LED Tea Candle Lights

[visualcoat]

​My girlfriend loves Halloween and would like a way to light some of our decorations that use the small tea candles. Does any one know of a LED tea light that is battery operated and can be controlled by the ISY?

[larryllix]

I thought about this many times.

 

The best idea I have come up with (not implemented) is to wire them all to a 3v adapter and pulg it into an Insteon On/Off module.

 

Many are now remote controlled and will not come on by toggling the dc voltage to them.

[giesen]

I thought about this many times.

 

The best idea I have come up with (not implemented) is to wire them all to a 3v adapter and pulg it into an Insteon On/Off module.

 

Many are now remote controlled and will not come on by toggling the dc voltage to them.

But you could probably use a Logitech Harmony Hub or a Global Cache IR box to turn them on/off. Although that would be a pretty pricey solution if you didn't already own one of those.

 

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk

[larryllix]

But you could probably use a Logitech Harmony Hub or a Global Cache IR box to turn them on/off. Although that would be a pretty pricey solution if you didn't already own one of those.

 

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk

For the iR types maybe.

I somehow doubt these would use standard iR coding formats though. I had an RCA TV that used it's own format years back and no universal iR remote would ever work with it and most of the manual stated that too.

The learning types of universal iR remotes  would always error out, because they didn't use the coding technique that has become standard for modern iR control.

[giesen]

For the iR types maybe.

I somehow doubt these would use standard iR coding formats though. I had an RCA TV that used it's own format years back and no universal iR remote would ever work with it and most of the manual stated that too.

The learning types of universal iR remotes would always error out, because they didn't use the coding technique that has become standard for modern iR control.

At least some of them do. My mother in law has some at her cottage, and every time I turn on the TV, they turn on as well

 

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk

[larryllix]

LOL. Yeah my old RCA TV just used simple iR frequencies so the fancy codes could maybe trigger a protocol, that simple.

[jtara92101]

I don't know if this will work for you, but you could convert them to wired, as I have done. See attached photos.

 

I have a metal "tree sculpture" that I commissioned. The artist made a few of them before mine, but only used battery-operated candles (which can be changed-out to real candles, if you want to live dangerously.) I got the idea to wire the LED candles, and he incorporated the wires. He's built several more now with the wires.

 

Drill a hole in the base, push a wire through, and solder to the battery contacts. I used thermostat wire, as the stiffness was helpful for routing the wires through the sculpture and having them stay in place on their own without having to be tied-down much. I used connectors for each candle, so that they still can be swapped-out for real candles.

 

I used a power dongle with switchable voltage from 1.5 to 12 volts that can be used to vary the brightness. But now I have them on a LampLinc and am able to dim them. I keep the switchable voltage at 9V to avoid burnout (though I have had no trouble with 12V, I just don't need it that bright...). I am awaiting shipment of an outletlinc to tidy-up the installation, whenever SmartHome realizes that American Express has removed the dispute over their lost package and has already notified them... (I am losing patience, though, and about to put it back on, along with a BBB complaint...)

 

CAUTION: The lamplinc works great with THIS PARTICULAR POWER SUPPLY. It is apparently a linear supply, because it does dim nicely on the lamplinc, and to "architectural" levels. (That is, I can dim to very low levels.) It may just be that many/most of the switchable-voltage supplies like this will work. Otherwise, play it safe and use some on/off module!  We've already had a discussion about this here, and I am sure others will chime-in with their own cautions. WFM but YMMV!

 

 

 

 

[Scottmichaelj]

OMG you dont have a cover on the electrical outlet! Someone is going to get electrocuted and killed. I hope you have good insurance!

 

Hahahah jk wanted to beat all the other lawyers in the forum tonthe punch Dont mind me. Lol

[larryllix]

OMG you dont have a cover on the electrical outlet! Someone is going to get electrocuted and killed. I hope you have good insurance!

Hahahah jk wanted to beat all the other lawyers in the forum tonthe punch Dont mind me. Lol

You guys carry guns so why do you need so many more lawyers than Canuckistan?

 

I got zapped once with a tape measure, behind a freezer (blind spot), and the tape caught the live side of the plug pin. It wasn't as bad as the one off a charged 26" CRT tube though.

[Scottmichaelj]

You guys carry guns so why do you need so many more lawyers than Canuckistan?

 

I got zapped once with a tape measure, behind a freezer (blind spot), and the tape caught the live side of the plug pin. It wasn't as bad as the one off a charged 26" CRT tube though.

Tubes can kill ya. BTW don't let Teken see that! He will go on a rant till dawn!

[larryllix]

Tubes can kill ya. BTW don't let Teken see that! He will go on a rant till dawn!

I know and his "dawn" is a lot later than mine too.

[jtara92101]

OMG you dont have a cover on the electrical outlet! 

 

ALL of the outlets in the entire place were complete garbage, including 3 with open grounds and 1 with broken strap. The ones with the open grounds and broken strap were removed and capped at move-in. They are all being or have been replaced with commercial-grade TR outlets.

 

The one for the tree sculpture is awaiting the OutletLinc dimmer, which will arrive whenever SmartHome's tin can phone lights-up with a call from American Express (still trying to get my lost shipment replaced, and SH needs confirmation that I removed the dispute.) The cover was off to vacuum out the inch of lint and to paint. I wasn't gonna stick the painted-on cover back on after fresh paint!

 

Unrelated to electrical (unless The Three Stooges are doing the work...) had ALL of the angle stops replaced today, as they were a disaster-waiting-to-happen as well. (I LOVE that 3 Stooges episode where they get everything mixed up, and water shoots out of the stove burner, chandelier, and - the coupe de' gras - they turn on the TV and it shows a picture of Niagara Falls with predictable results.)

 

I got zapped once with a tape measure, behind a freezer (blind spot), and the tape caught the live side of the plug pin. 

 

 

And that's exactly why the one high on the wall behind the refrigerator and the one for the microwave got TRs as well, even though they are not required by code in those locations. I want to protect the BIG children as well! And of course under-sink. Not sure if that's required by code, but curious children do crawl under sinks. Any place where you might be fiddling with tools in a tight space needs TR.

 

Tubes can kill ya. BTW 

 

 

So, by inference, The Internet can kill you, because it is a series of tubes.

[Scottmichaelj]

ALL of the outlets in the entire place were complete garbage, including 3 with open grounds and 1 with broken strap. The ones with the open grounds and broken strap were removed and capped at move-in. They are all being or have been replaced with commercial-grade TR outlets.

 

The one for the tree sculpture is awaiting the OutletLinc dimmer, which will arrive whenever SmartHome's tin can phone lights-up with a call from American Express (still trying to get my lost shipment replaced, and SH needs confirmation that I removed the dispute.) The cover was off to vacuum out the inch of lint and to paint. I wasn't gonna stick the painted-on cover back on after fresh paint!

 

Unrelated to electrical (unless The Three Stooges are doing the work...) had ALL of the angle stops replaced today, as they were a disaster-waiting-to-happen as well. (I LOVE that 3 Stooges episode where they get everything mixed up, and water shoots out of the stove burner, chandelier, and - the coupe de' gras - they turn on the TV and it shows a picture of Niagara Falls with predictable results.)

 

 

And that's exactly why the one high on the wall behind the refrigerator and the one for the microwave got TRs as well, even though they are not required by code in those locations. I want to protect the BIG children as well! And of course under-sink. Not sure if that's required by code, but curious children do crawl under sinks. Any place where you might be fiddling with tools in a tight space needs TR.

 

So, by inference, The Internet can kill you, because it is a series of tubes.

This forum has a bunch of smart *** people or are we smartass people? You be the judge. Lol All in all we are only joking so no need for anyone to get serious. Tamper pamper that's for babies, take an electrocution like a man! Hahah

[mwester]

Sigh.  I do appreciate the need to protect children who persist in trying to stick pointy metal things into outlets.  So I do make a point to always have one or two commercial-grade TR outlets as spares in my electrical repair parts box.  The problem is that the blasted things fail - the little leaves or shutters or whatever jam up and then you can't use the outlet for anything anymore.  Grr.

 

And then there are those arc-fault breakers... again, I appreciate the problem they solve, so I've been sure to have the installed even in a few rooms where code doesn't require it.  But in this three-year-old house, I've already replaced one, and I've a second one that insists on leaving me in the dark for no reason at all randomly for the past couple days.  Those things are EXPENSIVE!  And that's just for the AFCI breaker -- I can't imagine what an electrician would cost to swap that out on top of that.

 

My point -- until we figure out how to make this new "safety" stuff also reliable, people are going to reject it, and find ways to disable the malfunctioning safety bits or go back to the old tried-and-true "un-safe" devices.

 

(We're really getting off topic here, and I'm contributing to that - sorry!)

[Teken]

LOL - All of you off topic post! 

[jtara92101]

I wonder if one reason for the push for TR sockets is that they couldn't get dongle makers to build their dongles upside-down?

 

(So that outlets can be installed properly, with the ground pin UP. A dropped object then is likely to hit the ground pin first. But what about the neutral? It would be on the right then. I wonder if due to the spin of the earth... is there one of the remaining pins neutral/hot statistically more likely to be hit? If so, what about Australia? Mine are ground-pin-down now - I bought the ground-pin-up hook, line and sinker in old place, and... too many dongles I give in! Besides, ground-pin-down is more aesthetic. Either is permitted by code, at least in San Diego.)

 

Anyway, it does help prevent accidents with half-plugged-in plugs. You still might have power with a plug a bit out of the socket. And then the occasional plug-that-was-made-with-too-short-prongs...

[jtara92101]

I finally installed the OutletLinc Dimmer today.

 

As I expected, it is able to dim the dongle driving the LED tea lights (as was the LampLinc I had there previously).

 

I had to fiddle with the power supply dongle a bit - the position of the dimmer key magnet is touchy! 

 

I had to look the other way and hum a tune as I read "LAMPS ONLY". (But these are lamps...)

 

Insteon could be a bit more innovative with their products. I would like to see a "low-voltage linc" product. Either as a dongle or as a in-box device, give us a DC power supply that will supply some small current able to run stuff like this and control the voltage and perhaps current limit. Programming voltage range would be good.

 

The 0-10V "ballast" is a step in that direction, though I infer it is actually an older device that they'd intended for fluorescent ballasts which in a commercial setting accept a 0-10V signal to set brightness. I've got one waiting for installation of kitchen counter LED strip with a driver that accepts a 0-10V control signal. But this probably wouldn't supply enough current for a number of LED tea lights, as it's intended use is just a reference voltage and would only need to supply a very small current. And of course not in the right form factor.

 

We have a precedent in USB outlets that supply line voltage and 5V for USB charging. So, UL should permit this to be built-in to an outlet.

 

As well, Insteon should move into making drivers for LED strip lighting with built-in Insteon control. Right now, you have accept "non-architectural" dimming with a "dimmable" LED strip driver run off of an Insteon dimmer, or else do as I am doing and get a 0-10V-controllable driver and the Insteon ballast dimmer.

 

And forget about RGB, RGBW, RGBWW, WW, you need a Rasberry Pi (or some always-on computer), a driver, a power supply, a WiFi dongle, and a flying saucer. Optional installation by LGM. This space is WIDE OPEN for Insteon and they are seemingly doing nothing.

[stusviews]

I had to fiddle with the power supply dongle a bit - the position of the dimmer key magnet is touchy! 

 

I had to look the other way and hum a tune as I read "LAMPS ONLY". (But these are lamps...)

 

But the power supply is not a lamp!

[jtara92101]

A lamp can't be a power supply.

 

 

That's why I looked the other way and hummed a tune.

 

It is apparently a linear power supply.

[mwester]

...

 

As well, Insteon should move into making drivers for LED strip lighting with built-in Insteon control. Right now, you have accept "non-architectural" dimming with a "dimmable" LED strip driver run off of an Insteon dimmer, or else do as I am doing and get a 0-10V-controllable driver and the Insteon ballast dimmer.

 

And forget about RGB, RGBW, RGBWW, WW, you need a Rasberry Pi (or some always-on computer), a driver, a power supply, a WiFi dongle, and a flying saucer. Optional installation by LGM. This space is WIDE OPEN for Insteon and they are seemingly doing nothing.

 

Doing nothing apparent to us on the outside.  I guess there's a small chance they "get it" that power-line comms are getting more difficult and that their RF solution is crippled by coupling to the power-line.  Perhaps they "get it" that the world needs at least some semblance of security on the RF and power-line messages.  And perhaps because of that, they're busy redesigning all their products for some new magical 'v3" insteon comms mechanism, and once they bring that market, they'll be well positioned to release a bevy of new products to take on the creative z-wave stuff already on the market, and even surpass them all.

 

And, perhaps my dogs will both sprout wings and learn to fly.  

[stusviews]

A lamp can't be a power supply.

 

Best regards,

Gary Funk

 

Heat is a form of power

[larryllix]

Yes but a lamp requires a power supply to produce heat. It's the power going through the conductor that produces the heat.

 

Best regards,

Gary Funk

Since you guys want to play with words again...

Power doesn't go through a conductor. Power is consumed by conductors. Only current can go through a conductor.

OTOH: In the context of  a grid delivery system we do say "power goes through a conductor" (They sure do demand your ticket on a train!)

 

Resistance is futile. You two will be assimilated.

[stusviews]

Doctor Who.

 

No. The power of two.

[TheFallenAngel]

Well actually Heat is Energy - not Power..

 

Cheers,

Alex