Deck Lights

yop

Guys,
I posted on DIY but did not get any joy.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055323964

Anyone give me some advice.

thank you

Stoner

http://www.loweleds.com/inner_1.php?cPath=31

http://www.loweleds.com/waterproof-electronic-driver-transformer-llt6068-p-170.html

you will need a driver/transformer. they have kits available in the likes of B&Q with all the bits you will need.

this is really one of the cheapest ways to buy LEd deck lighting, in these mass produced kits

also see

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/search/ref=pd_lpo_ix_dp_dn_us_uk_en_led.020lighting.020decking.020lighting.020kits_gl_lawn_and_garden?keywords=led%20lighting%20decking%20lighting%20kits&tag=lpo%5Fixdpdnusukenled.020lighting.020decking.020lighting.020kitsgl%5Flawn%5Fand%5Fgarden-21&index=blended

http://www.lighting-direct.co.uk/indoor-outdoor-led-c-20-rn-16.html?gclid=CJKuw-j-oJQCFQ6S1QodzxcitA

I'm not a big fan of kits they make everyting look the same and the quality is not the best either, but they work and are "good value"

Brands like Philips do budget ranges too (Philips Aurelle ).

Getting over the plug in issue is easy, if you want instructions on that just ask, but dont let it stop you from getting a kit.

Note Transformers isolate a fault current path and make the installation safer, thats why you will need one.

yop

Thanks very much,. I think a kit may suit my budget more, even though maybe I could stretch the gap to 3-3.5 ft gap between the lights and get individual lights like these.

http://www.lighting-direct.co.uk/twilight-66-42mm-blue-led-add-on-light-p-7372.html?rn=16

Then I need an outdoor plug kit? I presume this is a waterproof socket box that the lights are wired into ?

I will definately be able to figure out the wiring, its just knowing what to buy without been ripped off!
As in if I get single lights I need also to get X wire, an outdoor box etc etc, you know what I am on about

Stoner

The sockets you get with most of these kits are not water proof, and an outdoor socket unit would not work if it is a kit with one of those socket/psu combined units, i.e they are too chunky to fit into the water proof sockets and let the lid close and keep the water out.

but if it was an IP65 rated unit with a separate mounded 13 Amp plug top that when the lid closed on the outdoor socket it sealed it in, then yes the outdoor socket would do

Depeding on how you want to swotch the unit, or on the type of suppy you have left out for the decking, you might need to switch the transformers socket using a double pole switch.
There may be other suggesting here, but I'd try to have an socket indoors that I have fed through an isolation switch ( most MEM and MK sockets that are switched , switch N and L , this is very good, but if you want the switch at normal height you will have to put it in, you would take the feed from a socket , extent it to the new switch, back out from the load of the DP switch and into the socket again. (you may need a connection unit to do some of the looping.

Another way would be to get a water proof enclosure , and bring a switched supply into it (from where ever you want , but once again I'd use a supply that i had isolated, if the supply you have is only rated for lighting (off your lighting circuit, then you will need a fused switched spur (fused at 5Amps))

In this waterproof box your switched supply would come in and be properly gland-ed into the box, in the box it would supply a socket that fed the the transformer, then gland the supply via a compression gland back out of the box)

There are all sort of possibilities, if you are happy switching the lights on an off at a socket then this is the easy way ( so long as it is a safe location and arrangement)

check the specials on that site

http://www.lighting-direct.co.uk/3-led-35mm-blue-small-square-twilight-4-light-kit-p-5260.html

they have an outdoor rated junction box

http://www.lighting-direct.co.uk/outdoor-multi-connector-box-p-7067.html

The four light kit above seems decent value, and will take 18 lights ( extra light something like 12 euro each) and 5M of cable on each one

The water proof enclosure they have c/w four gang socket, could be bought cheaper but its not that bad a price, once again you are talking about switching the unit from a socket indoor, and once again use at least a decent double pole switched socket.

Like I said the messiness comes down to how you want to switch it, but from a DIY point of view, switching the above kit at an indoor socket would be a good option IMHO

Be prepared for better shorter answers lol.

yop

Great info thanks for that, I am probably sounding like a right plank!!!

I have a cable running from a light switch in our sunroom to the outside. It just a standard electrical cable, which is obviously heavily encased.
So I will be controlling the lights from the light switch inside the door.

Right them lights look spot on. So I can get for example 1 kit = 4 lights. Then I buy another 18 lights.

So each light has a 5m cable which will go back to the junction box, are these wired in to the box? So that will take 6 lights?
What about that slave box, is it wired off the master junction box and that too will take 6 lights.
Then the Master is wired back to the transformer, which is plugged into the Outdoor Multi-Connector Box, which in turn is wired from that cable I have outside, which is switched from the switch inside the sun room.

Am I on the right track?

sorry again for sounding like a dick

yop

Attached is the deck layout and how the lights will fit: Sorry about the PAINT


I am looking now at maybe 30-33 lights.
Only problem now is how the hell I can get the light cable right around.

The mains cable out is maybe 4 ft or 5ft. I can pin this down out so that takes 5ft off the 297 inch lenght of the deck.

I may need 2 of them kits, 1 to do the inside perimeter of the deck, the other to do the outside line of lights.
I am thinking of putting deck seating along 1 wall, I could possibly hide a socket box under it, allowing me access to it IF needed, even though it will be turned off and on from the switch in the sun room.

Does that make it any clearer?

Stoner

yop wrote: »

Great info thanks for that, I am probably sounding like a right plank!!!

I have a cable running from a light switch in our sunroom to the outside. It just a standard electrical cable, which is obviously heavily encased.
So I will be controlling the lights from the light switch inside the door.

Right them lights look spot on. So I can get for example 1 kit = 4 lights. Then I buy another 18 lights.

So each light has a 5m cable which will go back to the junction box, are these wired in to the box? So that will take 6 lights?
What about that slave box, is it wired off the master junction box and that too will take 6 lights.
Then the Master is wired back to the transformer, which is plugged into the Outdoor Multi-Connector Box, which in turn is wired from that cable I have outside, which is switched from the switch inside the sun room.

Am I on the right track?

sorry again for sounding like a dick

you are on the right track, the transformer here will feed a max of 18 of the specified LED lights, so a kit is four and another 14 max after that

And yes the slaves are cabled of the master connector and the master to the traffo.

the cable you have is important, is it a 3 core live , neutral and earth cable? on its own dedicated supply? fused at ?

BTW I'm only reading the info from the site, i.e the 18 lights etc, I have never used this supplier I just googled LED decking kits and these seemed to be the "inexpensive" rage that you focused on. I don't know if their stuff is muck or not but I'm assuming its OK, and make sure its the 6 LED lights you get, the 3 LED units tend to be a bit dull , unless you are in an area with little or no light pollution

Stoner

having looked at your diagram, the layout looks fine, You don't want huge runs of 12V cabling as the voltage drop is large with lower voltage supplies. So if you need to have more kits and more waterproof boxes then that is the way to go, you can joint the 220V cables in a water proof box too (i.e reducing the runs of 12V cabling) but you should be ok, you can always do a test anyway, lay the lights out on the surface of the decking and check your runs and operation

Once again you need to determine the type of electrical supply you have for this so that a safe connection method could be worked out.

Maybe you could do all the 12V connections and fix the junction boxes etc and have a sparks check the 220Vac side of things, most of the work will be in fitting the lights, and you'd be using the electrician for the most difficult part of the job, but you'd still save yourself a lot of cash.

BTW I cant see the traffos they give, but they may be all sealed joints, its not recommended that you break into these for jointing reasons.

yop

I assumed that the cable going outside was on its own fuse, not I am not sure.
Yes its 3 door, earthed on the switch inside the door, with heavy duty casing outside it. Its about 1/4" thick.

I had to really reduce the lights off that diagram as it was going to cost me a fortune, and even if that deck light is on its own supply its only a 10amp fuse;
So i cant really overload that then either, someit like 500 watts on a fuse like that I think, or am I wrong on that?

So instead of the 26" between I am going to have to double that and have max 18 lights.

The big concern that have is that the cable for the deck is NOT on its own circuit. How bar getting a spark in to check will I know if it is or not?

yop

Big difference in the Outdoor Multiconnector box!!!

http://www.primrose-london.co.uk/outdoor-multiconnect-weatherproof-electrical-socket-p-1213.html

http://www.primrose-london.co.uk/garden-lighting-deck-lights-c-28_109.html

Stoner

yeah seems like some ok deals there alright, except that the lights in their kits only have 12" of cable on each one, with a 10M cable costing £10 (very expensive for what it is) the kits on the other site have 5M of cable on each light included in the cost (double check that yourself). also the with the multi box you are looking at 30 pounds compared to 40 pounds as you need to compare 4 gang with 4 gang, not 2 gang with 4 gang. Delivery could swing it too.

Dont forget to check out B&Q though.

the load from these lights is very low, you will not have to worry about an overload WRT to LED fittings, a 10 Amp supply could power a huge amount of these fittings.

you could check your fuse board to see if you have a 10 Amp MCB (hopefully in the down position) marked as Decking or external lighting. If you don't, I think you'd need advice on it from someone who has seen the installation, its too difficult to cover all the different possibilities, sorry.

yop

Same as that, I will contact the spark today and see what he says., feck it anyway!

Thanks for your help though, I appreciate it

Stoner

can you not just fit the lights and connect them yourself, leaving the mians connection to the sparks? sould save about 80% of the work at least

yop

I might do that alright.

Been shown these:

http://cgi.ebay.ie/NEW-12-LOW-VOLTAGE-WIRED-DECK-LIGHTS-LED-GARDEN-DECKING_W0QQitemZ220253721428QQihZ012QQcategoryZ101417QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1713.m153.l1262