Model Boat Mayhem
Mess Deck: General Section => Chit-Chat => Topic started by: red181 on May 01, 2022, 09:22:58 am
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Hi all,
no idea where to post this question, so mods please move if needed! I know the knowledge is here!
I need some ellecy help. Missus has bought 10 solar powered stake lights, each is independent, not on a string. They where cheap, so I dont mind butchering a bit. However, they are in a shady garden, I need to convert to mains, as they are actually quite nice, so I need to wire together (series, parallel??) and feed with mains, so need a converter ac to dc and voltage step down. Ive googled this, but got lost, so please can someone advise in very simple terms. They are 1 x 1.2v 100ma cell and they flicker. don't want the end one in the line to be to be dim. Info also states 2/3aaa whatever that means, its a small cell, maybe the aaa refers to that? :-))
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https://www.google.com/search?q=convert+solar+lights+to+mains&oq=conert+solar+&aqs=chrome.2 (https://www.google.com/search?q=convert+solar+lights+to+mains&oq=conert+solar+&aqs=chrome.2)
Perhaps different ones to your google
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I'd like to tell you this is dead-easy. But I can't!
Lots of tricky issues - mains down to a 1.2v rechargeable, outdoor wiring (don't take mains outside without installation and certification by qualified electrician), voltage regulation.
Solar powered means rechargeable battery, so you'd have to ditch that.
To be honest, and with respect, if you're needing to ask then I'd suggest not trying. I've pondered it for a while but can't suggest an easy solution. Lots could go wrong without care.
Sometimes the answer to asking for road directions is "oh, you don't wanna start from here"
(2/3aaa, btw, simply means it's a cell which is 2 thirds of standard aaa size. Usually same diameter but shorter in length)
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I think you will have real problems, to be honest you would be better looking for mains out door lights, as the problems with transformers (double insulated IP rated for outdoor use) is only the start. sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
(ex electrician BTW)
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I think you will have real problems, to be honest you would be better looking for mains out door lights, as the problems with transformers (double insulated IP rated for outdoor use) is only the start. sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
(ex electrician BTW)
That was my gut feel too. I could sling summat together myself, but I'm a digital / software / *low* voltage (not mains) engineer. I've done a few 'well designed but amateur' projects (incl ip rated housings), but don't embark on it without a lot of knowledge.
As phil says, there's a lot of aspects, *especially safety*, which take a trained eye to be aware of. Its not worth your house/family :((
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The best way would be to keep everything at low voltage outside the building. Wire the batteries up in parallel with light insulated wires (only 1.2V so doesn't need much). Look for a simple mains charger for single cell Lithium cells (used for small electric powered aircraft) and put it on a timer for a couple of hours a day to charge the cells.
Jim
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I don't agree entirely with Phil. You don't need an IP rated PSU if it's fitted inside the house. But I might agree by the time you buy a decent spec cable of enough length and the rest you might find it just as much to buy a set designed so to be in the first place.
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appreciated the comments, I've not given up yet, reason being, the lights are not available anywhere as pre wired mains outdoor, they are flame (flickering) effect post lights, I've spent hours trying to find them as mains pre wired, they don't exist, and they are what she who must be obeyed wants!
To elaborate further, my simple thinking:
1.2v so lightweight wire, they would be plugged in indoors, so the transformer or whatever would not be outdoors. The rechargeable cell would be removed, is it worth the effort, I dpont mind the work, but dont want a potential fire!
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I don't know your proposed cable length an I am not an electrician but wouldn't voltage drop be an issue in a lengthy 1.2v cable?
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Something escapes me here from lower school basics but 1.2v x 10 is 12v (DC) So assuming you remove all the batteries etc. and loop them together in theory it might work apart from the flickering thing which might be intrinsic each part. Component shop will suppy a power regulator down to what it looks like you desire (DC side so relatively save). But I wonder whether you're onto the same hiding I have with my Mother who saw something somewhere -cant get it here, can't get the lights just right enough (2 years trying now).
...Sometimes it's just not worth effort uless you are in to hacking things.
Rich
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My wife bought last year a string of different coloured lights shaped like standard light bulbs but are in fact a string of leds on a wire in bulb shaped coloured containers, they are linked together over a couple of meters and powered by a solar power collector with a stake on the end, when I can I will photograph it.
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I bought a £1.99 set of Christmas lights run off a 2xAA battery box giving 3V. The 24 leds are wired in parallel, not series, so re-using the individuals for nav lights etc. is a lot simpler because it's the current draw that changes and not the voltage. With those I suppose you could use this sort of transformer indoors with only the cable outside?
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I finally gave up, and returned them to the disappointment of my missus, and we all know what pain that brings!
Searched everywhere for them as plug in, the only ones I can find, that are stake in the ground, mains are like spotlights which wont look very good in our small garden. Money back in the bank, so its off to component shop for some nimh packs instead, :embarrassed:
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Found some wired lights, but they run £42 each plus power and distribution kit.
https://www.lighting-direct.co.uk/locos-led-garden-light.html
These cheapies are on Amazon, but no recommendation for power supply or wiring.
You would have to bodge something together.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/LNDXING-Landscape-Waterproof-Driveway-Warranty/dp/B07KTKZF8N/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=LNDXING&qid=1652289086&s=electronics&search-type=ss&sr=1-3