Antique Panlight Chandelier Needs New Wires and Sockets

A customer brought in this fixture the other day and asked for it to be rewired. Panlight fixtures are on my long list of favorites. The way these fixtures are decorative and simple at the same time is really why I like them. They are specific to the early to mid 20th century and are perfect for restoration.

Antique Panlight Fixture - Ready for restoration

First, we need to inspect the lamp and make a list of parts needed for the repair.

Some obvious things include:

5 - Medium Base Adjustable Fixture Sockets

48208i - Medium Base, Adjustable Keyless Candle Socket, adjusts from 4" to 5-3/4" tall

5 - 4 Inch White Paper Candle Covers

19814T - 3 inch Smooth Flat White Color Paper Standard Candle Covers

Wire - Antique Brass Colored SPT-1 Spooled Wire

46608 - Antique Brass, 250 Ft. Spool, Plastic 18/2 Lamp Cord - Wire, SPT-1 size

2 - Large Wire Connectors

48509 - Large Wire Connector with spiral threaded metal insert

5 - Clear Plastic Cord Bushings

26918 - Clear Plastic Pipe Bushing and Lamp Cord Protector for 1/8 IPS Pipe

Note - For smaller projects, you can use cord sets and cut off the plug. You want to make sure not to have any "extra" connections or spliced wire when it's not needed. 

With all the parts located, we are ready to disassemble the fixture. We start by removing the old candle covers. Then we unscrew the wires from the old socket screw terminals. The old sockets have a threaded base that unscrew from the fixture arm. 

Next, we open the Panlight body by unscrewing the bottom finial. The body has two parts: a top and a bottom pan.

These cloth covered wires seem to be original. They were made of good copper, but the plastic insulation breaks down over time and becomes brittle. The crack can expose the copper wire to the lamp body creating an electrical short and a dangerous fixture.

Last, we will remove the decorative cups on each of the arms and remove the old wire. Now the fixture is completely disassembled and ready to be rewired.

Each arm will have a socket, bushing, and wire routed to the middle of the pan. Connecting the wire to the socket terminals needs to be consistent. The smooth wire should connect to the brass screw terminal and the ribbed wire should connect to the nickel screw terminal.

With all the sockets wired and the wires in the pan, we will add a 6th wire. This wire will connect to the canopy and the house wires. Each wire should be stripped about 1/2 inch and connected with a wire nut. The smooth wires in one connection and the ribbed wires in another connection.

With all the connections complete, the wires are tucked inside the bottom pan. Join the top and bottom pans together and insert the rod on the bottom finial to hold the pans in place. The sixth wire is threaded up the top pan and through the chain and finally into the canopy.

At this point you can test the lamp. Add bulbs to the sockets. Keep your distance from the sockets while you power the 6th line. Remember, the smooth wire represents the hot/black/small side of the plug on the home wires and the ribbed wire is the neutral/white/wide side of the plug. Keeping theses wires in order keeps the lamp polarized.

Looking good and almost complete. Finally we add the candle covers for the complete look.

Another Panlight Fixture ready for the next 100 years of service. Total Cost < $30 Total time ~ 1 hour

Hand Decorated Table Lamp With Bottom Light, Rewired

A customer brought in this Gone-With-The-Wind or Parlor style table lamp and wanted it to be rewired. After an initial inspection, we found the cord was not polarized and the top socket was worn.

The lamp parts needed for this repair include:

1) 3-Way Socket Interior With 1/8F Hickey

3-Way Socket Interior for 3-Way Light Bulbs. Medium base (E26) turn knob socket with 1/8F tap hickey, full paper insulator and short mandrel. 250W-250V

2) 8 Foot Brown SPT-1 Cord Set (Brown [item 46710] was their choice, any color polarized cord set would work.)

46710 - 8 ft. Length, Brown 18/2 Plastic Covered Lamp Cord Set, SPT-1

To disassemble this lamp, we will need to remove the socket. This lamp has an unusual socket, there is no cap or shell. It has a hickey on the bottom inside the gallery. You will first need to unscrew the key from the socket. Then, you will unscrew the hickey from the socket interior. A small flat head screw inside the socket connects to the hickey.

With the old socket removed, unscrew the wire terminals and pull the old cord down from the lamp base.

Untangle the wire to remove from the bottom light wire. Using the new lamp cord, twist the bottom light wire to the new lamp cord. The cords should match: smooth wire together and ribbed wire together. If the bottom light has a black and white wire, the smooth wire connects to the black wire and the ribbed wire connects to the white wire of the bottom light. With the wires connected, push them up the lamp rod to the top socket.

Connect the lamp cord to the new socket interior. Since we have a 3-way socket, the smooth wires each have a screw terminal. The smooth wire from the plug attaches to the brass plated screw terminal. The smooth wire from the bottom light connects to the black screw terminal. Both ribbed wires connect to the nickel screw terminal.

In some cases (like this one), you can get lucky and use the old hickey on the new socket. For this lamp, we removed the hickey off the new socket and used the original hickey on the lamp and the flat head screw from the socket. Just be sure to pull wires down the lamp to avoid excess slack around the socket. Slip the new insulator over the socket and screw on the old lamp key.

If the bottom light was removed for this installation, simply snap it back in place. If the bottom light needed to be replaced, now would be the right time with the cord replacement.

48235 - Keyless Candelabra Socket w/Spring Clips, Leviton Brand

With a few good bulbs in place, we test the lamp.

Gone-With-The-Wind, not. Total time < 30 minutes Total Cost < $10