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/diy/ - Do It Yourself

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1221042 No.1221042 [Reply] [Original]

Hey here's a quick question. I purchased two 5 meter 12V LED strips off Amazon to light up a room. I soldered them together in series because I didn't want to bother with them in parallel and because I didn't care about the voltage drop along the line.

To power the light strips, I purchased a 12V 10A 120W Transformer off Amazon. My question is, will this work? I know that if I used a 12V 5A 60W transformer, it will fail prematurely. That's why, I think if I use the 10A 120W one, I will be able to power both light strips without failure. I just wanted to ask /diy/'s opinion on this.

>> No.1221051

Depends on the current consumption per meter which depends on the density of the strip you've gotten. As long as it's less than 1A/m you're golden.
Curious, what are you mounting them to? I'm looking for ideas.

>> No.1221053

LED strips are usually rated in Watts per meter. Say if it's 14W/m, you will need 140W power supply. Actually, you need at least 30% more capable supply (I usually go for double when I do installations for clients) this makes 180W supply.

Also, do bother powering them in parallel, as the end of 10m strip will be lame ass dim. At least power them from both ends.

>> No.1221066

>>1221051
>>1221053

These are the ones I picked up from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01339FVZS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

What I did was buy a bunch of L-shaped molding from Home Depot at like 96 cents a foot and attached the lights to them. Then I attached it to the wall about 3 inches from the ceiling. It provides a lot of light in a previously very dark room.

>> No.1221070
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1221070

from the link you sent, each one uses 5A of current. If you use a 12V 10A, it should work. However I would go with a slightly higher current to make sure all LEDs are bright.

However if it is a transformer, it is probably AC. You need DC to run LEDs. If the transformer is DC you'll be fine.

TL;DR yeah it should work. The LEDs might not be the brightest they could be cause of the current consumption.

>> No.1221083

>>1221066
Thanks anon. You probably should power them in parallel, though. What values or markings are the resistors on them, and how many per section of 3?

>> No.1221133

>>1221042
>120W Transformer
Transformers are magnetically coupled devices and hence AC only. Calling a DC power supply a transformer doesn't make it one. Small DC supplies are often called (mains) adaptors.

The current at the feed point (10A in your case) may exceed the maximum current density for the thin copper traces. Be the first to find out. Pay attention to overheating/strange smell at the feed end.

>> No.1221209

>>1221042
I... don't think you soldered your strips in series, strictly speaking.
If you soldered them end to end, strictly speaking, you're still connecting all the other LEDs you 'added' to the end in parallel. (Well, in groups of 3 probably.)

Series would mean you'd need 24 volts to power your strip... and it'd be kinda awkward to wire those strips in series.

>> No.1221223
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1221223

>>1221209
>awkward to wire those strips in series
unless you run them in parallel :)

>> No.1221224

>>1221223
Huh... Never thought of that. :P

I'd seriously bother with parallel though if that's what I was doing... it wouldn't be that much more work, and would definitely give better results off the 12 volt power supply.

>> No.1221409
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1221409

>>1221042
Each strip is rated at 5A and you have 2 running at 10A so you have enough power.

However, running it in that long of a chain without splicing in power you will notice a significant voltage drop at the end of the strip and notice the lights at the end dimming. You should splice in power somewhere other than the beginning.

t. light autist