Costco Led wiring (dumb) question

[machsnell]

I have wired my garage for flourescents. I then saw the latest post on costco LED's. Most agreed that they were a great choice

I would like them for the consumption savings as much as the financial savings. I am leaning towards this route if my local has them.

My question is that i have run 12/2 for the lights and i want to know if all i need to do is

1 - cut plug off of the LED light and wire into a junction box the 12/2 in and the plug and the 12/2 out.

or

2 - can i disconnect the plug inside the fixture and run my 12/2 in and out and just connect them all in the fixture? Then i wont have junction box on the ceiling exposed. Not a huge deal but would rather hardwire if possible

thanks in advance.

 

[soob]

What a dumb question! (Just kidding). I'm not any kind of expert so just take this as lay suggestions and a free bump.

My understanding is that splices have to be in junction boxes and that cut cords can't penetrate drywall (but they can go into a recessed junction box).

While you can put splices inside direct wire fixtures, where that's intended, they're thought of as having built in junction boxes. Those Costco fixtures probably aren't intended for that. Or maybe they are thought of as being okay for that use. I have no idea about whether that's considered to be code or not, though it's probably perfectly safe.

You can get recessed "old work" boxes for a buck apiece. You could put outlets in them and attach the lights that way. That might be your best bet if you want to be really safe.

 

[machsnell]

Here is a picture of the insides. the two wires coming in are soldered to a circuit board so i probably need to cut the cord and attach inside a junction box huh?

Is it code for current cord to go from fixture into drywall and then into junction box?

 

[pattenp]

Here is a picture of the insides. the two wires coming in are soldered to a circuit board so i probably need to cut the cord and attach inside a junction box huh?

Is it code for current cord to go from fixture into drywall and then into junction box?

No. To be code compliant and maintain the UL listing you need to plug them into outlets.



*

 

[75gmck25]

The simplest legal way to make this work is to wire the 12/2 into a standard box and receptacle in the ceiling (on a switch, I assume) and just plug the new lights into the receptacle. It is a safe, simple solution that doesn't require anything special to make it work.

The only thing that is "exposed" is a standard receptacle face plate and the light's cord & plug. You could also trim back the cord as short as needed and add a new end so that there would no big loop of wire visible.

Bruce

 

[machsnell]

Thank you for clearing that up. I really appreciate it.

Are there LED fixtures similar to these that get wired inside the fixture or is that never done and they are always wired inside a junc box?

Do standard flourescent fixtures get wired inside the box by the ballast or do they have to go into a junction box?

 

[machsnell]

Nevermind i found some of the LED's that wire internally.

Thanks

 

[markw365]

My garage has rafters and the light circuit is an outlet by where each lamp (4) hangs. Makes switching out a fixture pretty painless. I'm going for the costco LED's tomorrow.