In article , snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com says... .......
No the connections are not waterproof for immersion in water. By being 1 foot above ground it covers MOST cases of rainfall and other forms of water collection immersing the transformer or its connectors, either causing shock hazards or corrosion problems.
Lowes:
more:
Well, I doubt they'd carry them at $4 a pop since people will then just keep buying regular bulbs. Also, one would have to make sure that they aren't run flat-out at 150% rating or so and that they don't all fry up during a thunderstorm. Once they get to less than $1 I'd think Lowes might carry them.
...
Toss the wire or recycle it (or find somebody to buy it - I hear copper prices are getting pretty high these days), and get some #10 or #8 wire.
If you can get 10-3 or 8-3, then the loop is an excellent idea.
+V ---------o----------o----------o----------o----------o | | | | | [lamp] [lamp] [lamp] [lamp] [lamp] | | | | | o----------o----------o----------o----------o-------, | | 0V -------------------------------------------------------------'Good Luck! Rich
be
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0| =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0|
p] =A0 =A0 [lamp]
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0| =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0|
-------,
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 |
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 |
I just paralleled them into 3 separate loops. At first only 2, but then one wire had to jump over the walkway: trip/fall issues. So I split that one too...
No more than 6A on any wire, now. Wire doesn't even get warm. Works great/bright lights.
Thanks,
Michael
be
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0| =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0|
p] =A0 =A0 [lamp]
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0| =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0|
-------,
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 |
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 |
After thinking about it a bit, perhaps I should go for AWG10, or at least AWG14.
Thanks,
Michael
Mind those Malibu "press-together" type contacts. They expect a certain shape of cable. When it's too small you'll get flaky contacts, dirt in the connection, followed by corrosion. When it's too thick the connector might break into pieces.
Break into pieces, house on fire... break into pieces, house on fire...
There's always the cut/solder/electrical tape method... ;-)
Michael
That would corrode even faster.
Got me there. I was up late all night...I was thinking of a 120V AC that would be powering the system, and I wasn't taking into account the information you had provided about the power.
I wasn't intending to claim that 12vac is less safe than 12vdc, although I certainly see how that is what it looks like. Mea culpa, mea stupida.
insula
Yes - use weatherproof wire nuts. :-)
Cheers! Rich
Then some critter comes along, sniff, sniff, sniff, petroleum jelly! Yummy!
BTDT :-(
Now everything goes into home-made domes, made from ABS tubing and end caps. Keeps the low voltage connections from the elements without emitting a scent.
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