LED strip lighting for shop and garages

[cordrayj1]

I thought I would post something up about this. I am slightly obsessed with LED's and everything about them, so I decided to order 2, 16.5 foot sections of Flexible LED strips off the internet. my plan is to have my garage completely lit by solar power. Harbor freight sells some solar panels that I can use for charging my deep cycle battery (marine battery I used on my boat before I blew the motor) so i think i will get one of those to mount on the roof (it is weatherproof). Since LED's dont draw much of anything, I figured this would be an awesome way to save some $$ over time, and have some really awesome lighting in the shop.

Best part is, I have spent only $16 on these, shipping will take about three weeks, but I can deal with that for the energy savings I am sure I will see. Ill post up some pics when I get a chance.

The reason I thought of this was because of the lighting I use on my boat. As far as what I have experienced w LED's, their longevity and ability to produce a large quantity of light will be perfect for this out of the way and semi permanent application.

this is similar to what i purchased (they come w 3M stick back down the back:

and i think i will mount using an MDF channel like this with a frosted lens (they also make a focused lens that I may try too) over it:

and they make different style channels so you can mount in corners and have the light coming from a 45 deg angle or straight down or whatever. pretty cool stuff. i guess im just a nerd and love this stuff.

 

[gaterose]

Wow that's cool, I almost ordered that same roll off of ebay last week... Thinking about doing my kitchen cabinets, where do you get the MDF channels?

 

[Doozi]

A friend of mine ran a strip of similar LEDs under all of his cabinets and used a dimmer switch... very nice results! He didn't use any type of channel, housing, or anything... just used double-sided tape right behind the lip under the face of the cabinet. You can't see them at all and they've been up for about a year or so. He's a bit of an LED freak... he has two LED lights above his 250-gallon reef tank that are unbelievable and almost all of his house lights are LED.

 

[cordrayj1]

Led is the new wave. W the proper knowledge you can make anything happen for cheap as shit

 

[zopperman]

Wow that's cool, I almost ordered that same roll off of ebay last week... Thinking about doing my kitchen cabinets, where do you get the MDF channels?

X2 - where do you find the MDF channels, i looked around but to no avail

 

[cordrayj1]

Ill post up all my links a la mañana for the led info

 

[gaterose]

...He didn't use any type of channel, housing, or anything... just used double-sided tape right behind the lip under the face of the cabinet. You can't see them at all and they've been up for about a year or so.

I thought about doing that, but didn't think about putting em right behind the lip. I was worried about how they'll look but I guess that would solve it.

He's a bit of an LED freak... he has two LED lights above his 250-gallon reef tank that are unbelievable and almost all of his house lights are LED.

As am I... what can I say, t4r made me a believer...

 

[cordrayj1]

LED Extrusions | LED Profiles | LED Lighting

1000bulbs.com

superbrightleds.com

 

[eddiebx]

Would any of you guys happen to know of a reliable source for these type of strip LEDs but waterproof? I've seen tons of sellers on ebay and am not quite sure which is good or not...they all look the same to me Thanks!

 

[cordrayj1]

Would any of you guys happen to know of a reliable source for these type of strip LEDs but waterproof? I've seen tons of sellers on ebay and am not quite sure which is good or not...they all look the same to me Thanks!

all three of those websites have the waterproof ones. look for the IP rating for them. they are typically the ones encapsulated in silicone. IP68 is submersible, IP67 is weather resistant.

 

[eddiebx]

Well don't I look like a fool, I don't know how I completely missed that last post with the links!

 

[cordrayj1]

Well don't I look like a fool, I don't know how I completely missed that last post with the links!

no prob homie. heres some 12" waterproof strips i wired up the the rear door light circuit. bright as helllll

 

[LittleCaesar]

Wow Johnny, that is bright. I guess they come in handy when all you have to do is to pop the hatch open, then drive the boat onto the trailer for those late nights trips at the ramp.

 

[Slow_T4R]

no prob homie. heres some 12" waterproof strips i wired up the the rear door light circuit. bright as helllll

That is sick. I'm an idiot at wiring, can you give me general directions on how you wired it? I want this for my 4Runner.

 

[cordrayj1]

That is sick. I'm an idiot at wiring, can you give me general directions on how you wired it? I want this for my 4Runner.

ill try to get some pics up later on.

basically, all i did was take the dome light for the rear hatch out, figure out which was ground and positive, and then just match em up. a little ring crimp on connector will prob work well for attaching the tail ends of the led leads to the screws. Also, when i ran the wires from each side back to the dome light, went ahead and spliced the two lights together so there were only 2 connections vs 4.

 

[cordrayj1]

Wow Johnny, that is bright. I guess they come in handy when all you have to do is to pop the hatch open, then drive the boat onto the trailer for those late nights trips at the ramp.

exactly! nothing worse than not being able to see at the boat ramp at 12 am. hahaa

 

[LittleCaesar]

Or when you need to launch at 5am in Virginia....

the irony of the whole story is the name of the boat. Priceless. No kidding with anglers needing rear LED lighting....

 

[cordrayj1]

should have the LED's today or tomorrow. Ill let yall know how it all turns out. and ill take pics. . .

 

[absolute yota]

I'm an electrical contractor and I use this same product to light displays, jewerly counters, inside crown mouldings, I'm going to get some for the 4runner too. They are bright but don't cast the light very far because there is no reflector Behind the led. The channels just make it dimmer in my experience.it's cool stuff, needs lots of connectors, 90 degree connectors and such but its cheap so buy lots and have extra, they can break easy there isn't much to them. Also make sure the surface you adhere to is clean and warm and leave them on to warm the glue up after you stick them.

 

[cordrayj1]

well i dont have the stupid LEDs yet. and no, im not using a channel (why would i spend more on that than the LEDS). im doing down lights. i will have 4 16' strips evenly mounted across the 16 ft of ceiling in the shop.

these will not be for working on stuff, they will primarily be for ambient lighting so i dont trip and impale myself on one of the many hazards in the back shop area.