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Thread: How to create a water proof 12 v strip light

  1. #1
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    How to create a water proof 12 v strip light

    This seems to be a bigger challenge than I expected ... much like wifi controlled strip lights ... a huge market for these 2 ... why because people want to control their strip lights using the app they use to control other lights and stuff around the house ... there are product available ... however trying to find one that works and links to various apps ... thats the challenge ... this is more about weather proof 12 V strip in particular.

    Why 12 V weather proof strip lights ... some of the projects I am busy with a the moment are in areas classified as zone 0/1 or 2.

    You can buy 24 volt IP rated strip lights which are IP rated ... but not 12 v (that I am aware of)

    So I am thinking its time to create a environment which will seal against the ingress of water.

    This is what I think would be compliant.

    First solder a 5 m long tail onto the strip ...

    fit the end caps ... Pour a thin layer of epoxy resin along the bottom of the aluminum u channel ... then peal and stick the the strip to the epoxy ... then pour another thin layer over the LED strip.

    You now have a completely water tight strip light.

    My concern is the heat generated by the LED strip and what effect it will have on the strip over a period of time.

    You are probably wondering why I am going to so much trouble ... firstly because of the location ... they are now being exposed to water.

    the lights look amazing and lastly it is a challenge (you know how I love a challenge )

    To make it a little more difficult the room is only 2.4 m and a concrete slab with slab boxes.

    So what is the big deal ... no junction boxes in zone 0/1/2 ... so 2.4m is 100 mm too low ... the volt drop of the 12 v system ( we could go with thicker wires) and the 12V safety transformer will have to be mounted in the junction box in the middle of the bathroom ... about 2.6 m from the shower.

    It is all going to look stunning ... but more important safe.
    Comments are based on opinion...not always facts....that's why people use an alias.

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    The other option would be to fit a clear heat shrink tube over the entire length and then just fill with silicon.

    Any suggestions?
    Comments are based on opinion...not always facts....that's why people use an alias.

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    Diamond Member Justloadit's Avatar
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    Provided the heat of the LEDs does not exceed 70°C they will last many hours.
    Your challenge is to try one out and have a temperature probe in the center to tell you what the temperature is after 4 hours.
    Dropping of the voltage slightly will also reduce the heat build up, just remember that heat is based on square nature curve, so a small drop in current has quite a bit of influence, and the drop in lumanance may not be noticeable.
    Victor - Knowledge is a blessing or a curse, your current circumstances make you decide!
    Solar pumping, Solar Geyser & Solar Security lighting solutions - www.microsolve.co.za

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    I have been into Province lighting LED assemble plant where they use a resin to fill the channel to an IP spec for exterior lighting on buildings.
    It is a clear resin done in a controlled environment. They make up according to dimensions supplied
    If it was me , I would approach them to make up the units - At least there would be warranties etc
    They have the experience in that particular field vs you having to pay all sorts of school fees

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    I was involved with swimming pool led lights many years ago. We used to make AimFlow lights in the following way:

    One circular PCB full of 5mm leds. Another circular pcb board below with a bridge rectifier, voltage regulator etc. The two boards were put into the white or clear Aimflow ball. The ball was then filled with resin covering the pcbs but the tops of the leds were allowed to stick out. If one covers the entire led with resin then the light is diffused too much.

    I still have lots of them and their parts lying around.

    We made 7 and 9" lights as well.

    The whole business of encasing the leds in resin does have problems - the resin tends to degrade and become coated with muck over time. We also had to fit a gland for the wire because the water would seep in along the boundary between the wire and the resin (probably due to different shrinkage rates)

    We also did color changing lights with little pic controllers - Although we never developed the ability to synchronize multiple lights I came up with a way to do it after we left the market. One or two big companies pushed all the little guys out so we never took it any further.

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    The reason I am thinking it might actually be better to use a re enterable gel because of the flexibility.
    Comments are based on opinion...not always facts....that's why people use an alias.

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    The challenge got real ... so I decided to call a friend.

    There is a concrete slab above the bathroom ... just to make the challenge a little more difficult ... fortunately I did the conduit installation so there were additional conduits installed for just in case.

    The power will be fed from the switch outside the bathroom to relay in the roof for the pump and to a junction box in the middle of the bathroom ... where a 12 safety supply will be installed ... from the safety supply to the RGB controller ... from the controller fed with 3 m of 1.5 mm x 4 core cabtyre to a junction box above the shower where it will spit 2.5 and 2.5 m down to the sides ... instead of using an aluminum U channel ... a 16x16 pvc channel will be used ... sealed against the ingress of water.

    This is how any project should be designed ... you read the SANS regulations and take all the points into consideration and create the safest method to achieve the goal.

    What have we learnt from all of this ... I believe and it was confirmed that the reason you cant find a 12 V IP rated strip light unless you sell a kidney and even then you would need to take into consideration the amount heat generated by a 12 VDC strip (14W) which will cause discolouring of the resin/epoxy used over a period of time.

    This could be why you can only get 24 V and higher IP rated strip lights.

    Installing a 24/230 IP rated strip light around the inside lip of a pool is not legal and just because the lighting supplier or customer tells you it is doent make it right.

    The reason we spend years training to become sparkies is so that we know better ... and that people is going to be what the judge will point out if you are ever put in the witness box.

    Make sure you are a member of the CYA club ... dont worry about the DOL and ECA and ECB and all that crap.
    Comments are based on opinion...not always facts....that's why people use an alias.

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    Just when I thought I had figued it all out ... try find a 230/12 VDC constant voltage driver with an isolation transformer.

    swimming poo lights are 12 VAC ... so it easy to find a 230/12 VAC isolation transformer ... now I need to figue out how to make the 12 VAC side DC and constant voltage.

    A question ... why in the sans regs do they refer to low voltages AC 12 VAC and 50 VDC.

    If you look at it like that it means you could use a 24-50 VDC light in zone 0 ?

    I tried phoning around and spoke to a few lighting suppliers ... it made me realize how little people know about all this type of stuff.

    Please correct me if I am wrong ...but an IP rated transformer doesnt make it a isolation transformer.

    It seems that most people feel that you can throw a 24 VDC light into a pond ... so long as it has an IP 67 rated driver ?
    Comments are based on opinion...not always facts....that's why people use an alias.

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    Quote Originally Posted by ians View Post
    Just when I thought I had figued it all out ... try find a 230/12 VDC constant voltage driver with an isolation transformer.

    swimming poo lights are 12 VAC ... so it easy to find a 230/12 VAC isolation transformer ... now I need to figue out how to make the 12 VAC side DC and constant voltage.
    If the driver is marked as SELV then you can use it as long as it is outside the zone 0

    Have a look at the previous thread you had going
    https://www.theforumsa.co.za/forums/...d-strip-lights

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    Diamond Member Justloadit's Avatar
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    Contact Mantech, they have a bunch of Mean Well Isolated constant current LED supplies..
    If you check the data sheet, it shows that it is isolated.

    They also have it in 24V and 36V DC.
    They used to have a better range in the past.
    Victor - Knowledge is a blessing or a curse, your current circumstances make you decide!
    Solar pumping, Solar Geyser & Solar Security lighting solutions - www.microsolve.co.za

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