LED Under-Cabinet Lighting Question

[aka Larry]

I bought a some of the LED strip lighting to replace the fluorescent ones I currently have under our kitchen cabinets.

My question for those who have done the same, how did you secure them? Yes, that have an adhesive backing, but I have read that once they get warm that doesn't hold up very well. Those silicone-type clips sold on Amazon get very poor user reviews. I'm just wondering what method others have used?

 

[Chevy-SS]

Subscribing - I am getting ready to do LED lights too.

 

[mark11]

Lee valley has aluminum track for led strip and you can get an opaque lens cover that snaps on. I bought one piece recently to check it out and it's nice stuff.

http://www.leevalley.com/en/Hardware/page.aspx?p=71702&cat=3,43349&ap=1

 

[sick71]

I have done a lot of kitchens with the stuff. I buy Quality LED tape with 3M adhesive and never had a problem. One customer bought his own stuff off of Amazon and it was falling off within a week. Went back and used 3M double sided sticky tape to reattach it and never heard from them again, guess it must have worked!

I have used aluminum track also, it came with 3M tape and a diffused lens to get the white dots out of the reflection of the granite. Worked good!!

3M tape all the way!

 

[RoyBell]

3m tape or the aluminum channel as stated above. The tape light doesn't get that hot.

 

[C2 Turbo]

Any brand names and are these dimmable?

 

[sick71]

Blaze is the brand I use. And yes it's dimmable if you buy the correct model.

 

[machsnell]

Any other good brands that might not be so expensive? Or is it a get what you pay for scenario? 16 feet of that tape is like 250 bucks.

It does have 200 lumens per foot which seems like it is really bright.


Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[aka Larry]

Any other good brands that might not be so expensive? Or is it a get what you pay for scenario? 16 feet of that tape is like 250 bucks.

I got mine from mine from Amazon and it was $13. They're probably too bright, but I can live with that or get a dimmer.

 

[RoyBell]

Check out https://www.superbrightleds.com/

We have ordered from them in the past. I outfited my whole camper with leds from them this spring.

We have bought tape light from them in the past as well. They are not the cheapest, but they are very helpful and their products seem to be good. They are cheaper than any of our local suppliers though. I have a job where we are putting in 1700' of cove lighting using the tape light. Local distributor wants about $25' vs $15' for the same stuff from Super bright leds.

The big box store stuff is just OK. We have used it in the past but I wasn't that impressed with it.

 

[mark11]

I've run a lot of LED strip, I love the stuff, and I don't think I ever paid more than 15 bucks a strip, usually less. I've bought from Ebay (Hitlights was the seller for some) and Amazon, all has been great. I've got strips going on 5 years old now with no issues yet and every strip I ever bought had 3M tape on it. In my experience if you clean the surface you're sticking to they will stick and stay stuck. I usually give a wipe with some iso alcohol and none of my strips have come off wood, drywall, low nap carpet, and aluminum.

I bought a bunch of proximity switches from Super Bright LED's that are great inside of cabinets, closets, etc. I've got strip run across the top and down the inside of a few closet walls with bifold doors. When I open the door the lights come and ind illuminate the entire closet and when the door closes the lights go off. I did the same inside my gunsafe and it made a huge difference.I stuck the strip to the carpet on the door wall down both sides and across the top. The proximity switch is stuck at the bottom of the box and is activated by the position of the door.

 

[rlitman]

3m tape is used to hold curtainwall glass windows to buildings (that get way hotter in the sun than your LEDs will), and moldings to your cars. It's perfect for this application. If you have tape failing, you just used the wrong stuff.

Those channels and diffusers look pretty awesome. I've got faceframe cabinets, so I mounted the strips about 1" back from the frame, and they're only visible if you look from underneath, so bare strips for me.

 

[aka Larry]

I bought a bunch of proximity switches from Super Bright LED's that are great inside of cabinets, closets, etc.The proximity switch is stuck at the bottom of the box and is activated by the position of the door.

Got a link to the switch you used? I was planning to use a simple set of magnetic contacts.

 

[mark11]

Got a link to the switch you used? I was planning to use a simple set of magnetic contacts.

https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...isensor-universal-proximity-switch/1116/2636/

 

[aka Larry]

https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...isensor-universal-proximity-switch/1116/2636/

Thanks Mark.

Thanks for all the replies guys. if the tape that's on this strips doesn't hold up it sounds like good old 3M tape for body moldings would be the ticket.

Another question regarding the electrical connections, when using these inside a cabinet and wanting the light to be activated with the door opening. My initial thought was to use a magnetic switch to break the 12VDC going to the lights. After more thought, I was wondering if it would be better to use a small relay to switch the A/C going to the transformer so it doesn't have to be on all the time.


Thoughts?

 

[rlitman]

My initial thought was to use a magnetic switch to break the 12VDC going to the lights. After more thought, I was wondering if it would be better to use a small relay to switch the A/C going to the transformer so it doesn't have to be on all the time.
Thoughts?

Well, magnetic reed switches are not made to handle much current. They can drive a relay, but I wouldn't be comfortable with one driving the LED strips themselves (ok, MAYBE one cabinet's worth). But are you planning on having a separate power supply feeding the lights in each cabinet? This is getting complicated fast!

Admittedly, I only only have LEDs in the undersides, and none in the cabinets.
What I did was put a switch on the wall that turns on an outlet in the space above the cabinets. A power supply plugs into that, which provides 12V to the LED strips. I have a galley kitchen, with a switch on one side by the sink, and on the other side by the range that operate each side independently.

Oh, and while all the cabinets have lights running across, behind the face frame, the two cabinets straddling the range also have a strip running front to back to provide extra light over the stove top (the microwave above also has lights). I didn't bother with this on the sink side, as I have plans for an overhead light fixture to work off the same switched outlet.

 

[RoyBell]

Well, magnetic reed switches are not made to handle much current. They can drive a relay, but I wouldn't be comfortable with one driving the LED strips themselves (ok, MAYBE one cabinet's worth). But are you planning on having a separate power supply feeding the lights in each cabinet? This is getting complicated fast!

Admittedly, I only only have LEDs in the undersides, and none in the cabinets.
What I did was put a switch on the wall that turns on an outlet in the space above the cabinets. A power supply plugs into that, which provides 12V to the LED strips. I have a galley kitchen, with a switch on one side by the sink, and on the other side by the range that operate each side independently.

Oh, and while all the cabinets have lights running across, behind the face frame, the two cabinets straddling the range also have a strip running front to back to provide extra light over the stove top (the microwave above also has lights). I didn't bother with this on the sink side, as I have plans for an overhead light fixture to work off the same switched outlet.

Thats a good idea.

 

[aka Larry]

Update on this.

I installed these LED strips that I purchased from Amazon. These connectors used to connect strips together are a real PITA, but I did get them to finally work. I made a mistake and used this 3A 12V power supply, which is not rated high enough for the wattage of LEDs (76W) as needed. Not to mention this power supply has a 2-3 second delay when powered up, which is really annoying.

I'm happy with the lighting, but I need a better power supply that is rated at 6A for these LEDs. Any of you have any personal recommendations? The reviews for these type power supplies are all over the map on Amazon.

 

[ishiboo]

Lee valley has aluminum track for led strip and you can get an opaque lens cover that snaps on. I bought one piece recently to check it out and it's nice stuff.

http://www.leevalley.com/en/Hardware/page.aspx?p=71702&cat=3,43349&ap=1

Woah, that's nice stuff. Going to get some for the RGB strips in my bedroom and kitchen!

 

[manwithtools]

superbrightleds is the way to go. They have a great selection and stand behind their product. We use them inside industrial control cabinets, for lighting on vision systems - heck I've even got their bulbs in my truck backup lamps.