Safety Notice - 12V Wired Products

Please read: This notice contains important safety warnings and other safe usage/installation information about the 12v wired lighting products we stock. We urge you to read this notice carefully and ensure you understand it before purchasing, installing, or using any of our 12v electrical products.

Our 12v wired lighting products are first and foremost a hobby product for adult miniaturists, designed to bring life and light to your dolls houses and 1:12 scale models. They do not run at the same voltage and are not manufactured to the same specifications as regular household lighting or electrical products. They are not designed to be used for long periods of time and should not be used as a supplementary source of lighting in your home.

MISUSE OF THESE PRODUCTS OR FAILURE TO FOLLOW THE SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS AND WARNINGS IN THIS SAFETY NOTICE COULD RESULT IN FIRE, ELECTRIC SHOCK, OR OTHER SERIOUS INJURY OR DAMAGE

General

• NEVER LEAVE A LIT DOLLS HOUSE UNATTENDED
• None of our 12v electrical products are suitable for use by children under 14 years of age and children over the age of 14 should be supervised when using these products
• Never leave a child or vulnerable person unsupervised near a lit dolls house
• Do not leave 12v wired lighting systems lit for more than 1 hour at a time and allow all the components to thoroughly cool before the next use (for at least 1 hour) by turning the transformer off at the mains and unplugging it
• Always use with a fuse-protected socket strip (maximum 1.6-amp fast fuse)
• Do not allow people with reduced physical, sensory, or mental capabilities use electrical products unsupervised
• Do not allow people with lack of experience or knowledge to install a wiring system or rewire a plug without supervision
• Always switch the transformer off at the socket and unplug it from the mains wall socket after each use
• Always test each light (see section on TESTING later in this document) before installation and again after each modification (such as after rewiring a plug or changing a bulb)
• Always read and follow any safety information or warnings printed on the packaging or provided with the product

Transformers and Bulb Capacity

• Check that the transformer you are using is 12v and that the voltage marked on the rating label of your transformer matches your mains voltage
• Do not operate the transformer from an extension lead, it should be plugged directly into a mains socket
• Never exceed the maximum bulb capacity of your transformer, socket/terminal strip, or fuse (Contact Us with the product code/s if you are unsure)
• Never touch to the screws on the transformer or the connecting spades from the socket strip whilst the transformer is plugged in.

Damage/Defects

• A damaged light fitting or a poorly wired plug can cause fire or give you an electric shock – do not use the product if it has been dropped or if it appears to be damaged in any way
• Always inspect the product for damage after unpacking and Contact Us if your new Minimum World product has any damage/defects
• Do not continue to use the light/component if you are in any doubt of the product working normally – switch off and unplug the transformer from the wall socket immediately

Temperature/Moisture

• Some components may get hot during normal use – switch off to cool for a few minutes before handling
• Do not use in environments with extreme degrees of temperature
• Do not use near heat sources such as radiators or gas/electric fires
• Do not use near naked flames
• Do not expose this product to water or moisture. If you spill any liquid onto the product it can cause serious damage - switch off and unplug the entire wiring system immediately
• Do not touch any of the components with wet hands

Maintenance

• Ensure to unplug the transformer from the mains socket before cleaning or modifying any elements in your lighting system (such as changing a bulb)
• Do not use any type of abrasive pad, chemical cleaning solutions, or any liquids on any of the components in your lighting system

Installation & Usage

• We strongly recommend using a “round-wire” system with our 12v products (see the section on our ROUND-WIRE SYSTEMS – THE BASICS later in this document for information about this type of lighting system)
• Always test each light (see section on TESTING later in this document) before installation, after each modification (such as after rewiring a plug or changing a bulb) and again after installation to ensure it is working correctly
• The wire insulation is thin so always fully uncoil each wire before use and try to avoid wires from other components touching wherever possible
• Never attempt to install a light into a dolls house while it is plugged in
• Never attempt to change a bulb while the light is plugged in
• Plugs for the lights will often need to be removed and then replaced during installation to enable the wires to fit through small holes, please ensure that the two exposed wires are do not touch at any point when you rewire them to the pins in the plug
• The on/off switch on the socket strips does not turn the system off completely – the transformer will continue to draw electricity from the mains supply while plugged in. Please ensure that the transformer is switched off at the mains socket and unplugged when not in use.
• All 12v products purchased from Minimum World should be used on a fuse-protected system (maximum 1.6amp fast-blow fuse*) with a transformer that is the appropriate voltage for your country

*We are aware that some other dolls house brands and distributors continue to use 2-amp fuses in their socket strips. While this has been deemed safe practice by most manufacturers of these products, we would strongly urge you to consider switching these fuses out for a lower amp fast-blow fuse to ensure maximum safety when lighting your dolls houses and other scale models.

We have 1.5amp fast-blow fuses available to purchase in 2 sizes which are compatible with most 12v terminal strips.

LT9021 - Pack of 4 Fuses 1.5A are compatible with most 12-socket terminal strips (such as LT9017 commonly used in 1:12 scale)

LTH49006 - Fuses (pk4) are compatible with most 6-socket terminal strips (such as LT9072 commonly used in 1:24 scale)

Always test each light individually before first use, after any modifications (such as changing a bulb or rewiring a plug) and again after final installation.

It is a good idea to keep a note of which light/component you have tested and when so that you can easily identify which element is causing the fault in your system, should one occur. You may want to purchase spare fuses for your socket strip in case you blow any during testing.

Some or all of the components may become "warm" when in use, which is completely normal. None of the components should become very hot (excluding the bulbs). To reduce the risk of burns or electric shock, please take extreme care if touch-testing the temperature of any elements and do not touch the bulbs at any point during testing as they will be extremely hot.

Bulbs often work loose in transit, or with handling, so if one or more bulbs in the light fails to illuminate during your testing then gently tighten/reposition the bulb/s and try again. If this doesn’t fix the problem then replace the bulb and try again. Always leave the light unplugged to cool for at least 10 minutes before attempting to tighten or replace a bulb as the bulbs will become hot when lit.

Please follow the simple steps below on how to test a light:

1) Attach a fused socket strip (e.g. LT9017) to a 12v transformer (e.g. LT9073)     

2) Plug the transformer into a mains wall socket and switch on (the little bulb on the socket strip should not light up – if it does then the fuse has blown and needs to be replaced)

3) Plug the light to be tested into the socket strip and turn on using the switch on the socket strip

4) Observe the light closely for 10 minutes to ensure it is operating correctly and is not overheating or malfunctioning in any way

If any of the following occurs during your testing switch off and unplug all components immediately and Contact Us for advice:

• Any of the components or wires appear to be melting or producing smoke
• The fuse on the socket strip blew or the fault light on the socket strip lit up
• The wire or the light fitting (excluding the bulb) became very hot
• There is evidence of smoke staining in the bulb/s

As we mentioned earlier, our 12v wired lighting products are first and foremost a hobby product for adult miniaturists, designed to bring life and light to your dolls houses and 1:12 scale models. They do not run at the same voltage and are not manufactured to the same specifications as regular household lighting or electrical products. They are not designed to be used for long periods of time and should not be used as a supplementary source of lighting in your home.

Please note that (except the transformers – which are all CE certified) the 12v products we stock are very low voltage and as such are not covered by the usual CE/UKCA certification that apply to most electrical devices and components. However, there is still a risk of fire, injury, electric shock, or other damage if 12v products are used incorrectly or if used when faulty.

We take great care to ensure that all the electrical products we stock are safe to use and easy to install. We carry out strict quality checks on our own LT Miniature Lighting Co products when they arrive from the manufacturer - including external checks by an independent, qualified electrician. We trust that other brands/manufacturers we stock (such as Dolls House Emporium and Streets Ahead) follow similar procedures with their electrical products - although we cannot guarantee it.

The wires used in dolls house lighting products are very thin to allow the lights to be made in such small scale, this means that there is not as much insulation in the wiring as you would find in a life-size electrical product. So, while the system operates at a very low voltage, it does mean that the lights and components can be prone to overheating and we strongly recommend only turning the lights on for short periods of time (maximum 1 hour) and allowing the system to cool thoroughly between uses.

The intricate and delicate nature of miniature scale models means that wiring and installing these products in your dolls houses can be incredibly fiddly (and as talented as our wonderful customers are, most of you are not qualified electricians!) so there is a small element of risk involved with customers who may install or use these products incorrectly. With that in mind, we ask that you strictly adhere to all the safety warnings, instructions and testing procedures in this document to ensure that you are installing and using these products safely. If in doubt – Test, Test and Test Again! - to ensure each element in your system is operating as it should at each stage of your project.

Alternatively, a much simpler option for adding light to your dolls house is battery-operated LED lighting – no wiring required as each light is operated by its own battery and has a switch on the base – Click here to browse our extensive range of battery-operated lighting!

If you purchased any of the products listed below from Minimum World prior to 31/03/2021 then they may have been supplied with a 2-amp surge-protected fuse:

For safety reasons, we now recommend a 1.5-amp or 1.6-amp fast-blow fuse to ensure a swift cut-off of the system should a fault occur.

If you have not already received a replacement fuse from us and are still using a 2-amp fuse with any of these products then please stop use of the product immediately and Contact Us (or email info@minimumworld.com) with the product code of your item so that we can send you a replacement fuse free of charge.

Please send any queries or comments by email to info@minimumworld.com, by completing a Contact Us form, or by writing to us at the address below:

Minimum World Ltd
Prospect House 2
Loddon Industrial Estate
Little Money Road
Loddon
Norwich
NR14 6JD
United Kingdom

If you are unable to resolve your query by these methods then you may reach our customer services team on (+44)(0)1508 528950 between the hours of 10am-3pm on Monday-Friday (excluding public holidays). Please note that any usual network charges will apply to calls from UK mobiles/landlines and additional call charges may apply to calls from international destinations.