TreTheDJ Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Two bulbs - 2 blue 1 white One bulb - 3 cool white Wired into a broken OTT-LITE. TinyGiant thanks for the great idea Quote Link to comment
uaiu Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Ok, so I have ordered my lights and all, but I still need to know how many of these bulbs can I wire to one extension cord? Is it safe to wire 30 bulbs to one extension cord? And if it is okay, would it be any less powerful wiring that many say compared to about half that amount of bulbs? Also should I have a grounded extension cord or does it not matter? I dont think the ground matters as from what I can tell the gu10 sockets dont have a spot for a ground to hook to, Im using a groundless extension cord. As far as how many bulbs I'm not sure. Im not planning on running more than 12 on one. Quote Link to comment
gonzalez78 Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Ok, so I have ordered my lights and all, but I still need to know how many of these bulbs can I wire to one extension cord? Is it safe to wire 30 bulbs to one extension cord? And if it is okay, would it be any less powerful wiring that many say compared to about half that amount of bulbs? Also should I have a grounded extension cord or does it not matter? When I'm doubt better be safe than sorry, i would suggest doing 2 cords with 15 each. I will be using 28 over my 40B but i will do 14 blue on one cord and 14 white on a separate cord. Quote Link to comment
Blennylover14 Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 are there any not from china? lol Quote Link to comment
babboa Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 are there any not from china? lol Sure there are http://www.ebay.com/itm/PAR20-GU-10-LED-Tr...#ht_3973wt_1227 You just pay 4-5 times as much for the convenience. And the bulbs will still be manufactured in china. Quote Link to comment
Blennylover14 Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Sure there are http://www.ebay.com/itm/PAR20-GU-10-LED-Tr...#ht_3973wt_1227 You just pay 4-5 times as much for the convenience. And the bulbs will still be manufactured in china. Just dont wanna wait for the shipping but oh well LOL Youd think they would have express shipping Quote Link to comment
babboa Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Just dont wanna wait for the shipping but oh well LOLYoud think they would have express shipping I think a few of the hong kong sellers offer ups or fedex. You will just have to search through quite a few listings to find them. I really don't understand the price difference between the HK sellers and US sellers. I could understand a markup (25%), but not 300%+. Unless there is some kind of tariff that is causing it, I can't believe someone hasn't started importing them in bulk and shipping from a stateside location for reasonable prices. Quote Link to comment
Monsieur Kam Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 are there any not from china? lol Not for the $4.50 a bulb unfortunately. I am hating that I have to wait a month to start this project. I will be glad when they arrive at my door, and it's like a birthday present to myself since they arrive around my birthday. Quote Link to comment
TinyGiant Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 if anyone feels like giving back a little to the OP (me) lol my band is raising funds for cd production.. we are past our minimum but need about $1000-1400 to get the whole thing paid for. a $1 or $2 from a bunch of people would get us there http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vessel...els-debut-album as far as lighting goes lol havent updated in a while . both tanks are still running the gu10s in my house, havent had a bulb go bad in a long time. things are growing well, fully colored and looking good. I can't keep up with the chaeto growth from these bulbs in the basement frag system. I also cant believe this thread has over 100k views now. pretty incredible! thats a lot of electricity saved! less bulbs being replaced. i'll try to clean my tank in the next couple days and do some more pics and a video.. its been a while since i've done a good update on the systems. Two bulbs - 2 blue 1 whiteOne bulb - 3 cool white Wired into a broken OTT-LITE. TinyGiant thanks for the great idea looks sweet. I bet witha heat gun you could bend a thin piece of plexi around that to hide the bulbs from view a little more Quote Link to comment
uaiu Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Thread has saved me enough money I think, pledged 10$ as a thanks Quote Link to comment
TinyGiant Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 thanks man! i cant wait to hold this album in my hand. its been a long process but its going to be well worth it Quote Link to comment
TreTheDJ Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 looks sweet. I bet witha heat gun you could bend a thin piece of plexi around that to hide the bulbs from view a little more Thanks, that is a nice idea. I'll have to toy around with it. Quote Link to comment
mcarroll Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Ok, so I have ordered my lights and all, but I still need to know how many of these bulbs can I wire to one extension cord? Is it safe to wire 30 bulbs to one extension cord? And if it is okay, would it be any less powerful wiring that many say compared to about half that amount of bulbs? Also should I have a grounded extension cord or does it not matter? You have to think about the power you are using - no reason to guess. You should acquire/borrow a KillAWatt meter to measure the power usage of your fixture. Highly recommended - totally cool device. Until then we'll work in theory: 30 bulbs x 3 watts/bulb is 90 watts. 90 watts / 120 volts = .75 Amps Most likely your extension cord will carry a power rating, an unless it's a Barbie toy extension it should be rated for way over .75 Amps - go by what the package says. I used a "heavy duty" 2-wire cord which has 16-gauge wire - this was rated for a full 15 Amps IIRC. Put another way, would you hesitate to plug a lamp with a 100-watt bulb or a computer into it? Most people would not hesitate because most people will even run (e.g.) things like hair driers on these extension cords, which take 10 times the amount of power. A grounded cord is technically unnecessary but it would also technically be nice for your wiring to have a metal, groundable chassis around it for added safety. (But not necessary for operation.) I hope this helps! -Matt Quote Link to comment
MeepNand Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 (edited) Are 2 of these good over a 1 gallon micro-reefs tank? Dimensions are 7"L x5"W x6"H Edited July 22, 2012 by asid61 Quote Link to comment
TinyGiant Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 well that took forever... added links to all the posts with tank pics and build pics to the first post Quote Link to comment
Blennylover14 Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 What do you connect the sockets to that provides power? Doesn't it need to plug into the wall? Quote Link to comment
TinyGiant Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 What do you connect the sockets to that provides power?Doesn't it need to plug into the wall? read through the first post. wire them parallel and then wire the pos a neg sides to a plug or extension cord Quote Link to comment
jnad Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 (edited) Hello! I can't find back to the seller (Luczdl) of the gu10 bulbs, looks like he has dissapeard from Ebay? Anyone that know where to by the bulbs with epistar chips now? I have found something interesting though, this seller has cree/epistar bulbs, but they are 3x3w and i now this tread dont recomend 3x3w beacuse of durability. But if you look at these bulbs you can see the heatsink differs some from the 3x1w bulbs, and the seller have 1 year factory warranty for failure. The bulbs is also dimmable, and with 60 angle lenses. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ultra-Bright-Epist...1#ht_4501wt_920 What do you think, any opinions about these leds? Edited July 26, 2012 by jnad Quote Link to comment
babboa Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 (edited) Hello! I can't find back to the seller (Luczdl) of the gu10 bulbs, looks like he has dissapeard from Ebay? Anyone that know where to by the bulbs with epistar chips now? I have found something interesting though, this seller has cree/epistar bulbs, but they are 3x3w and i now this tread dont recomend 3x3w beacuse of durability. But if you look at these bulbs you can see the heatsink differs some from the 3x1w bulbs, and the seller have 1 year factory warranty for failure. The bulbs is also dimmable, and with 60 angle lenses. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ultra-Bright-Epist...1#ht_4501wt_920 What do you think, any opinions about these leds? Don't know what happened, but luckzdl seems to have disappeared from ebay. This is a shame because they were very easy to contact and willing to work with you if you needed something custom (lenses, different bases, or mixed color bulbs). As to the 9w cree bulbs, I think some have tried them but they generate too much heat and don't last long. Maybe the 6w would work better. That would only be 2w/led chip, so I would think the heat would be better. I currently have an order in with another ebay seller for some 5w bulbs just to try them out. They didn't advertise as epistar chips, but they offer to do a mixed color bulb, so I'm trying a couple to see if they can be like a smaller and cheaper version of this (http://www.ledwholesalers.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=702). Edited July 26, 2012 by babboa Quote Link to comment
MeepNand Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 The ledwholesalers bulbs are pretty bad; their whites have a habit of going out after a few days. Quote Link to comment
mcarroll Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 I noticed luckzdl2008's store was empty the other day. Same thing as during Chinese New Year. -- I'm betting he'll be back. In the mean time LED-HK is another good seller I've communicated with about customizations before. -Matt Quote Link to comment
babboa Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 The ledwholesalers bulbs are pretty bad; their whites have a habit of going out after a few days. Understood. I was meaning more from a comparison of >3 1w chips in the same bulb. Quote Link to comment
limpert Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 apparently i bought the wrong lights which wont fit on the bases i've purchased? Did i throw away money or will i be able to make these work somehow? Quote Link to comment
TinyGiant Posted July 28, 2012 Author Share Posted July 28, 2012 apparently i bought the wrong lights which wont fit on the bases i've purchased? Did i throw away money or will i be able to make these work somehow? just order a couple mr16 sockets. no biggie.. and sell the gu10 sockets.. or keep them for when you order moey bulbs Quote Link to comment
staggatron Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 im putting a 40 breeder together, if i did just softies how many bulbs would i need? ill add more later when i start doing sps and lps Quote Link to comment
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