12.5 Volt Battery To 11 Volt LED Fixture

Tough crowd.

NinerBikes wrote:
He's in Mexico. Not the USA.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5x-New-48-SMD-Interior-Led-Light-Panel-Festoon-Dome-Door-Box-1210-/150918182263?pt=US_Car_Lighting&hash=item23236cb577

These are in the US, I plugged Mexico in for shipping, $2.99, 5 of the panels for $13. He posted about shipping from China, I have no idea what problems or costs he would encounter if it shipped from NJ.

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
...and the fixture was new and it was free to me.

You trashed the power supply, I didn't know if you would be willing to change to 12v leds and use just the fixture.

It was only an idea folks, it didn't cost you anything, don't let it stress you.

...and the fixture was new and it was free to me.

Argosy24 wrote:
There are several vendors who sell 12v LEDs panels for $3 or $4 on Ebay. That would be easier and probably cheaper than trying to cobble up some kind of regulator.

He's in Mexico. Not the USA.

There are several vendors who sell 12v LEDs panels for $3 or $4 on Ebay. That would be easier and probably cheaper than trying to cobble up some kind of regulator.

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Adding 3-amp rectifiers, in series, until the current dropped to sustainable levels. The light is lighting up a kitchen on a remote solar rancho like it is connected to public power. La señora is so ecstatic about this she has prepared ten pounds of dried ataulfo mangoes, from her orchard for me. The lamp replaces a single tube 12-volt fluorescent fixture. The 11-volt fixture is waterproof (not submersible). Great to have up in the ceiling above a stove with simmering pots.

Now comes the installation of 750-lumen 12-volt LED "placas". 6,000 K, three dollars ninety five cents each. The days of incandescent and fluorescent are now like, prehistoric.

More details on the 750 lumen 12 V LED's, por favor... What kind of amps do they draw? 1, 1.5, 2?

3 or 4 R5 Cree emitters should be able to pull that off running 700mah to 1000 mah @ 12 v. Not so sure how the newer U2's do for current draw and lumen output.

glad to see you got it working.

yes, LED improvements have been dramatic to say the least in the last year, and given what I know about what research is going on, I expect improvements to accelerate in the next few years and costs to drop dramatically.

good news for everyone. IMHO the demise compact florescents will be quick and for most of us thankful. I never did have ANY that would last even half as long as the halogen incandescents they replaced. Often times I would replace 4 CF by the time the adjacent incanscent, running identical hours failed.

I'm waiting for a LED replacement for the common 4ft 120V florescent tube. Would be a nice way to really reduce my KWH in the garage with 12 two tube 40W florescents.

Adding 3-amp rectifiers, in series, until the current dropped to sustainable levels. The light is lighting up a kitchen on a remote solar rancho like it is connected to public power. La señora is so ecstatic about this she has prepared ten pounds of dried ataulfo mangoes, from her orchard for me. The lamp replaces a single tube 12-volt fluorescent fixture. The 11-volt fixture is waterproof (not submersible). Great to have up in the ceiling above a stove with simmering pots.

Now comes the installation of 750-lumen 12-volt LED "placas". 6,000 K, three dollars ninety five cents each. The days of incandescent and fluorescent are now like, prehistoric.

MW,

What was the end result with this freebie 11v light and how did you solve the voltage problem?

Yeah I guess I am going to lower voltage to the 11.3 volt range by ganging 2 6-amp silicon 6-amp 200 PIV rectifiers across the 11-volt leads (one each lead) cross my fingers and hope for the best.

Example: Made In China LED light block. 20 USD. Most places will NOT ship to Mexico unless by FedEx, UPS, or DHL. Seventy dollars and change. Nearest depot eighty miles round trip. When shipment arrives in Mexico, ADUANA (the tax people) add THREE HUNDRED PERCENT TAX to the twenty dollars. Then on THAT total they add SIXTEEN PERCENT. Because its origin is fro China.

IN DOLLARS...

TWENTY plus Seventy shipping. SIXTY DOLLARS import duty, PLUS thirteen dollars value added tax.

20
70
60
13
___
163 dollars for a 20 dollar item because its origin is CHINA
And a three week wait to clear customs.


The Mexican Home Depot idea of LED lighting is a 7 watt fixture that costs sixty dollars. And Home Depot is a 600 mile round-trip.

Electronic components consist of odds-and-ends the local car stereo installer (140 mile round-trip) has and believe me a DC to DC converter or breadboard and components ain't in the cards.

At least the Cooper fixture is a massive piece of aluminum weighing 2 pounds. The emitter is thermally bonded to the housing. This is a seventy dollars USA Home Depot item that was given to me.

When we have a hurricane and power goes off for days, I would like to power a BiPAP and a nice lamp for several hours. Cloud cover can be so thick, it makes daytime indoor reading almost impossible. Can't wait to get home and get those Rolls batteries back on line. I've powered a 5000 BTU window air unit with them for four days, eight hours per day, had lights, etc.

But if this fixture throws a fit because of 11.2 rather than 11.0 volts input, then screw it if it can't take a joke...

Hello,
I'm an engineer with some semiconductor physics experience:

The diodes that are at the core of the LED are actually current devices- they drop a narrow range of voltage across the junction that is controlled by the current forced through them. The voltage drop is highly dependent on the junction temperature of the diode and the materials used to build it. If you directly drive that junction with a low impedance voltage source without a regulation device, the current will be way too high and the metals and doping in the semiconductor will migrate around and ruin the diode.

Low power LED's usually use resistors as current control devices, but lighting devices actually use a current regulator. By removing the regulator you risk frying the LED's in short order, or at least changing the color spectrum and lowering the light output. If you are going to change the power supply, make sure you actually design it to regulate the current instead of shooting for some nominal voltage.