led light bar mounted on outside

[Brianw]

What would be the best course of action to mount 6 led light bars on the side of my shop. They are super bright, 12 volt light bars such as this:
http://m.ebay.com/itm/121306140669?nav=SEARCH

What 120 to 12volt converter to use? I have no experience with converters.

 

[Outlander]

Interesting idea. Water proof, low cost, very illuminating.

If you keep the power supply inside and run a low voltage wire outside, maybe you could use a 12 volt bench power supply like this:

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/pyramid-power-supply

or better quality.

 

[Mustang51js]

Just need a transformer

 

[404]

And a diode bridge and capacitors to make the AC from the transformer into smooth DC....

 

[Speedy Petey]

With so many proper AC lights available why would you hack something like that into building wiring?

 

[cybrdyke]

It wouldn't be very practical for shop lighting. But if you decide to continue, then it would be wise to ask THEM what converter requirements are. They know exactly which LEDs are in there and what the optimum voltage/current is for them. At least they should know. If they dont respond, then walk away and find another manufacturer of a similar product.
Good luck.
CD

Edited: Sorry...didn't see that you were thinking of putting them OUTSIDE. Duh.
Anyway, interesting idea. I'd be interested to see the results. Looks like they would shoot quite far. Make sure you dont make your neighbors mad!
CD

 

[Beemer533]

Just get a power supply like this:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FGQ0FAS/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[ForceFed70]

Got an old PC laying around? You could use the power supply from it.

 

[Dick in Wisconsin]

300watts. How many amps will that draw? What is the formula?

Watts/volts = amps????

300/12 = 25. Is that right? That is lots of amps, I think.

 

[Bondo]

With so many proper AC lights available why would you hack something like that into building wiring?

Ayuh,... My though exactly,... I've been puttin' Led spotlights in my 120v units,...

From the listin' posted,... Voltage: 10-30V DC

That lightbar would probably be brighter at 30v DC, than 12v DC,....

 

[Showkey]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Usually LED like that have a built in voltage regulators that allow a wide voltage range. So they will not be brighter at 30 volts.

I Used 9-32 volt flood LED lights for outside drive lighting. The goal was low voltage, mounted high in the trees, lighting over several 100 feet, able to be turned on/off from any location on the property.

Used LED lights from Amazon. Kawall brand 9 led , square weather tight housing.
Used a Schumacher 12 volt power supply. 2 at 6 amp each more than enough power for 7 lights. If I remember right they drew about 1.6 amp each which is less than the 27 watt listed.

Used a WEMO switch wifi control switch alllowing operation from any place on the planet with a smart phone, iPad etc.

KAWELL® 2 Pack 4.2" 27W Square Thin Type DC 9-32V 6000K 1800lm 60 Degree LED for ATV/Jeep/boat/suv/truck/car/atvs/fishing/Deck Driving light Off Road Waterproof Led Flood Work Light
by Kawell

 

[Kevin54]

I was watching X-Treme 4x4 on PowerNation last week or the week before and Ian was mounting LED light bars on top of a Jeep he was building, and they were super bright. I bought a small light at the swapmeet that has 8 LED's in it, and it is way brighter than my Maglite. The LED's put out a white light and brighter light than any incandescent bulb or quartzs Halogen.

I second on using a power supply out of an old computer. People leave computers run 24/7 and they go for years. All you have to do is wire a simple toggle switch in and mount somewhere.

I see a lot of battery chargers over at the ReStore for $10-$15 at times. You could probably use a battery charger. It's not like the floods are going to be burning 24/7, so with periodic use, I would say you could get by with a charger.

 

[Beemer533]

The ATX supplies will work (I've done it myself), but they require a bit more than just a switch to turn on.

They need to be "fooled" into turning on by emulating a mother board with a load on the 5v line. The old 20 pin style will work with a fairly low load, like 5-10 watts.

The more common 24 pin version that has been out for many years requires a higher load (potentially up to 10% of the supplies rated output) to regulate the output properly.

Here is a good tutorial for both types... http://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/blog/convert-atx-psu-to-bench-supply.html

Unless you have some of these lying around, it might be easier to just buy a power supply ready to go, like the one I linked to earlier for $33..

This post edited by the NSA

 

[Outlander]

Lots of tutorials for ATX power supplies on the web. I have one in the Can-Am garage for decorative trailer lights I have up on the wall.

 

[Brianw]

I have one of these light bars mounted on my Polaris ranger. Not sure what amp draw it is but it draws wayyy less then the factory headlights and the bar is 100x brighter.
I guess I need to figure up how many amps one draws then times by 6 to find what 120v to 12 volt converter would work. I want to be able to turn on them on from inside the shop.
FYI, closest neighbors are 3 miles away.

 

[gutted72]

If you guys use any kind of low voltage lighting around your house you know this is 12 volt lighting.
The lights are powered by a transformer plugged into a wall outlet. The transformer has a wattage rating on it. the higher the wattage the more lights.

So, you can buy a transformer that powers 600 watts, plug it into the wall, run one single low voltage wire around the whole building, connect all your lighting to this single wire and you are done.

Heck you can even hook up the photo cell and have the lights come on automatically at night and the transformers are designed to be left outside.

Simple, easy, can purchase anywhere. Done!

 

[Showkey]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

All true but most if not all low voltage lights like the stuff sold at Home Depot are 12 volt AC. The repurposed LED lights from the auto industry need a DC power source.

 

[Brianw]

Yep, these are 12-30v DC. Lights. Have 6 of them headed my way so I will get to play next week. These things are wayyy brighter then any common 120v outside light I have ever seen.