Question on LED lighting.

[easty-uk]

I have been given a 30cm strip of blue LED lights, and I thought I would put it into the 60cm fry tank as a moonlight... they run on 12V BUT I only have a transformer with an output of 15 volts. Can I use this ? will the 12volt LED's run as they should on 15volts...??

I have wired it up and it works ( but they are not very bright), But I want to know if it is safe to use, BEFORE I put them on the hood in the fry tank.

Any help would be great....

Regards

Tony.

[Tigerbarb]

I am sure those moonlights are great, though you might want to make sure that no water can get to the lights from evaporation or splashing. You could avoid water's contact with your lights by duct taping a sheet of glass to the bottom of the lights so the glass will be the one getting wet.

[LosC]

you could build a covering for it, maybe out of some clear plastic material so the light can go through.

[Tigerbarb]

Another idea would be for you to get a glass canopy when you have the money, if you don't have one already. Then, you can place the moon lights behind your regular light.

[easty-uk]

The LED's are waterproof, and I have fit the strip to the canopy. wired it, taped the connections and then covered the connections with aquarium grade silicon.

I'm just not sure if I can run 12v LED's on a 15V transformer..

I'm going to be getting some more (a different type) tomorrow or Saturday (I think), for the main tank.. These LED's are also waterproof and are meant to go on the underside of your cars.... I just need to see how bright they are before I buy them.
Thank's for you help.
Regards

Tony.

[Futureboy]

thats what i have on my tanks they seem a whole lot brighter under a car then in the tank though so get a strong one

[Bobo the Clown Loach]

Personally, I would just go to your local electronics store and get a universal transformer. The 15 volt transformer may work but if the lights are made for 12, I would get a 12. Overloading the lights, especially near water is dangerous. The 15 volts may cause excessive heat, short out the light strip or at least shorten the life of the entire unit.

[easty-uk]

Yes I was a little worried about using the 15v transformer, although the guy who owns the store told me they could run on anything between 11v and 19v !!

I have got a 13.8v transformer now, which it is running on at the moment, A friend of mine that is into am radio told me it would work fine. He gave me the 13.8 transformer. I have checked it a few times now, It isn't hot or anything, but I will keep watching it over the next few hours.

Thank you all for you tips and advice.

Regards

Tony

[Becikeja]

Lamps work off of watts which equivalent to Volts times Amps for single phase A/C applications and DC applications. You did not mention if your transformer is delivering 15V AC or DC, I will assume DC. Overvoltage from 12VDC to 15VDC is not that big an issue. Your lamps will burn out faster but they will light. The bigger issue is to make sure your transformer is capable of delivering enough amps to power the strip.