SpecUp the Amps on a cheap outdoor lightstrip

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My partner bought these lights from a hardware store.

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They came with this solar panel as a power supply and it is not a very good one. The bulbs barely shine and it doesn’t last long.

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It uses this waterproof connection.

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I used my multi meter to check it drove 9.5v

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Plan

  1. Steal the waterproof connector off the solar panel.
  2. solder that to a superior power supply with equivalent volts but superior amps. (Like 9v 3a)
  3. Solder a beefy switch in series.

Questions:

This is going outside. I do have a water safe wall power point out in the back I can use.
is there any such thing as a water-safe power supply.

I’d love a dimmer but I doubt a potentiometer would love drawing 18w.
Any other ideas?

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Hey Pix,

There is indeed such thing as a water-safe power supply! Typically anything rated IP6X is fine, often you can get away with IP5X.

I’d be happy to recommend some, (external LED drivers often include dimming solutions, you are wise to want something other than a resistor!), I just had one questions first.

Are these LED lights? I’m assuming, given the low wattage and restriction on other light types, that they are. Better safe than sorry though!

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Yeah they are. Good clarification.
I got close up.

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Those are some lovely bulbs. You definitely want to go with a supply with an IP rating, some may not have this so you don’t know if its been tested.

The first digit though is for solids. For liquids, it’s the second digit you care about. You can read up a bit more here about the IP code. Ratings can often be found in a products datasheet. We can have a look if something of ours that you are interested in doesn’t have one.

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Is this something CE could sell me?
If not, where does one look?

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Hi Pix,

In the 9V range unfortunately we don’t have anything off the shelf, but we do have DC-DC Adjustable Step-down Module 5A 75W which could be paired with Plastic Project Box Enclosure Waterproof Clear Cover - 6.61x4.72x 2.17 inch and a Cable Gland PG-7 size - 0.118 to 0.169 Cable Diameter - PG-7 to get a buck converter with the juice that you need and a waterproof enclosure for it to live in.

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What’s stopping me from buying a waterproof container and chucking a 9v battery in there?

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Hi Pix

Nothing if you don’t want it to last long.
depends of course on what sort of current is required to light these globes to an acceptable level. To date no one has mentioned this.
Cheers Bob

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Yeah true.
I guess the only way to figure that out is to just grab a 9v battery and plug it in.
Then I can use my multi meter to measure the amps.

I’ll try that tonight.

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Hi Pix

If it is one of those little block 9V types and the globes need a fair bit of current the battery will probably die before you get anywhere. But try, you never know and all you can do is bugger up a battery.
Use your multimeter on the 10A range.
Cheers bob

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Just tying this one up.

I looked into a lot of waterproof systems but the problem I couldn’t solve is where can I put the cable such that it would be a tripping hazard.

In the end, I what worked great was just a good ol’ 9v battery. Way brighter.

Current draw on the hole thing was about 250ma so a 9v Battery should get me 4 hours of light.
That’s not super impressive but it’s actually all I need, I’m not out there all the time and a 9v battery is easy to plug in and take out.

So for now here is my excellent design.

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And I’ll probably upgrade to a barrel jack.

Nothing is more rainproof than taking the power supply back indoor when you’re done with it :man_shrugging: :umbrella: .

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Hi @Pixmusix,

Glad you found a good solution in the end.

I’m sure they’ll get a lot of use with the warmer weather we’ve been having lately as well!

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Looks very tidy!

How has this been working for you? Has 4 hours of battery life been sufficient?

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I’ve used it twice now. Once last night where we were out there for dusk which was like 30 minutes.
Another time I was experimenting and it maintained it’s brightness for 2 hours I think.
Same battery both runs.

Before I purchased the setup depicted above I was using a breadboard to connect the battery to the lights, a multi-meter in the middle, and it was all a bit messy. I’ll probably get out there more now that I have a more robust solution :slight_smile:

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