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  1. #1
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    Wiring / electrical advice - hard wiring cheap battery powered garden lights..

    I was thinking of replacing my cheap dollar store garden lights with a hard wired version like I used to have, but it seems like the kits with transformers and lights and wires and stuff are pretty much non existent these days.

    I have these cheap battery powered ones but I don't like how they don't all turn on at the same time, based on how shaded they are or if there's street light interference.

    Kinda tempted to ditch their batteries and wirum up, but I'm not smart enough to know how to select a transformer, figure out the wire gauge, and go series vs parallel etc.

    These cheap pieces of crap are run off of a single AAA 1.5 volt 200 mAh battery.

    Also these are the kind that shift from one colour to the next, I call it Ecstacy vision but whatever, I'm the type of tight ass that would just love to see them all flowing through their colours in sync.

    Is this possible? Tech talk?!

  2. #2
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    Well fuck. I went to edit and my whole post deleted.

    Short version, you want them synced buy a set already wired together for the purpose.

  3. #3
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    I have a 150 watt transformer, and it is more than enough power for my front and back yard. I currently have about 13 led lights on there now, and tons of room for more wattage.

    Kichler brand from Lowes is good. Spend $$ on quality lights. Get the brass housings for in ground applications. They will last a ton longer. Install is as easy as digging a trench.

  4. #4
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    I installed lasers on the Moose and Deer that come into my yard, it is exquisite.
    Forum Cross Pollinator, gratuitously strident

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Beaver View Post
    Well fuck. I went to edit and my whole post deleted.

    Short version, you want them synced buy a set already wired together for the purpose.
    It's all good, I read it plus have it in email, it is greatly appreciated and I like that you broke it down so concisely.

    If you or anyone would like to waste their time and give a quick reason why they wouldn't be in synch when wired together the geek inside of me is pretty curious.

    Quote Originally Posted by Mau View Post
    LED fixtures have made installing landscape lighting a piece of cake. They require a fraction of the wattage halogen lamps required which means you can wire in series (daisy chain) and not worry about voltage drop.

    Make permanent, waterproof connections and you'll have a trouble free system. For connections, I prefer these or these.

    Check out Volt fixtures.

    They're cheap, good quality and come with a lifetime guarantee. And they have kits, if that's what you're looking for.
    I'll check out those connections thank you. Those lights look baller but are way out of reach for me.

    Quote Originally Posted by warthog View Post
    my front and back yard. I currently have about 13 led lights on there now, and tons of room for more wattage.

    Kichler brand from Lowes is good. Spend $$ on quality lights. Get the brass housings for in ground applications. They will last a ton longer. Install is as easy as digging a trench.
    In terms of transformer or wire gauge, do you need to give consideration to long spans of wiring if doing the front and back? Last time I did this I think I had ~200' of wire feeding the lights in the back, the front would add at least another 100'. Not a big yard, but the cable routing was wild to get lights around a patio, the fence along some flower beds.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by warthog View Post
    I have a 150 watt transformer, and it is more than enough power for my front and back yard. I currently have about 13 led lights on there now, and tons of room for more wattage.

    Kichler brand from Lowes is good. Spend $$ on quality lights. Get the brass housings for in ground applications. They will last a ton longer. Install is as easy as digging a trench.
    This.
    The goal is lighting effects, not just some lights unless you only need a runway to the porch after a night of drinking. Cheap lights are awful and they look awful. If you are going to do it, put out a little cash for good lights. They cost more but you may likely need much less. And they may actually add value to your home instead of detracting.

    But if you just want the cheap ones, carry on.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thaleia View Post
    I

    In terms of transformer or wire gauge, do you need to give consideration to long spans of wiring if doing the front and back? Last time I did this I think I had ~200' of wire feeding the lights in the back, the front would add at least another 100'. Not a big yard, but the cable routing was wild to get lights around a patio, the fence along some flower beds.
    It's been awhile since I was involved in lighting, but you want the voltage drop between first and last light as minimal as possible so they don't look different. The bigger the cable, the less drop.
    One formula I remember was like 100W on 100' of 12/2 cable.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thaleia View Post

    In terms of transformer or wire gauge, do you need to give consideration to long spans of wiring if doing the front and back? Last time I did this I think I had ~200' of wire feeding the lights in the back, the front would add at least another 100'. Not a big yard, but the cable routing was wild to get lights around a patio, the fence along some flower beds.
    I forget what gauge wire we used, but it was on the thicker side for low voltage cable. LED draws almost nothing for wattage, and voltage drop will not be an issue. My backyard run is probably about 300' total, and the run to the front is about 200+.

  9. #9
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    Pretty sure we used 10/2 thinking about it.

  10. #10
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    Some transformers have higher (13 & 14V) taps to account for voltage drop, the key is to space the lights in groups so there is not the wide difference in voltage at 1st and last light on the string. Then you use the formulas to figure out overall drop to figure which tap to use. You want to get the lights in the 11-12v range so you don't burn your bulbs to quickly.
    Haven't messed with them since LED's came out (mostly messed with MR's and such), but imagine they would give a bit more leeway.

  11. #11
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    They're not going to sync because each one has it's own driver in it. If you got them all started at the same time they will appear synced initially but because of the nature of cheap electronics each light will be slightly different and they'll drift out of sync.

    Single source kits have one driver for multiple LEDs so they're automatically sync'd.

  12. #12
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    If you read the OPs post it says these pieces of crap run on a single AAA battery. 1.5v. leds
    actually run at 0.7V (with slight variation for colour), that is the voltage drop across the diode. All the rest of the voltage gets used for control and converted to current.

  13. #13
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    When we moved in to this house two years ago there were two separate hard wired transformers, one in back, one in front. They used a timer so it required changing the on / off setting based on when it got dark, BS. So I replaced the transformers with new ones that I bought at Home Depot. They use an electric eye so the on time is always right. I also replaced the 120 volt bulbs with LED which use a tiny amount of energy. I would guess the distance from the light farthest away from the transformer is over 100' and there is absolutely no difference in brightness.

    These lights are 20 years old, have had to replace a couple of sockets which I found on Amazon. Luckily the original home owner (who was a landscape architect) spent a lot of money on the lights. They are still available and are about $100 each so they look great even being 20 years old. You are right about the cheap battery operated solar powered lights, most, not all look crappy.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mau View Post
    If your transformer is in the garage and its difficult to wire the photocell light sensor to a good location, this astronomical timer is a good substitute. Set it up once and it adjusts to dusk/dark and Daylight Savings time.
    My on time is always dusk with electric eye and off is 11:00 PM in the summer. Late fall and winter I move off to 10:00 PM, don’t really care as we are in SLC December through April anyway.

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