I don’t really know what is happening here but I hate it.
Kiran said:
I don’t really know what is happening here but I hate it.
The company that did this 10 years ago is now out of business. They specialized in basement renovations, and everything was done as cheaply as possible. This is how they did low voltage lighting – the transformers are plugged into a wall outlet. The wiring from the transformer to the lights are sealed up inside the wall/ceiling. Each transformer controls either two or three 12 volt halogen pucks. There are also wall switches with dimmers that control the pucks, and the rats nest of transformers is hidden in our mechanical room.
@Adley
I would highly recommend you rip this out and replace the halogen fixtures with 120v LED fixtures. You’ll need to have proper power run to each location but it will be 100x cleaner and you won’t need to mess with a tangle of bricks coming out of a hole in your drywall. Plus LED fixtures will be way more energy-efficient and don’t produce heat like halogens do.
@Kiran
I hear you. That’s going to be a much more expensive project…
@Kiran
and they fail prematurely, plus you have to replace the entire fixture!
Hadi said:
@Kiran
and they fail prematurely, plus you have to replace the entire fixture!
You know you can use a replaceable LED bulb in a standard fixture, right?
No. None of this is legal or up to code. I would redo this the right way and not reuse this fire hazard atrocity. A “contractor” did this? Most certainly wasn’t an electrician.
Vail said:
No. None of this is legal or up to code. I would redo this the right way and not reuse this fire hazard atrocity. A “contractor” did this? Most certainly wasn’t an electrician.
I’m confused, because I really thought this passed an inspection. Maybe the 12 volt stuff was snuck in after? Here’s an interesting thing they did – two of the light switches are Lutron dimmers, the kind you would use to control an incandescent fixture. But these actually control the voltage on two of these wall outlets. The white transformers in the first photo are apparently dimmable, and are plugged into the variable voltage outlets. The black transformers are on switched outlets that just go on/off. I’m assuming it is against code to have a variable voltage electrical outlet.
@Adley
This would not pass an inspection anywhere in the US as it sits there. If it was inspected, it was likely just the receptacles without the low voltage and transformers. First, lamp cord (type SPT) is not listed for use in walls, even for low voltage. Next, I can see a wirenut in the wall without a proper box/enclosure. I’m sure there’s more terminations that are concealed and stuffed in there. That’s not only against code but is a big risk of fire. It’s also against code to have dimmed receptacles, although I’ve done this with LED drivers for my undercab lighting, after the inspector was out. I’m sure there’s more we can’t see that’s behind the walls. Potentially, and great for you if so, the SPT might be connected to proper low voltage listed for in-wall use. Then, you can reuse the wire. Otherwise, you can use the existing wire to pull new LV wire listed for use in wall. Cable run through the wall is required to be CL, CL2, CL3, CM, CMG, CMR or CMP rated. Then you can plug the drivers in similarly to what you have here. Use a magnetic LED driver for better dimming performance as electronic dimmable drivers aren’t as good and have a narrower dimming range. Otherwise, you can pull NM-B (aka Romex) and bring line voltage to the fixture locations. This would be the most expensive and would require some work.
@Vail
Thank you for your comments! I can open up that hole a little more to see what’s going on and hopefully I can pull a proper cable run to the fixtures.
The contractor who did the finished basement 10 years ago installed the low voltage transformers as pictured. I would like to remove the old pucks and replace them with dimmable LEDs. I gather that I can’t just re-use the halogen transformers. (Should I try?). I’d rather not tear out the finished ceiling and rewire everything. I’m wondering if I can just use the existing wiring. I’m not sure if there’s any way to use fewer transformers – each of these halogen transformers powers 2 or 3 pucks. Any specific product recommendations? The pucks are 2.75" with a cutout size of 2.5". Seems like a common size.
@Adley
Wow
The wiring that I see does not look like wiring that is approved for a permanent installation inside of a wall.
Paxton said:
The wiring that I see does not look like wiring that is approved for a permanent installation inside of a wall.
Yeah, SPT is not approved. Look at the wirenut stuffed in the wall too.
Wtf who wired that shit
This looks like something I’d do, just without hiding the wires