Mounting wall-light on wood

[nemo2000]

Having knocked the reading-lamp off my desk once too often (!), I've bought a spot-light to fix to the wall above my desk instead. The new light fitting is designed with the cable entry in the back, obviously intended to come through the wall from behind (or be fixed to a ceiling). I can't do that, so I'm going to run the cable to the light in surface-mounted trunking.

I need to space the light fitting off the wall a short distance (say about 10-15mm) in order to be able to bring the cable in under the back. Not being able to find any suitable commercial item, I was going to use a small wooden block with a slot cut in it for the cable. The actual terminal block will be inside the light fitting, not the wooden block.

Any problems about mounting the fitment on wood?

 

[Doghouse Riley]

Having knocked the reading-lamp off my desk once too often (!), I've bought a spot-light to fix to the wall above my desk instead. The new light fitting is designed with the cable entry in the back, obviously intended to come through the wall from behind (or be fixed to a ceiling). I can't do that, so I'm going to run the cable to the light in surface-mounted trunking.

I need to space the light fitting off the wall a short distance (say about 10-15mm) in order to be able to bring the cable in under the back. Not being able to find any suitable commercial item, I was going to use a small wooden block with a slot cut in it for the cable. The actual terminal block will be inside the light fitting, not the wooden block.

Any problems about mounting the fitment on wood?

Show us the lamp, there may be a way of avoiding using wood.


Id

 

[nemo2000]

It is one of these:-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B009PLKO1U/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I could cut or drill a hole in the end/side of the metal enclosure, so then the fitting could go directly onto the wall, but I really do not want to do that for fear of damaging it.

 

[Doghouse Riley]

From the illustration it would appear that there's a shroud that can be removed and there will be screw holes in the body to allow you to fix it to the ceiling or the wall without mounting it on a wooden batten. You could have the side where there appears to be some sort of fixing screw that secures the shroud and have the cable enter the unit next to it, with that side nearest the wall.

 

[nemo2000]

From the illustration it would appear that there's a shroud that can be removed and there will be screw holes in the body to allow you to fix it to the ceiling or the wall without mounting it on a wooden batten. You could have the side where there appears to be some sort of fixing screw that secures the shroud and have the cable enter the unit next to it, with that side nearest the wall.

Thanks for the reply.

Essentially there is a body/shroud attached to a *small* longitudinal plate inside. With the plate fixed to the wall and the body attached to the bracket, the only ways to get a cable inside are either (a) make a hole/slot in the side of the metal body or (b) gouge a slot out of the wall so that the cable can pass underneath the edge of the body. Hence why I want to space the whole assembly a short distance off the wall instead.

 

[He who knows]

If it has an 'F' mark:

then it's OK to mount it on normally flammable materials. It should have a sticker with power rating info, how close the lamps can be to surfaces, a CE mark, etc, and it would be on that, and/or on the box and/or in the instructions. If there's none of that anywhere, be afraid of using it at all.

But if you ditch the lamps it comes with, and put LEDs in (seriously - who installs new halogen lighting these days anyway?), it won't be getting hot.