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Post by OldMan on Oct 10, 2020 15:49:05 GMT -6
See if you can pull out the first light- they might be like the old Christmas lights when one blows they all go off
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Post by Ken on Oct 10, 2020 16:46:45 GMT -6
The lines and lights seem to be kind of molded together... It does look like you could pull the line out of the bulb but I tried and you can't. Also, if I blew the first bulb and that makes it so the line doesn't light... the question is why did the first bulb go? Question 2 would be... wouldn't it just happen again? I'm definitely perplexed and mildly disappointed because I was looking forward to installing them and seeing how they looked. My only guess is that they were not meant to be powered by 12V. All that said, I have nothing to lose by chopping off the first light and trying to power it up again starting with the second light. But if that worked it would seem like a mystery as to why.
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Post by OldMan on Oct 10, 2020 16:56:54 GMT -6
The transformer is 12v AC the bulbs run on DC . It might not be the first light that blew- can you check all of the blubs and see if one is burnt or blackened or looks different from the others-
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Post by Ken on Oct 10, 2020 16:59:42 GMT -6
The transformer is 12v AC the bulbs run on DC . It might not be the first light that blew- can you check all of the blubs and see if one is burnt or blackened or looks different from the others- I did look at the bulbs but it's tricky because the casing has a bunch of bubbles in it. I did not see any that looked black. Also, I just cut the line between light 1 and 2 and then connected that line to the 12V transformer, plugged it in and turned it on... nothing. It be dead. I must have smoked the bulbs.
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Post by OldMan on Oct 10, 2020 17:22:55 GMT -6
The transformer is what caused the lights to burn out- use the solar panel or a 12 VC DC power source. take a 9v battery and hook it up to the cut-off light and see if gives off a dim light.
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Post by Ken on Oct 10, 2020 17:31:05 GMT -6
The transformer is what caused the lights to burn out- use the solar panel or a 12 VC DC power source. take a 9v battery and hook it up to the cut-off light and see if gives off a dim light. I will try that and I understand what you are referring to... the solar panel charges the 12V, DC battery and the bulbs are meant to run on that. I connected it to a 12V AC line and that's what damaged them. I just went back and looked at some of the documentation and I think I'll order another one of these and actually use the solar panel. I generally would be against that because solar seems dilute and weak when you really need it. But it says that the bulbs will illuminate for a good 6-7 hours on a full charge which is WAY more than they would be used. Even on a cloudy day it says that they will illuminate for 3-4 hours which is good. I wonder if I should mount it inside or out. If it's outside, that's where the switch is located so you would have to go outside to turn them on. If I put it inside it would be protected (although it says it's all-weather) and it will still get plenty of sun and then the switch would be inside too. I think I'll just order another one and see how it goes.
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Post by OldMan on Oct 10, 2020 17:32:35 GMT -6
I know from trying to fix old led Christmas lights that the wiring isn't as simple as it looks. bulb three might get it positive from bulb one and send out its negative to bulb six
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Post by Ken on Oct 10, 2020 17:36:28 GMT -6
I know from trying to fix old led Christmas lights that the wiring isn't as simple as it looks. bulb three might get it positive from bulb one and send out its negative to bulb six Oh yeah, don't even get me started on that. These do look relatively simple wiring-wise but I am over this... $14 to learn that these were not meant to work on my low-voltage system. I'm good with it. I just ordered another one and I will install them. Also, I forgot that I ordered these switches so maybe place the panel outside, run the line inside to the switch and mount the switch in an easy-to-reach spot. Hey, thanks for your help on this... I'm not sure I would have found these. I struck out today but I think I have a plan when these arrive again. Cheers.
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Post by jimdkc on Oct 11, 2020 16:46:49 GMT -6
The transformer is what caused the lights to burn out- use the solar panel or a 12 VC DC power source. take a 9v battery and hook it up to the cut-off light and see if gives off a dim light. This ^^^ You could probably run that string (well, not THAT string, but one like it) from the transformer if you added a diode or a bridge rectifier. (I'll spare you the gory details... unless someone is really curious!)
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Post by Ken on Oct 11, 2020 22:07:56 GMT -6
The transformer is what caused the lights to burn out- use the solar panel or a 12 VC DC power source. take a 9v battery and hook it up to the cut-off light and see if gives off a dim light. This ^^^ You could probably run that string (well, not THAT string, but one like it) from the transformer if you added a diode or a bridge rectifier. (I'll spare you the gory details... unless someone is really curious!) I was out there today trying to determine the best place to put the panel and I think I'm going to mount it inside the greenhouse near the ceiling and then just run the lights along the top beam. I'm still twitchy about trusting that the solar panel will create enough juice but I'm willing to try it for $13. If the lights are dim or they don't stay lit for longer than 10 minutes I'll be looking for other options.
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Post by Ken on Oct 12, 2020 13:12:02 GMT -6
I had another thought about this. I still have the original solar panel and when the new string gets here I will then have 2. Is there a way for me to use both panels inline and generate more power for the lights or no? There is the panel and then a line running out of the panel which is connected directly to the bulbs without any connectors. Could I connect both panels to the line so there is a larger amount of battery power or do I risk messing something up? I would rather not blow up another string of lights.
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Post by shaggaroo on Oct 12, 2020 15:45:13 GMT -6
I had another thought about this. I still have the original solar panel and when the new string gets here I will then have 2. Is there a way for me to use both panels inline and generate more power for the lights or no? There is the panel and then a line running out of the panel which is connected directly to the bulbs without any connectors. Could I connect both panels to the line so there is a larger amount of battery power or do I risk messing something up? I would rather not blow up another string of lights. So... don't connect them in series, as it will double the voltage output. You could however, connect them in parallel, which would double the amperage available.
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Post by Ken on Oct 12, 2020 16:09:40 GMT -6
I had another thought about this. I still have the original solar panel and when the new string gets here I will then have 2. Is there a way for me to use both panels inline and generate more power for the lights or no? There is the panel and then a line running out of the panel which is connected directly to the bulbs without any connectors. Could I connect both panels to the line so there is a larger amount of battery power or do I risk messing something up? I would rather not blow up another string of lights. So... don't connect them in series, as it will double the voltage output. You could however, connect them in parallel, which would double the amperage available. Thanks Shaggaroo. I might need you to explain that to me like I'm 4 years old. Here's a shot of the solar panel with 2 thin wires... And here is the string of lights. The wiring looks to be simple... two wires going to each bulb in series... What would the wiring look like if I had 2 solar panels and one string of lights?
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Post by shaggaroo on Oct 13, 2020 6:55:40 GMT -6
So... don't connect them in series, as it will double the voltage output. You could however, connect them in parallel, which would double the amperage available. Thanks Shaggaroo. I might need you to explain that to me like I'm 4 years old. Here's a shot of the solar panel with 2 thin wires... And here is the string of lights. The wiring looks to be simple... two wires going to each bulb in series... What would the wiring look like if I had 2 solar panels and one string of lights?
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Post by Ken on Oct 13, 2020 7:12:37 GMT -6
Ah, okay. I think that's what I had in mind. Take a wire from one panel and connect that to a wire to the other panel and then that goes to one line of the lights. Same on the other side... panel-to-panel-to-lights. I just want to make sure I don't do something that will fry these again. They're arriving today, apparently. What I might do is just put them in the greenhouse with the panel facing the sun and see how well it charges and how the lights look. If it looks like one panel will work fine, I may just do that. If it looks like I need extra power, I'll connect the other panel parallel. Thanks Shaggaroo!
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