Today I started to move some of the stuff from the workshop/garage back to the barn/new workshop. Yes, it is all very confusing, I know. It has me confused too. So I just way “whatever.” While moving things, I got to wondering about the electrical situation in the workshop I am moving into.
Strictly speaking, the building is more of a large shed, about 100 years old, and somehow still standing. I am never quite sure how. It has two rooms in it. The large room has the big double door on it, and the small room has been divided into a garden tool room, and a place for electric fence supplies, and a chicken coop. The chicken coop is sealed safe against predators. You have to go through the tool shed to get into the door of the coop.
The lighting in the building is dismal. I have an extension cord run out to it from the back of the house for now, and when I get the electric installed, I will be promptly taking that out and throwing it away. I can’t even remember how many years it has been out there! The cord has a power strip plugged into it, and that has a series of short extension cords and such running to lamps and a switch that is wired to the light over the tool shed door. I am eager to get a couple of lights on the side of the shed where the double door is, so I can light up that part of the yard on the nights I suspect predators out.
I am eager too, to get hold of lighting that points down and has a broad shade to prevent much light going up into the sky. I am a fan of the dark sky initiative.
Today I took out one of the lamps that hung from the tool shed where the power strip is to the main shed, near the animal feed. I put in a proper sonce set lamp over the door between the two rooms, on the big shed side. From that I wired for now an outlet and plugged the lamp into it half way across the big room, and tried lighting it, but I guess I am at the end of the line for this electricity to travel, because it seldom light up, and when it was switched on, the lamp over the door began to dim and brighten. I unplugged it and let it be for now. It is well gh that I still have light over the animal feed area, and it is now hardened in somewhat properly. One job out of the way for when the electric line comes in and so does a breaker box.
My work got broken up suddely with the roll of thunder and a wind that blasted out of the west, throwing the poplar out back from side to side like it wanted to break it. I got away from the wires and went into the house. Seemed a better place to ride out the short storm.
Things calmed down just about as qiuck as they riled up, and were gone within the hour. But I have got to leave that job for now and start worrying about getting the proper electric wire into the workshop, and then I cen get those lights finished up all on a nearbye breaker of their own.