HI
With regards to table lamps and the electrical regs I had this question last year and did a bit of reasearch on it. I contacted various bodies and the results are below, I posted this elsewhere so you might have seen it before.
Since this I have sold a few of them and on 2 occasions have had a visit from trading standards at shows and had no problem.
To try and get a definitive answer I rang my local Trading Standards Office, Peterborough and Rutland district, this morning to ask their opinion.
Unfortunately the TSO I needed to talk to was out of the office till this afternoon, they suggested I rang back then. In the meantime they suggested I rang the electrical safety council, as they should be able to give me the answer. I rang them and they gave me their view of the regulations, this afternoon I rang the TSO and talked to the officer who is their electrical expert. The answer I got from both of these sources were the same and are below.
As far as making a body then fitting brought in parts to it to make a working item there are no Laws or Rules & Regulations nationally in England or locally that says electrical items must be inspected and/or tested before they are offered for sale to the general public providing the following conditions are fulfilled.
1. It is not a toy or designed for use by a child, IE the lampshade if fitted is not aimed at children or it is not sold as a nursery light etc.
2. The electrical parts used are CE approved (bulb holder and inline switch if fitted) or conform to the relevant British Standard (cable clamp, cable, plug, fuse).
3. These parts are not altered; fitting the flex does not constitute an alteration and is allowed.
4. In the case of table lamps the relevant type of cord clamp is fitted.
5. The correct size of fuse is fitted: I was recommended a 3 or 5 amp.
6. It is safe, IE the lamp is stable and all components are securely and properly fitted
7. The correct labels are attached, max 60W bulb, CE & plug label.
Providing these conditions are met there is nothing to stop you selling table lamps or other electrical items, unless there are local rules in other areas but neither of the people I talked too knew of any.
Both of the people I spoke to recommended that I kept records of the parts I purchased and in which items I used them so in case of problems these could be traced back to the supplier/maker. Both of the people I spoke to said that if I wanted to I could get them tested either by one of the large testing bodies, which would be expensive and time consuming. Or by a local qualified electrician who would issue a certificate or just to get each item PAT tested, any of these would give me a certificate which would say it was safe at the time of testing. They both stressed that this was not necessary but if I did get them tested it would just be another safeguard if there was a problem. Both of them said that this was how their organisations viewed the regulations but until this particular scenario is tested in a court of law no one would know for sure.
Below is an extract from an email the TSO sent me.
Further to our telephone conversation below is the link to the guidance
from the DTI website. I would recommend you keep records of the parts
you purchse and use, when they were purchase, who from and any batch
numbers if relavent. If there are any problems then you can trace items
used or sold.
Towards the bottom of the webpage under the heading Electrical equipment
is a link to the guidance booklet called Product standards - electrical
equipment (the low voltage directive). It should give you hints of
things to look out for to ensure your product is safe and information to
keep if a problem should happen.
Shortcut to:
http://www.dti.gov.uk/innovation/strd/s ... 10946.html
So after all that I have decided I will be making table lamps and selling them at craft fairs. I will be keeping records of parts brought and where used and getting the lamps PAT tested (cost £2.50 an item) before selling them.
I hope the information above is of use to you and happy turning.
john
