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Thread: Indoor rock lights

  1. #1

    Indoor rock lights

    I thought it was a little dark in my kitchen area so I built some "rock lights" to mount under my kitchen cabinets. Under the cabinets is the kitchen counter that connects with the family room. Removing the cabinets would really open up the room but it would also decrease our kitchen storage by 70% so they're staying.

    This is the kitchen with the family room in the background.



    The kitchen lights are bright and are only really used when we're in the kitchen. I was looking for something that was a little more subtle and could be on a timer so they were on when we woke up and off after we're asleep.

    I bought some LED's, wood, wire and aluminum and got to building. I decided to channel the backside of the wood to hide the wiring and make it as clean as I could since not much of the cabinet is hidden.

    Here are the wood pieces.



    Heatsinks



    LED's



    These are the 4 leds strung up. Now you can see why I used the wood to cover everything up.



    Here it is mocked up on the garage floor. Should be able to take it in, nail it up and turn it on...



    It ended up not being that easy. I could have easily used 4 more sets on hands but honestly they would have been in the way. This portion was a major PITA. It became a bigger pain the second time I had to do it after I mucked up the first go run. Lot's on duct tape and cribbing.



    Finally got it up and working. Just awaiting some sanding and painting.



    Mood lighting. Our counter pretty much has this much crap on it all the time so it gave a good idea of what to expect with shadows and light output. All the other lights in the house were off so you can see the amount of light they put out. It's plenty without being too much. Perfect enough for food prep or even sitting down watching tv.



    Shot from down the hallway. I have it turn on just before I get up so I have some light to work with. All the other lights are too bright and I like to slip out before anyone wakes up. This also gives us some light to make it back to our bedroom with at night.



    These LED's are the same as my rocklights, just powered differently. I've had a lot of fun with the LED on the 4runner (dome lights, rock lights, under hood lights, area light)so I thought I'd bring them inside. My next project is eave lighting around the exterior of my house. I'm about 98% complete with that project (11 total), fun stuff.








  2. #2

    Re: Indoor rock lights

    Nice!

    I really like the pic with your "cribbing" using everything from paper, tape, magazines, etc...


    Do you have a closeup of the actual light/heatsink all put together?
    My signature

  3. #3

    Re: Indoor rock lights

    How are they powered?
    Marc<br />96&#39; T100 SR5 4x4<br /><br />Other rides:<br />00 Honda 416EX

  4. #4

    Re: Indoor rock lights

    Very nice. Which LED's are those and what are you using to drive them?
    -------------------------
    Steve
    1993 4runner, SAS, 3.0L, Auto Tranny
    2007 4runner, stock. For now.

  5. #5

    Re: Indoor rock lights

    Nice, and here I was thinking the other day that once we get back stateside I need to try to visit family around you and see about having you build me some lights for my rig. How did you run them as 12volt, through a converter? *Are you using your iPod holder as your ride wallet like the rest of us?

  6. #6

    Re: Indoor rock lights

    Quote Originally Posted by slosurfer
    Nice!

    I really like the pic with your "cribbing" using everything from paper, tape, magazines, etc...


    Do you have a closeup of the actual light/heatsink all put together?
    Dude I went through a ton of tape and magazines. The wood got me part way there the magazines were like shims. I had asked for help but my help was updating her blog. When she came in to 'help' I in formed her she had been replaced by tape and whatnots.

    This is what they look like on the heatsinks. These are the outdoor versions but pretty much the same.


  7. #7

    Re: Indoor rock lights

    Quote Originally Posted by CJM
    How are they powered?
    They are 12 volt and 350ma. Basically a transformer for larger circuits like this and my eave project. The output is maintained up to 48 volts where are the vehicle stuff stops at 12v.

    Driver. It just plugs into a regular 120v household socket.
    Ken found these and are really big in the reef world. Indoor aquariums guys are way into leds, light shows and heatsink stuff :nerd: and they are fun to read.


  8. #8

    Re: Indoor rock lights

    Quote Originally Posted by Robinhood4x4
    Very nice. Which LED's are those and what are you using to drive them?
    The driver is posted above. I think they were under $20 each/ delivered. They make a higher output version as well as a dimming one but 350ma is all I needed for the kitchen. We'll see about the eave lights and then landscape lights. The dimming on needs a powered potentiometer so it's got more wires and plugs. After running as much wire as I have been lately I'd like to keep it simple.

    The kitchen lights are Crees from Cutter. We chose a warm bin and I think they're around 3300-3500K. They maybe Q3's. All the higher bins are much colder light and made to run brighter. I messed up a first batch and had to order more and ended up with something else. They are just the emitters, no star, and are around 3000K. The 3000k ones will be for the covered walkway to my front door and have a totally different fixture. I drilled a 1" hole in the covered portion and stuck the fixture in it. All you'll see is the emitter and a small PVC ring. I like how those turned out and when they're off you'd never notice them.

    Emitter vs star. Emitters are a bit harder to solder to and mount to heat sinking.


    Part of the covered walkway fixture.


    At 350ma these leds barely get warm. My rocklights are at 500ma and I have vehicle domes at 350, 500, and 700 ma. Basically they get warm and then hot after 350ma. Take a spoon out of the drawer and hold onto it for a couple minutes, that's how warm the driver and heatsinks get in the kitchen.

  9. #9

    Re: Indoor rock lights

    Quote Originally Posted by NorCalBorn
    Nice, and here I was thinking the other day that once we get back stateside I need to try to visit family around you and see about having you build me some lights for my rig. How did you run them as 12volt, through a converter? *Are you using your iPod holder as your ride wallet like the rest of us?
    My wallet is a fishing license holder. It's small, waterproof and fits in a jersey pocket. I use the Timbuk2 holders for my point and shoot and another for my video ipod.

  10. #10

    Re: Indoor rock lights

    Even though my daughter will be 2 next week it's the same as having a baby in the house. If she's sleep you better be quiet. We have a "You wake her, you take her" rule so I'm like a ninja. She takes a nap about mid day so if I'm home that is the amount of time I have to work on EVERYTHING and I have ALOT, the kitchen lights being one of them. In the interest of conserving time and being quiet I developed a quiet way to drive nails. Hammering overhead is a pain and made even worse when the cabinet is full of dishes and stemware. I decided to shove them in with brute power and was surprised. This method was even used when the kiddo was awake because it's also wife compliant. You see my wife loves the light but doesn't really care how it got there but nevertheless it's best if it got there quietly (I'm the same way).

    Behold




    I also used this with a punch to counter sink the nail heads.
    Only catch is you can still fold a nail over as if you were hammering it in the traditional way. Only using this method you pinch your entire finger, f'up the wood and have the potential to send a nail flying. No wives or kiddos were hurt in the making of this project or thread.

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