[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by waltwl

anyone have a electric receptacle installed in lamp post

Yes, WHY ??????

[cah177]

How much ? $

[villagetinker]

Several people are missing a point, screw in lamp sockets have ONLY 2 wires, HOT and NEUTRAL there is NO ground connection, so even if you get an adapter with three connections, YOU DO NOT HAVE A TRUE CONNECTION TO GROUND. YOU DO NOT HAVE THE PROTECTION PROVIDED BY A TRUE CONNECTION TO GROUND. I hope you have a good life insurance policy.

[photo1902]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

Several people are missing a point, screw in lamp sockets have ONLY 2 wires, HOT and NEUTRAL there is NO ground connection, so even if you get an adapter with three connections, YOU DO NOT HAVE A TRUE CONNECTION TO GROUND. YOU DO NOT HAVE THE PROTECTION PROVIDED BY A TRUE CONNECTION TO GROUND. I hope you have a good life insurance policy.

Excellent point.

And when adding a receptacle box to the post, it too must be grounded (along with the receptacle).

[Laurel Maryland]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

You are taking a chance by not having a GFCI receptacle installed, these are less than $20, and well worth the money. For example, you use this outlet for a set of hedge trimmers, and accidently nick the cord, you could be shocked or worse. On the other hand, every lamp post I have helped neighbors with was connected to a GFCI in the garage or a dedicated GFCI breaker.

Can you tell me if our lamp posts need to be cemented in? Are there pros/cons? Thank you.

[villagetinker]

Originally Posted by Laurel Maryland

Can you tell me if our lamp posts need to be cemented in? Are there pros/cons? Thank you.

I have no idea, the 3 or 4 that is have helped neighbors with were just buried about a foot to 1.5 feet in the ground. Be careful about how the under ground wire enters the post, 2 of the houses with problems were due to bad splices or rough edges on the post that cut into the cable. IMHO, IF you want to use concrete, I would use the mix in place technique. Once the new post has the underground cable PROPERLY installed, you simple pour a bag or 2 of concrete mix (dry) into the hole with the post in place, and water. The result is typically stronger than straight dirt, but not a strong as mixing the concrete and pouring it in the hole.
A word of caution, be very careful if SPLICES are needed and make sure these are UL approved underground waterproof splices or you will have future problems. I modified my reply based on a later comment, CONCRET IS NOT NECESSARY, compacted soil typically works very well.

[photo1902]

Originally Posted by Laurel Maryland

Can you tell me if our lamp posts need to be cemented in? Are there pros/cons? Thank you.

No. Do not cement the post in. There is absolutely no need. They are installed by compacting the soil once it's in place. The builder does not concrete them, and when they need to be replaced, it makes the job a lot easier.

[Laurel Maryland]

Thank you Villagetinker and Photo1902!