it due to liability. So you have a receptacle but the light isn't wired with a plug. My husband would find a plug with 6 inches of wire on it, remove the outer plastic and wire the two together using those funny looking wire nuts. Then wrap in electric wire and plug it in. And you need a heavy duty 3 prong plug. (I listen and learn) We had one of these, hated it, we live on the curb and even a cat will set it off-we put up a sign indicating we have a video camera and we haven't been bothered, except the kid who said I was messin' with his civil rights. Anyway, it comes on all the time, so does our neighbors. He never could get his set right, so we took ours back, we just answer the door, packin'. (West Virginia)
if the outlet is near the fixture you can run SJ cord with a male plug on the end of the SJ cord outside mounting I would run pipe or weather proof flex to the fixture if you are bold you can run a # 14 romax tho the attic to a power source there for you dont have to plug it in
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