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pbahlin · 11-05-2010, 06:06 AM

The LR slide out in my Big Sky has cabinetry over the couch area. One of the doors has never been quite right so my project of the day was to adjust it. It had a pronounced sag so I figured it would be a snap to adjust the nifty Euro hinge to straighten it out; maybe a 5 minute job.

Not! As in most Keystone maintenance tasks there's always a bonus project stored inside the 5 minute one. What happened is that I opened the door, adjusted the hinge a bit to lift the door only to find out that now I couldn't close the door. It hits the 120 volt light fixture.

I didn't know it at the time but it seems the sagging door was not a defect. It was a feature. The only way the door clears the light is to mount it so that it sags. This allows the outside top corner to miss the light by at least one micron.

I reasoned, due to prior knowledge with all things electrical in the Keystone, that the ceiling box was most likely mounted in a scruffy oversized hole and it would be simple to shift it a little in the hole, refasten it, and get back to my adjustments.

Once again, not so fast Skippy! This hole was absolutely perfect; in the wrong place of course, but perfect nevertheless. Absolutely no room was to be had to fudge the mount. DW came to the rescue at this point. She noted, correctly, that the fixture was pretty ugly anyway so why not take a run to Lowe's to see if we couldn't find a prettier fixture that was smaller than the original.

Well after a total of three hours now, it's apparent that Lowe's had nothing that would work and by the way, if I change out that fixture, there's the one over the desk to consider, eh? Sighhhh. Time to put it back together and go on line to find something we like.

The problem with putting it back together is that the keyhole openings in the fixture are way to small for the screw heads Keystone used. This makes threading the needle to get the screws back in is good for another ten minutes.

It's a good thing I'm retired with plenty of time on my hands to finish building my trailer. Wonder if that's also a feature?

Oh by the way, I discovered that this fixture, designed and equipped with a big warning label that says not to use anything bigger than forty watt bulbs, was in fact supplied with two 60 watt bulbs. This is of course a fire hazard but I figure they put in the 60s to get enough light for the precision 1 micron saggy door adjustment.

You might want to check your fixtures to see if they've generously supplied you with more watts than they had to.

Update:

I forgot to mention that every twist cap in the box was 'decorated' with electrical tape. Anybody else ever see this? What's that all about? It makes me nervous when I see that. Makes me think the same elves that managed to misswire every single speaker were let loose on the AC side of the house. Scary, very scary.

11-05-2010, 06:06 AM	#1
pbahlin Montana Master Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Sioux Falls Posts: 617 M.O.C. #9380	Check 120 volt Fixtures The LR slide out in my Big Sky has cabinetry over the couch area. One of the doors has never been quite right so my project of the day was to adjust it. It had a pronounced sag so I figured it would be a snap to adjust the nifty Euro hinge to straighten it out; maybe a 5 minute job. Not! As in most Keystone maintenance tasks there's always a bonus project stored inside the 5 minute one. What happened is that I opened the door, adjusted the hinge a bit to lift the door only to find out that now I couldn't close the door. It hits the 120 volt light fixture. I didn't know it at the time but it seems the sagging door was not a defect. It was a feature. The only way the door clears the light is to mount it so that it sags. This allows the outside top corner to miss the light by at least one micron. I reasoned, due to prior knowledge with all things electrical in the Keystone, that the ceiling box was most likely mounted in a scruffy oversized hole and it would be simple to shift it a little in the hole, refasten it, and get back to my adjustments. Once again, not so fast Skippy! This hole was absolutely perfect; in the wrong place of course, but perfect nevertheless. Absolutely no room was to be had to fudge the mount. DW came to the rescue at this point. She noted, correctly, that the fixture was pretty ugly anyway so why not take a run to Lowe's to see if we couldn't find a prettier fixture that was smaller than the original. Well after a total of three hours now, it's apparent that Lowe's had nothing that would work and by the way, if I change out that fixture, there's the one over the desk to consider, eh? Sighhhh. Time to put it back together and go on line to find something we like. The problem with putting it back together is that the keyhole openings in the fixture are way to small for the screw heads Keystone used. This makes threading the needle to get the screws back in is good for another ten minutes. It's a good thing I'm retired with plenty of time on my hands to finish building my trailer. Wonder if that's also a feature? Oh by the way, I discovered that this fixture, designed and equipped with a big warning label that says not to use anything bigger than forty watt bulbs, was in fact supplied with two 60 watt bulbs. This is of course a fire hazard but I figure they put in the 60s to get enough light for the precision 1 micron saggy door adjustment. You might want to check your fixtures to see if they've generously supplied you with more watts than they had to. Update: I forgot to mention that every twist cap in the box was 'decorated' with electrical tape. Anybody else ever see this? What's that all about? It makes me nervous when I see that. Makes me think the same elves that managed to misswire every single speaker were let loose on the AC side of the house. Scary, very scary.