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KevinK
10-11-2013, 01:34 PM
Gust checking in here, hope someone can help me out


i want to put some led lights in the yard, not in a string i thing, gust one here, and one there kind off.

So I was thinking to run a 12 v line along the driveway, and than put a led where i want, this could be 5 or maybe 9 , all depends

Now I found these little drivers on ebay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/10pcs-3W-LED-Power-Driver-Input-Voltage-DC-12V-/390502331701?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5aebc0b535

So I had in mind to gust put one of these on the led where I want them.

However it douse not show the forward voltage ? Do I need to wory about this ?


i dont want to make a paralell string, as than Im set on the number of leds I need to put in, Im locking more for a flexable set up, whee I put some leds as the yard evolves.

Would not mnd adding several strings over time, however I do not forsee to cluster leds in bundels of 3


Any thoughts

mike31154
10-11-2013, 02:25 PM
Looks complex with a lot of fiddling and as you add LEDs over time, lengthening the series strings, you're going to have voltage/line loss. What are you thinking of using as a 12 volt power supply?

There are plenty of garden light LEDs available that are already rated at 12 Volts. You can also go with solar LEDs. Some of the solar stuff is kind of cheap & the batteries don't last, but you could set up a 12 volt system with a larger deep discharge battery that can be charged either by a good sized solar panel or a battery charger.

What you're considering with these drivers is certainly doable, but you'll have to encase the drivers in something to keep them dry and you'll be restricted to using 3 watt, 700 ma LEDs which will also need to be weather proofed.

KevinK
10-11-2013, 06:35 PM
Looks complex with a lot of fiddling and as you add LEDs over time, lengthening the series strings, you're going to have voltage/line loss. What are you thinking of using as a 12 volt power supply?

I was thinking of using a standard 12V power supply, and I do understand that there might be a V drop when the cable gets longer (I ca use a thicker cable)

There are plenty of garden light LEDs available that are already rated at 12 Volts. You can also go with solar LEDs.

i know, however a CREE cost $ 2.50 and lots of light, and all other garden lights are gust crap, no matter what you spend.

even the LED's you buy in store everywhere, thy are $25 and up for one bulb, and you get maybe 45 L/Watt



Some of the solar stuff is kind of cheap & the batteries don't last, but you could set up a 12 volt system with a larger deep discharge battery that can be charged either by a good sized solar panel or a battery charger.

What you're considering with these drivers is certainly doable, but you'll have to encase the drivers in something to keep them dry and you'll be restricted to using 3 watt, 700 ma LEDs which will also need to be weather proofed.

the LED will go in stainless housing for garden lights, so everything is protected as it should, it is gust that i'm locking for flexibility.

se when I would go with a string in par. than I'm kind of set in how many LED's I need to put in, however I want to create several zones in my yard, some holding 3 led's on a little 12V driver (lets say 12V 15 watt) and than in the driveway a 12V 40 watt and such.


on the end I thought ok these little drivers would be perfect, under driving the LED at 700 Ma in stead of full 1.000 Ma, however it douse not state the output V, and that is my uncertainty.

so when i have a 12V power supply like the one below, and than 10 led's on it, how would that lock like ?
http://www.ledgroupbuy.com/180w-48v-3-75a-dc-power-supply/



se when I build my 200+ led above my tank, I knew, my driver was ... V at 700 Ma, so I could run x number of LED's.

now these little drivers from e-bay have 700 Ma, and 12V in, but would thy also have 12V out at 700 MA frying my LED's, or do I see it wrong ?

mike31154
10-12-2013, 03:08 AM
My guess is that the eBay drivers are designed to output a forward voltage of 3 volts or so, which is the typical forward voltage of a single LED. But that's just a guess. These appear to be constant current drivers, so output voltage is really not much of a concern. You feed the driver 12 volts DC and it produces 700 mA of current. So provided the LEDs you use can handle 700 mA, you're good to go. There's a limit to how many LEDs that little driver can run though, but in your case, if you're only running one off each driver, should be no problem. Hope that makes sense.

Edit: as far as parallel vs series set ups, you're really not restricted to the number of LEDs either in parallel or series. It's the power supply that limits the number of LEDs you can hook up in any given configuration. If you want keep things really simple all you need is a big enough 12 VDC power supply and you can keep adding MR16 12 volt LED garden lights until the cows come home. The MR16 LED bulbs already have the driver built in to run at 12 volts. MR16s are available with LEDs from one to four. They're also available on eBay for a very good price, as are the sockets they plug in to.


This is a 4 watt MR16 bulb that runs on 12 volts DC. If you have a 100 watt 12 VDC power supply, you can run 10 of these safely, in parallel.https://ojcrhq.blu.livefilestore.com/y2p3wXY3AGB1ihwHrV_C_eKDt4UmAML-Xfs_BKldt2e-LHhlS__EyTod1nFLORWVlPghUO2hekI_IrxLBjV8jnqUbkA7Xi tN_enRtTRkARZNw8/P1040396e.JPG?psid=1

https://ojcrhq.blu.livefilestore.com/y2pwIaq77pV32ZPLrzqlqJOFtROFg3fS3pLHMA8tuTFzbd3hQv om41XO6wIZl5IyTK9uu_3TccIBd2Ai1NaJ_zF94MvNPpXrZ9HU aDWLvT0BrE/P1040398e.JPG?psid=1

StirCrazy
10-12-2013, 03:26 AM
I think for accent lighting you are crazy going with 3 watt LEDs, thoes are more of a flood light, look at most outdoor LED fixtures and they use anywhere between 1 and 5, 5mm LEDs

here is a web site I use a lot to get replacment bulbs and other things for non tank releated projects.

http://www.superbrightleds.com/

Steve

mike31154
10-12-2013, 03:26 AM
Sorry, ran out of Edit time on the last post. Meant to say you can run up to 25 of the 4 watt MR16 LEDs with a 100 watt 12 VDC power supply. My math evidently sucks.

KevinK
10-12-2013, 01:52 PM
I think for accent lighting you are crazy going with 3 watt LEDs, thoes are more of a flood light, look at most outdoor LED fixtures and they use anywhere between 1 and 5, 5mm LEDs

here is a web site I use a lot to get replacment bulbs and other things for non tank releated projects.

http://www.superbrightleds.com/

Steve

Driveway is 200 feet, 15 feet wide, and no light at all, also want to put some along trees ((20 to 50 feet tall)

The house sits on a acre ofland with panoramic serounding, so in the evening, I need somepop o highliht trees and other plant borders. And the swimpond already is 40 feet, o 8 little solar leds lok like a labding strip, thy dont light up the pond.


i,m going to order the ebay drivers, as thy are only $1 each, and play around, thanks for the input,

Kevn

StirCrazy
10-12-2013, 04:07 PM
ok didn't realize you wanted to light it up, thought you were just defining.
if your going to play around I would also look at stuff like 1 watt bridglux leds. if they throw enough lights for areas then you can get a lot more on a string off a single driver.

I would think two rows of 1 watts down a driveway would light it right up.

Steve

mike31154
10-12-2013, 06:54 PM
Yeah, for the price it's certainly worth giving the drivers a shot, they can always be used elsewhere. If you're looking to up light trees, there are 10 watt LED floods available that run on 12 VDC. You can also get them as AC voltage models, using household power. They're waterproof & made for the outdoors, you don't need an extra driver since it's built in. My DIY 10 watt multichip aquarium fixture uses all 10 watt LEDs hooked up in parallel supplied by two 12 VDC power supplies & manual dimmers. One of the reasons I chose the 10 watt multichip LEDs is the forward voltage for most of them is in the 9 to 12 VDC range, making it easy to find power supplies. I realize constant current drivers would be safer, but the fixture has been running for close to two years with no burn outs (I'm underdriving the LEDs, keeping voltage below 9VDC through the dimmers).

Check it out, might another option or supplement. Like you said, maximum flexibility. These can be had on eBay as well, just happened to find the link below useful due to the info & description.

http://superiorledbulbs.com/light-advice/10-watt-led-waterpoof-outdoor-security-floodlight/

KevinK
10-12-2013, 09:53 PM
Yeah, for the price it's certainly worth giving the drivers a shot, they can always be used elsewhere. If you're looking to up light trees, there are 10 watt LED floods available that run on 12 VDC. You can also get them as AC voltage models, using household power. They're waterproof & made for the outdoors, you don't need an extra driver since it's built in. My DIY 10 watt multichip aquarium fixture uses all 10 watt LEDs hooked up in parallel supplied by two 12 VDC power supplies & manual dimmers. One of the reasons I chose the 10 watt multichip LEDs is the forward voltage for most of them is in the 9 to 12 VDC range, making it easy to find power supplies. I realize constant current drivers would be safer, but the fixture has been running for close to two years with no burn outs (I'm underdriving the LEDs, keeping voltage below 9VDC through the dimmers).

Check it out, might another option or supplement. Like you said, maximum flexibility. These can be had on eBay as well, just happened to find the link below useful due to the info & description.

http://superiorledbulbs.com/light-advice/10-watt-led-waterpoof-outdoor-security-floodlight/


thing is, I do have lots of LED's already above my tank,

when I build it, 2 years back, I build it like 50/50, as our LFS did not had enough RB.

as i had spend lots already, thats where it got stuck a bit.


now, with about 110 white and 110 blue, I found a trade off with my wife, I take white led's off the tank, and put RB in, some green red and violet.

when you se the trend nowerdays, it is not so much anymore how manny LED's you have above a tank, the trend is what is in the LED's, as some say the radions are ok to spread about 3x3 feet, meaning on my 6 feet tank, that would only be 2 units, and that means way less LED's that 220.

so now I want to mod the LED frame a bit to have 4 sets in there, with only12 white per set, 12 blue, 10 RB and than 2 red, 2 green and 2 violet.

so I havel lots of white led's left, and that is why I want to se how I re-use them, as no one is giving a $ for used LED's.

I can snap them from the heat sink, and way i go.


i will give it a shot, worst thing I have to get some of the $ 15 meanwell drivers, and cluster them on strings in stead of here a led and there. this would ask for some more whiring, but ok.

I will try the little drivers at $ 1 first, and if that is not working to my liking, i move to the other drivers.

thanks all for your input, it might take a while to get the ebay drivers in, when I have it running, i will let you know

StirCrazy
10-14-2013, 02:33 PM
one thing, don't forget to order individual heat sinks for the leds you are using for landscaping.

Stee