[TheForge] Lamp Cord inna rope

[Stephen McGehee]

Dave
If you use # 16 TFFN wire which is made for and called "fixture wire",
you have a small enough bundle to easily conceal in the lay-up of your
rope.  This wire is stranded and should give years of service, presuming
that the rope assembly will only be exercised to change bulbs.  If you
use 130 volt bulbs from a wholesale house instead of the common 120 volt
units from Wally world and supermarkets, the bulb life will be
significantly greater.  200 watts of load equals 1.66 amperes, which
will not even melt the ice on the rope(VBG) so you have a good safety
factor.  I would not make the total length more than 40-50 feet long,
otherwise will need to go with 14 stranded THHN wire.  Importantly, make
sure that several inches of conductor are looped out from the rope at
each end of your set up(at the fixture and where it terminates) to allow
for stretching of the rope in use.  This sounds like a real low stress
application so if you allow the aforementioned slack loops, the
installation should not present any fire danger.
Stephen McGehee, Publisher
Irony - the sketchbook of an apprentice blacksmith
and Master Electrician
P.O. Box 925
Corydon, IN  47112
812-347-0303