Using European Plugs in Ireland - Please Help

Wizbit

Hi Everyone,

I am hoping you clever people can help me by answering a couple of questions regarding using a 2 pin European plug over here in Ireland.
Apologies for the wall of text, but please bear with me

The plug in question came from Italy on the end of a 400w electronic Ballast and the question i need help with (as i am a complete idiot with anything electrical) is, do i need to take any special precautions when using it?

I bought a cheap 2 - 3 pin converter (13amp fuse ~250v on back it says)
but the 2 pin plug says 16amps ~250v on its back end. Does this difference in amps make any odds?

The reason i am asking is, i recently fired up the ballast using this converter plug but the bulb (400w bulb) only stayed lit for a minute before turning itself off and continuously repeating this cycle before i finally unplugged it and the filament popped.

I am at a loss to understand why it would do this, and am hoping you guys can help me out.

Thanks for your patience

W.

Wizbit

Anybody?

fishdog

Could you post a few pictures?
I will make a few guesses based on what you said:

I am at a loss to understand why it would do this

I would think that this is unrelated to the "cheap 2 - 3 pin converter". I think this would have happened anyway.

It would be better to cut off the 2 pin plug and replace it with the 3 pin type we use here (if that is possible).

Am I correct in saying that it is just a ballast and a single lamp???

2 pin plug says 16amps ~250v

That means it can take a maximum of 16 amps at 250 volts. It is not necessarily what the appliance uses.

Wizbit

i did wire this myself and i think i may have made an amateur mistake, ive just read a post regarding how somone wired a plug in a household and to cut a long post short it basically said a good way to remember wiring is:

"The live brown bear sits on the yellow/green earth looking at the neutral blue sky"

I wired the blue wire from the ballast to the connector on the bulb socket saying "L" purely because this was also coloured blue, and the brown wire to the connector saying "N" as this was also coloured brown, was this a mistake and is this whats causing my light to fluctuate between on and off?

Wizbit

Thanks for replying Fishdog! and thanks for helping, sorry for the basic questions. I don't have a camera i'm sorry to say. Yes it is a single bulb and ballast.

fishdog

was this a mistake

Yes

is this whats causing my light to fluctuate between on and off?

That is a distinct possibility!

This is how it should be:

Brown wire - live - L

Blue wire - neutral - N

Green/yellow wire - Earth - E

Wizbit

Im such a muppet...

Fishdog thank you very much sir you are a gentleman and a scholar.

fishdog

sorry for the basic questions

No bother. We all had to start somewhere.

What you are told you forget, what you do you remember.

Wizbit

wise words, and i learned this lesson the hard way (serves me right too) the bulb i blew up cost 45 euros :rolleyes:, thanks again for replying Fishdog /salute.

fishdog

You are welcome