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Short LED strip light with battery pack for wall Painting

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I have a frame for some artwork that I did, the problem is there isn't enough light for where I want to put it. I have looked online but I haven't found exactly what I am looking for, or anything I can modify to make what I need.

I was looking to use a short 10 inch long strip of LED lights, similar to these (https://www.amazon.com/Double-Densi...UTF8&qid=1368637733&sr=1-12&keywords=stip+LED)

This product is sold in 12 inch strips, and each strip consumes 6 watts. I would look to shorten the strip to 10 inches and attach it to the underside of the 2 inch thick frame. I would drill a small hole in the back of the frame so that I could run the wire to the battery pack and transformer at the bottom of the frame. I am lost to as what transformer to use,(something small), if i even need a transformer for something that runs off AA batteries, or what I might need to put it all together.

The lights wouldn't be on 24/7, but only periodically to highlight the art when someone wants a better look. The transformers I have seen for LED's are all quite large for my project, and I am looking to keep everything to a minimum so as to not add weight or make the power pack very noticeable.

Anyone have any suggestions on how I cam make this work? and where I might be able to get parts for my project.

a parts list and instructions or a webpage with a guide, or any information would be very helpful.

Thanks guys! :)
 
As usual, Amazon does not explain the details and has no detailed datasheet. They talk about using a 12V LED driver but I did not see it.

We do not know if the driver or if the strip limits the current. 10" probably needs 5W of power. 5W from 12V is 417mA.
To get 12V from AA alkaline cells then you need 8 cells in series. The LEDs will slowly dim then turn off in about 1 hour as the battery voltage runs down.

A 12VDC/0.5A wall wart is common but is pretty large.
 
Again we must guess if the LED strip has resistors to limit the current or if you must add your own resistors.
Maybe the LEDs are dim if the supply is only 11.5V and maybe they are extremely bright and might burn out if the supply is 12.5V.
Who knows since there is no datasheet for LEDs that are made "over there" (I am not allowed to say where but you know where).
 
Well, I am open to any products that anyone might know of, that could help me in my endeavor. Just a strip of a couple lights that could be placed inside a very thick frame, it is actually a shadow box or display case that can hang on the wall. I saw some lights on amazon that were just the LED and the battery pack (https://www.amazon.com/Cold-White-L...=UTF8&colid=3FFERW9PJ6VPD&coliid=ICIYQ4ATLKQP)

but I think the strip LED's would look better. I tried to think of a way to canabalize this setup and use the pack with the strip lights, but because of the issues with the resistors and transformers, I didn't know enough to have the confidence to try.
 
Again we must guess if the LED strip has resistors to limit the current or if you must add your own resistors.
...

1. If the LED strip is sold as "12v" yes it is almost certain to have resistors built in, along the strip. :)

2. The zoomed in photo from that link looks to have a black square resistor type thingy on the strip for every "segment" of 3 LEDs (it could even be a transistor and a couple of discretes, as a constant current driver for every 3 LEDs);

**broken link removed**
 
I think you will find that having the LEDs in/adjacent the frame won't give even illumination across the artwork. They need to be a considerable distance away from the artwork for that.
 
So, would I be able to use the above strip with a battery pack and not worry about a bulky transformer?

This is the what I will be putting the lights in, they would run across the top, I don't need a lot of light, just enough to get the crystals and pyrite to gleam a bit.

shadowBox.jpg
 
Something like this would probably be smaller than a 12 volt power pack and last a lot longer. :D

**broken link removed**
 
I have used lightstrips from SuperBright LED's. They are similar to ones posted above but come in shorter sections. They can be cut in 3 LEd segments about 2 inches IIRC. They work on 12 volts, have the resistor included and even a plug that can be used. The problems are two fold. First LED's are not "white" they are ultraviolet with doping to make them appear white, therefore the color rendition may not be as accurate as you would like. Second, they are ugly, you will have to build some sort of frame, cover etc to hide them. The light is emitted in a downward direction so the frame will have to extend far enough to the house the lights and allow the light to reach the entire picture. These lights are surprisingly bright and depending on the pictures finish, may actually reflect the individual bulbs. In closing this may work. LED's have many advantages, but they are not a panacea. The good ole incandescent, with all their drawbacks are still the best bet for many applications, this is one of them.
 
if you want to run the LED strips by batteries,you need some big power batteris,if so,why not conned them to DC12V LED power supply......easy install and long time work,not need to charge the batteries......
 
Old thread, however I have a few comments...

Audioguru, invisible wires (and even "thin wires") are an alternative to ugly ordinary cords. Invisible wires are essentially very flat strips - typically copper about twice the thickness of human hair -- that you adhere to a wall and cover with a special tape not unlike drywall seam tape. You then paint over the tape to match your wall and voila...gone (for the most part).

Poet, I just built a frame from 1 x 6 pine and some crown molding. It's for a sculpture about 3" thick so the LEDs will be positioned bout 3" from the piece. I purchased a spool of 3528 LED strip with adapter, controller, etc. My plan is to mount the strip along the inside perimeter of the molding facing inward at about a 45 degree angle. Given the LED density and spread I expect to get fairly even illumination across the piece - we shall see. I'll post photos when it's complete. Though I suspect you've long completed your project it my help others who are on the fence about it.

I thought about going with a battery, but decided to use invisible wiring instead. It's just all around more convenient, especially since I'll have the RF remote to turn it on/off whenever we like.
 
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