RGB 12V LED Strip Light getting hot
- Thread starter KennyT6
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- led strip lighting
Got some pics of what you have.
How hot are we talking?
what controller?
Can you dim them down?
How hot are we talking?
what controller?
Can you dim them down?
Hi, I can dim them on the phone app
if I put my finger on the diffuser you can just about stand the heat its not melting the diffuser but I've never left them on more than an hour
I've got one strip without without a diffuser and I can't touch that
Strips came per cut 1meter long
See below pictures
if I put my finger on the diffuser you can just about stand the heat its not melting the diffuser but I've never left them on more than an hour
I've got one strip without without a diffuser and I can't touch that
Strips came per cut 1meter long
See below pictures
Can you get a better pic of the controller?
That's interesting they where ordered and invoiced 12 volt never thought of reading the tape to check
Thanks for your help I we re -order
Once you get the right voltage tape... is the channel you are fitting them in plastic or aluminium?
If you can, use aluminium as it will help heatsink them.
Also most of the controllers remember settings so I'd advise setting brightness to about 90%. You'll hardly notice the difference but you should get much better life out of the LEDs - manufacturers tend to push them very very hard by default as they don't care if they don't last beyond the warranty but brighter is perceived as better...
If you can, use aluminium as it will help heatsink them.
Also most of the controllers remember settings so I'd advise setting brightness to about 90%. You'll hardly notice the difference but you should get much better life out of the LEDs - manufacturers tend to push them very very hard by default as they don't care if they don't last beyond the warranty but brighter is perceived as better...
Just supply 5v - no need to change strips. Plenty of voltage droppers available from that giant in the East.
I have somehting similar, it plugs into the USB output, which drops the 12V battery output to 5V USB standard.
These days it won't be a transformer but a small buck/boost converter or an SMPS.
A lot of the small LED strip controllers (the kind in heat shrink) will often work over the voltage range 5-24v but won't alter the voltage. It's simple enough to get the low current 5v the microcontroller needs and the dimming is done by PWM and over that range doesn't care about voltage.
If you do get a converter try not to buy on price. Most of the advertised current capacity is for ideal conditions fully heatsinked from the driver chip datasheet. It's unlikely to get anywhere near that without failing or getting very hot and many designs it's impossible to actually heatsink. Aim to overspec your current rating and test on the bench first - comfortably warm like a winter handwarmer is fine, any hotter avoid.
If you want reliability then look out for Pololu branded as these are well respected in the robotics/RC modelling community. Not as cheap but if installing it's what I'd use. You might recognise the modules as they are often cloned, some of the clones from eBay can be very good, some are terrible, you never know what grade of components have been used as they all look the same on the outside.
A lot of the small LED strip controllers (the kind in heat shrink) will often work over the voltage range 5-24v but won't alter the voltage. It's simple enough to get the low current 5v the microcontroller needs and the dimming is done by PWM and over that range doesn't care about voltage.
If you do get a converter try not to buy on price. Most of the advertised current capacity is for ideal conditions fully heatsinked from the driver chip datasheet. It's unlikely to get anywhere near that without failing or getting very hot and many designs it's impossible to actually heatsink. Aim to overspec your current rating and test on the bench first - comfortably warm like a winter handwarmer is fine, any hotter avoid.
If you want reliability then look out for Pololu branded as these are well respected in the robotics/RC modelling community. Not as cheap but if installing it's what I'd use. You might recognise the modules as they are often cloned, some of the clones from eBay can be very good, some are terrible, you never know what grade of components have been used as they all look the same on the outside.
As before....
A better pic will tell us if it's a 5-24v controller input?
And if its output runs 5v or 12v strings.
So that controller supports input voltage of 5-12v.
Which is fine.
So does it's drive 5v strings or 12v strings?
Got a link or spec for it.?
Which is fine.
So does it's drive 5v strings or 12v strings?
Got a link or spec for it.?
Whilst I can't find the exact one I'm 99% certain that it will just be passing the same voltage through.
In this case the 5-12v DC means it will work and run LEDs in that voltage range, not that it will take 12v in and put 5v out.
In this case the 5-12v DC means it will work and run LEDs in that voltage range, not that it will take 12v in and put 5v out.
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