How does this become Class 2 ?

Went to a kitchen job this morning ,  customer asked if this light fitting could go up  first .      

No problem ,   then noticed its a Class 2 .   OK the driver puts out low voltage  to the LED spots   but theres still  mains wiring entering  fitting ,  connectors  and the Brown / Blue  tails to the driver . 

I'm looking for an earth terminal  then see  its marked up as Class 2  .........I don't see any double insulation  , just a stainless steel backplate  /  polished stainlesss cover with spots mounted. 

How are you protected from electric shock  when the body of the fitting becomes live I ask ?   

(  You will be because I earthed it  at risk of being arrested by the Double Insulated Police  )  

I think I too would have found a way to get an earth wire attached to that metal case somehow.

there is a double insulated sticker. electricity will obey this and not make the case live if there is a fault

Thats some  powerful sticker Andy . 

It is if you wrap it around all the live wires and terminals.

I've had a few of these recently, makes you wonder if the Chinese understand the meaning of double insulated.

Andy™ said:

there is a double insulated sticker. electricity will obey this and not make the case live if there is a fault

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there's also a CE mark, that probably means nothing either. (other than Chines Electrics)

It made me think of when you come across the lighting installs without an earth wire   ,  customer wants a decent fitting ,  look at the  Class2 , no earth required sites ,  and  wow do they know how to rip you off.     

Don't know what this customer paid for the fitting though ....its a robust , quality fitting , well made , four LED spots on it , nice & easy to fix  the base first then four  keyway slots onto captive screws. 

Did you put a continuity meter on the metallic surface? Its not something daft that has some sort of lacquer covering that is non conductive is it?  I would honestly be a bit surprised if it isn't class II, as John Lewis's are normally quite robust with their product selection. But if is conductive, I would be contacting John Lewis customer services for a few answers before reporting them to trading standards for false description of a product.

Doc H.

Doc Hudson said:

Did you put a continuity meter on the metallic surface? Its not something daft that has some sort of lacquer covering that is non conductive is it?  I would honestly be a bit surprised if it isn't class II, as John Lewis's are normally quite robust with their product selection. But if is conductive, I would be contacting John Lewis customer services for a few answers before reporting them to trading standards for false description of a product.

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It can still be double insulated even if it is conductive. Probably says something in the instructions about the correct way to wire it up and maintain the class 2 rating, or rather following the instructions by default complies with the original classification.

Lurch said:

It can still be double insulated even if it is conductive. Probably says something in the instructions about the correct way to wire it up and maintain the class 2 rating, or rather following the instructions by default complies with the original classification.

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Indeed, but looking at those blue & brown conductors coming from what appears to be the 230v side of the transformer, not really sure how the unsheathed parts could be double insulated if the metal is also conductive? I thought there needed to be a double layer of insulation between any live conductor and any exposed conductive parts for it to be Class II?

Doc H.

Doc Hudson said:

looking at those blue & brown conductors coming from what appears to be the 230v side of the transformer, not really sure how the unsheathed parts could be double insulated if the metal is also conductive? I thought there needed to be a double layer of insulation between any live conductor and any exposed conductive parts for it to be Class II?

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I have seen equipment wire double insulated with sheaths coloured like this. Makes assembly easier. This may or may not be that.

I would like to have seen the actual termination point where you connect your supply cable to the fitting for a clearer idea.

Doc H.

Well its up on the ceiling now Doc  ,  we go back when the kitchen fitter phones  us  but I can say the Brown & Blue  came connected to a floating , miniscule pair of connectors  in a tiny snap-on plastic case almost invisible to the human eye .       As I had 3  X 1.5mm neutrals  & 1 switchwire  to connect  I cut it off and used "proper" connectors  and parked the earth, via a crimp-lug behind a screw on the base. 

I also thought  Class 2  with the square within a square  symbol  was usually two layers of insulated material with no metalic  part touchable .     The LED driver is Class 2  ...the wires to the lamps are low voltage  but the 240V  pair to the driver  and the incoming hard wiring  could ..possibly .... highly unlikely ....cause the metal  fitting to become live  

Evans Electric said:

Brown & Blue  came connected to a floating , miniscule pair of connectors  in a tiny snap-on plastic case almost invisible to the human eye

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Yep, as suspected, making it class 2.

Technically it was class 2. It's not great though.