Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi there-

I wanted to mount a porcelain socket to a couple melamine enclosures I built. I went to Home Depot and found the fixtures but have no idea how to mount them. The fixtures in the box seem pretty simple, there is no backing. Do I need a mount for it or is it ok against the melamine.....i don't want to start any fires!!!!

Thanks-

Brett

Actually, if you've got the circular kind that are about 4 inches across, there is a circular metal part that you can find in the electrical section that you can mount the porcelain socket on so that you're not mounting it wires and all directly to the top of the cage. I forget exactly what they're called, some sort of "box", but I think that's what they were manufactured for because they fit exactly. Sorry I don't remember exactly what its called, but you'll know it when you see it.
Robert

Hi.

What you want to do is to mount the fixture to one of these:

It ends up going together and looking something like this:

(i usually don't use the extra crossbar they show there)

.

There's no problem drilling a small hole for the wire, then directly attaching the porcelain base to the melamine with screws, once you've attached the wires to the fixture. Most of those fixtures allow them to be removed with a slight twisting motion that keeps the screws in place. Neither the heat or electricity will transfer from the bulb. I use mine against plastic Neos. Works fine.