Flexible LED Strips

Hey I was wondering if anyone had used this product

$9 LEDwholesalers 16.4-Feet Waterproof Flexible Ribbon Strip with 300xSMD3528 LED in Silicone Sleeve 12 Volt, White, 2047WH

http://www.amazon.com/LED-Flexible-Strip-Waterproof-CBconept/dp/B003G9408K/ref=pd_cp_hi_1

Seems like a good deal for fairly cheap!

 

Yeah looks like a good deal.

Your in SLO?

 

I bought these and are very bright, i still have to install them though.

 

yeah do you know if they are actually waterproof?

 

Yes, well in Cayucos, so 10-15 minute drive

 

Well I havent put water on them but they are completely covered in the silicone covering.

 

awesome definetly buying some then.
So bright enough to be rock lights? and bed lights?

 

Here is what they look like as rock lights.....

 

Nice and Bright. Definitely buying some now

 

Yep I just need to figure out how to wire them

 

When you do could you write down your steps or something?
Cause from what i can see in the pictures looks like one long strip

 

That thing is bright.

 

I used the same stuff for my old 94 Mitsubishi with a Lifetime Super Sport aluminum shell. I taped the stuff to the upper frame of each side sliding window, wired them to a switch. With this tape running along both sides of the shell for the full length of the shell, it was WAY too freaking bright! I needed to install a dimmer (never did). The LEDs were literally brighter than the headlights of my wife's Rav4 I shined inside the shell when they were on.
The adhesive is phenomenal. I was expecting it to be the weak link, but after several trips through the desert, including several in Death Valley, the lights never showed any signs of peeling off.
I can't personally vouch for the waterproofness of them, but I imagine they are water resistant to a good degree. You could always spray them with shellac or lacquer after installing, or run a bead of clear silicone along them.
I just put my order in yesterday for a bunch of these (a total of about 20 meters). One meter of cool white 3528s for the inside of the new shell (like my old one), one meter of warm white 3528s for under my kitchen cabinets (with 12V converter) (gotta try it out on mine before I install it on a customer's), and a couple of meters of cool white 5050s for assorted exterior truck lighting (safari rack, rear bumper, side pinch rails [maybe], wherever I think some light for backcountry camping might be handy).
I'll post pix when I get everything installed.

 

As for wiring them, it's extremely easy. All you need to know how to do is solder.
Cut the strip perfectly perpendicular at the location it says to cut (generally a paired pair [4] of bare solder points with a line between them, located about every three LEDs). Solder (low heat) a two-conductor wire of preferred length onto the bare solder points where you made your cut. The other end of the wire goes to whatever you want: switch, another LED strip, brake light, whatever.

 

http://www.ledlightsworld.com/page.html?id=32

Generally speaking, the higher the SMD number, the brighter the light. Also the higher the amp draw.
3528s are overly bright for interior lighting......which means 5050s would be blinding.
Exterior lighting should be at least 5050s, if not 5630s.

If you plan on using a dimmer, keep this in mind: You need a switching dimmer, not your standard voltage dimmer. LEDs are on/off, with no in-between. That means lowering the voltage ain't gonna do squat. You need to reduce the amount of time the LEDs are lit -- basically, you need to adjust how rapidly they are switched on and off. A switching dimmer will decrease the amount of on/off cycles, increasing the amount of off time between on cycles -- but so fast that human eyes don't detect any flicker, only dimmer light.
Thankfully, switching dimmers are cheap. About $5-$12 (or you can build your own for about $3).

 

I just used the LED light strips OP posted to redo my interior lighting. I tapped into the dome light housing so it comes on with the dome light switch and the doors:

 

Looks good! how bright are they? im sure the pictures dont do any justice

 

they are way brighter than the stock map and dome lights and they pretty much light up every inch of the cab. You can kind of see the difference in light output in the picture that shows the old dome light and the led strips.

 

yeah i already have csjumpers led's but i was thinking about using these for bedlights considering i never got around to it almost a year ago haha

 

Yes I had them for a year too and finally got around to installing them. This is how I prepped them: