Build this low-wattage chandelier from PVC pipe and Christmas LED lights. The chandelier is modern looking and simple. The cost to run this light is very low and the light is easily adapted to the needs of the user by deciding how long to make the section of LEDs that are cut from the Christmas light and wrapped around the core PVC pipe that is surrounded by the 8-inch "lampshade" that is to hang from the ceiling.
Instructions
1. Disconnect all power from the wires that will be in the area where the new chandelier will hang. Disconnect the old chandelier with the power off and keep the screws that attached it. Keep the power off for the remainder of the steps until the instructions say otherwise. Do not forget to read the warnings that come with this article.
2. Find a coupling for the chandelier. The coupling is made from a strong PVC pipe end cap that is facing cup down and is attached with screws into the ceiling where the original fixture was screwed to the ceiling. Make sure to pre-drill the holes in the end cap and that the screws are attached to the location but not so tightly to the PVC end cap that it breaks it. Unscrew the screws holding up the end cap and drill a hole in the middle that is slightly smaller than the diameter of fish tank filter tubing from the pet store.
3. Cut the fish tank tubing from the pet store at an angle so that it is easier to thread through the hole in the PVC end cap. Run the two pieces of heavy-duty speaker wire through the tubing down through the end cap and 6 inches beyond where the wires need to go. Cut the tubing 6 inches above the location where the wire was run through without cutting the wire. At the top, where the wire first enters the tubing above the PVC end cap, tie the end of the tubing and the wire going into it into a knot so that the stress is on the tubing rather than the wire. The wire should extend 6 inches beyond the tubing at the top end before it is cut. Do not hook up the wire to the electricity yet.
4. Cut a section of lights from a chain of LED Christmas lights. Wrap the lights around a piece of PVC pipe that is the size of a toilet tube and glue in place with heat-resistant J-B Weld epoxy. At the bottom of the chain, connect the two leads coming out the end and then twist the leads together. Twist on a wire nut over the new connection.
5. Cut the power adapter from the Christmas lights with the wire extending out from it 3 inches. At the other end of the LED lights, connect the leads from the lights wrapped around the toilet tube-sized PVC to the power adapter from the Christmas lights. Use wire nuts to connect each wire from the adapter to separate wires at the end of the PVC tube at the end where the leads are not hooked together. Affix the adapter to the top of the PVC tube with the J-B Weld epoxy.
6. Cut through a PVC pipe that is 8 inches in diameter so that it is eight inches longer than the PVC pipe and adapter that are held together. Drill a series of four holes in the 8-inch PVC pipe. Four holes at the top should be 1/4-inch holes. Drill these holes in pairs so that if a stick were run through a pair of holes it would go all the way across and so that if a stick were to run through the other pair of holes, it would be perpendicular to the first stick. These two sticks will be 1/4-inch dowel rods that are trimmed so that they are flush with the 8-inch pipe and then are glued into place. The ends of these sticks can be camouflaged with white paint. If there is writing to remove from the side of the pipe, it can be done with 800 grit sandpaper or Magic Eraser. If using the sandpaper, wear goggles and a respirator until the dust is vacuumed up.
7. At the location where the dowel rods cross, tie the end of the fish tank tubing that is freely dangling below the end cap. Solder the wires coming from the fish tank tubing to the outlet plug on the power adapter after removing excess wire. At the section above the end cap, the wires need to be connected and twisted together using wire nuts so that there is no exposed wire. Use the screws that came from the original chandelier and use them to reattach the chandelier. Make sure that the chandelier hangs that way that is desired and then turn on the power.
Tags: Christmas lights, fish tank, pipe that, fish tank tubing, from Christmas, power adapter, tank tubing