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Post by Ken on Oct 3, 2020 10:00:13 GMT -6
I have a bit of electrical sorcery but it has its limits. Picture this: I have a low-voltage system outside in the backyard and all of the fixtures are LED. I learned early on that mixing conventional fixtures with LED is a no-no so I swapped out all fixtures on one transformer and just did it in stages. When I put the greenhouse up I put two deck lights on the floor and those are tapped into a low-voltage line that runs nearby. But I was thinking about running a 'string' of lights along the ceiling beam of the greenhouse to give it a little more oomph. My wife also happens to be a fan of these string lights that you see in people's backyards. But all of the string lights I found were normal 120V plug-into-the-wall flavor. I contacted the guys at VOLT lighting (where I got all of my LED fixtures) and asked them about it and they told me that they do not know of any low-voltage string lights. So. We are tinkerers. Is there some kind of switch/converter/transformer kind of thing that would allow a 120V line of bulbs to get it's power from a low-voltage line or am I envisioning unicorns? They do make these strings in LED so that part is good. Now I just need them to run on low-voltage. Thanks gang.
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Post by chils on Oct 3, 2020 12:47:32 GMT -6
I looked at those low-voltage systems and couldn't find anything except the garden lights with transformer or expansion setups for them. They didn't even list what the reduced voltage actually was. Hard to match anything up on them w/o any info.
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Post by Ken on Oct 3, 2020 13:12:02 GMT -6
When it comes to "landscape lighting", it appears that low-voltage means 12V. I checked two of my transformers and I also looked one up online and all three say 12V. So is there something that would allow bulbs meant for 120V to be used on a 12V line or am I just making this up? I have no idea if the bulbs are specific 120V bulbs or if they can be run on a low-voltage line. I also assume that there is no such thing as a 12V-to-120V converter type of thing. That sounds unlikely. I was just at the Target and saw strings of very fine, decorative lights. They were in a box so I couldn't see the power for them but I assume it's a standard household 120V plug... which is how 95% of the people buying them would use them. But I'm really surprised that no one makes a low-voltage string of lights.
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Post by bklmt2000 on Oct 3, 2020 13:28:28 GMT -6
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Post by chils on Oct 3, 2020 13:32:24 GMT -6
When it comes to "landscape lighting", it appears that low-voltage means 12V. I checked two of my transformers and I also looked one up online and all three say 12V. So is there something that would allow bulbs meant for 120V to be used on a 12V line or am I just making this up? I have no idea if the bulbs are specific 120V bulbs or if they can be run on a low-voltage line. I also assume that there is no such thing as a 12V-to-120V converter type of thing. That sounds unlikely. I was just at the Target and saw strings of very fine, decorative lights. They were in a box so I couldn't see the power for them but I assume it's a standard household 120V plug... which is how 95% of the people buying them would use them. But I'm really surprised that no one makes a low-voltage string of lights. Oh, that's easy then. All automotive lighting is 12V. Here: Go crazy!
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Post by Ken on Oct 3, 2020 13:35:07 GMT -6
I saw a few things labeled as "step down" but I'm not sure what that is doing for me. Something else I saw were devices made to plug into a car and then allow for something to be plugged into it like THIS. But it has a cigarette lighter-style plug on it which clearly would not work. But what if I cut that connector off and hardwired it directly to the 12V low-voltage line? I'm totally spitballing here. |
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Post by Leftympfrmde on Oct 3, 2020 13:38:06 GMT -6
I approve! A 200 watt capcity should be more then enough for your needs. |
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Post by Ken on Oct 3, 2020 13:42:45 GMT -6
When it comes to "landscape lighting", it appears that low-voltage means 12V. I checked two of my transformers and I also looked one up online and all three say 12V. So is there something that would allow bulbs meant for 120V to be used on a 12V line or am I just making this up? I have no idea if the bulbs are specific 120V bulbs or if they can be run on a low-voltage line. I also assume that there is no such thing as a 12V-to-120V converter type of thing. That sounds unlikely. I was just at the Target and saw strings of very fine, decorative lights. They were in a box so I couldn't see the power for them but I assume it's a standard household 120V plug... which is how 95% of the people buying them would use them. But I'm really surprised that no one makes a low-voltage string of lights. Oh, that's easy then. All automotive lighting is 12V. Here: Go crazy!
Mmm, interesting. Thanks Chils. This is wild because above my bar I have some hockey puck lighting that plugs into the wall but there is a small "pack" that must be a 120V-to-12V converter. That would mean that 12V hockey puck lights would be able to be connected directly to the 12V low-voltage line I already have in place without using the "pack" to convert it. Does that sound right? I have a spare transformer and I could probably test that out. I don't know that I would want the 'strip lights' because they're all too long. Can I cut those? I only need 8' of the strips. But the hockey pucks could be spaced out just so without having to worry about that. I will continue to noodle with it but I'm farther along than I was... that's for sure. Cheers. |
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Post by Ken on Oct 4, 2020 8:25:19 GMT -6
Look at THIS stuff. Low voltage. It plugs into the wall but my guess is that the black box is a 120V-to-12V converter. Do you think I could cut off the plug and just connect the wires directly to my 12V system? Also, this thing is 25' long and I need 8'. What would happen if I cut it? Would I break the circuit? I would probably cut it and then tape off the pieces for safety. |
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Post by chils on Oct 4, 2020 8:58:12 GMT -6
In the FAQs it says they cannot be cut
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Post by OldMan on Oct 4, 2020 9:03:32 GMT -6
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Post by Ken on Oct 4, 2020 9:13:22 GMT -6
In the FAQs it says they cannot be cut Ah, did not see that. Thanks Chils. |
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Post by Ken on Oct 4, 2020 9:16:10 GMT -6
That's what I was originally looking for (actual bulbs) but these are unavailable and the string is 48' so back to the idea of cutting it. But it *IS* 12V and it's LED. I'm sure that an electrical wizard would be able to do this but I don't know how comfortable I am trying to experiment with them. Thanks guys! |
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Post by Leftympfrmde on Oct 4, 2020 9:19:19 GMT -6
That's what I was originally looking for (actual bulbs) but these are unavailable and the string is 48' so back to the idea of cutting it. But it *IS* 12V and it's LED. I'm sure that an electrical wizard would be able to do this but I don't know how comfortable I am trying to experiment with them. Thanks guys! You could cut to length, use butt splices to splice the wires, and use weather proof heat shrink to cover the splices. That's the only way I see it happening. |
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Post by OldMan on Oct 4, 2020 9:38:39 GMT -6
That's what I was originally looking for (actual bulbs) but these are unavailable and the string is 48' so back to the idea of cutting it. But it *IS* 12V and it's LED. I'm sure that an electrical wizard would be able to do this but I don't know how comfortable I am trying to experiment with them. Thanks guys! scroll down below the link and there are other options. I can't see how there would be a problem cutting them to length you need. |
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