Waterproof, heat resistant, with 3M VHB double stick LED strips, or?

Topic: Waterproof, heat resistant, with 3M VHB double stick LED strips, or? (Read 1089 times) previous topic - next topic

Waterproof, heat resistant, with 3M VHB double stick LED strips, or?

December 03, 2017, 10:49:10 am

Having mostly completed the insulation project for the engine compartment (just some trim to make to protect the bottom edges from my size 11.5 EE feet when straddling the engine), I want to add LED strips around the upper perimeter of the bed platform. When installing the trim, I made some trim out of aluminum angle that projects past the insulation just for the purpose of adding LED's. Waterproof they must be of course, but also heat resistant with double stick that will stand up to the conditions. I will probably rivet some shallow aluminum channel facing downward to attach the LED strips to. I am also open to using the prefabricated LED strip modules that interconnect and have covers, if I can find suitable units. Having the LED's facing down from the top should provide excellent fairly uniform lighting coverage for the engine bay, from above with the bed raised or below with the Mylar faced insulation acting as a reflector. Anyone have experience with this kind of application? I will attach a picture to show where the strips or modules will be mounted. I probably want aluminum channel that is at least ¾" wide to accommodate the strips, though if using the modules, I gather they will include the channel.
Don

Re: Waterproof, heat resistant, with 3M VHB double stick LED strips, or?

Reply #1 – December 03, 2017, 11:24:45 am

Don,

These channels work well. The trick is going to be to stick them on the insulation. Maybe VHB tape. The clips that come with them work great. They allow you to bench make pre-wired segments and snap them in place

LEDwholesalers Aluminum Channel System with Cover, End Caps, and Mounting...

There are sources for 90Â° corner channels too that put the LED strip at 45Â° to the corner. More $$.

http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=71702&cat=1,43349

You can run the channels to within a couple inches of the corners and use wires connecting the strips (soldered) to go around the corners. I put a waterproof LED strip in the same place you are thinking. I want to try some on the bottom of the lift up bed base too.

EvZ 20m 66ft 20awg Extension Cable Wire Cord for Led Strips Single Colour...

I am not sure how well the covers will hold up in that environment as well as near the waterproof strips that run hotter because of the waterproof coating.

I use this double sided tape to stick on the strips. It is a very sticky tough tape used to mount glas in window frames. Just the right size.

Amazon.com: JVCC DC-WGT-01 Double Coated Window Glazing Tape: 1/16 in. thick...

This brand of LED strips has worked best for me. I use the non waterproof version in most places but in the engine bay these would work well. I use the warm white inside the coach and for outdoor lighting (awning, under coach, under step) and the cool white (6000Â°K) in the bays.

Amazon.com: LE 16.4ft Waterproof Flexible LED Light Strip, 300 Units SMD...

Roger

As an Amazon Associate Foretravel Owners' Forum earns from qualifying purchases.

Re: Waterproof, heat resistant, with 3M VHB double stick LED strips, or?

Reply #2 – December 05, 2017, 10:07:15 am

Thanks for the links Roger, a great place to start from. I really like those Lee Valley corner extrusions... Doing the LED engine compartment lighting project is going to be a lot more fun than the insulation installation. I think I will wait to finish that before I post a write up on the insulation project. Ultimately, I want to be able to switch the lights on from the bedroom as well as from the back. I guess a latching relay will be required. I won't need to stick it on the insulation because the top trim over hangs the insulation by a half inch, plus I still plan to fit some along the top edge, so there will be a 90º that would give that Lee Valley product solid mounting on both facets. Fun stuff!
Don
Edit: I just looked more closely at the Lee Valley site. Ah shucks! That corner mount channel is only available from the their retail stores in the six foot lengths and only the three foot lengths are sold online. I wonder how seamless it is when you put two of the shorter ones end to end... I wish I would have thought about that earlier when we were in Canada this trip! Ah well, maybe I can find a similar product available more locally.
Don

Re: Waterproof, heat resistant, with 3M VHB double stick LED strips, or?

Reply #3 – December 05, 2017, 11:40:55 am

Quote from: Don & Tys (AKA acousticart) – December 05, 2017, 10:07:15 am

I wonder how seamless it is when you put two of the shorter ones end to end...

I used those same (type) aluminum channels with frosted plastic lens when I did our interior "under cabinet" LED lights. The stuff I used came in 3 meter sections. My longest lights are 1.5 meters in length, so I had to join two sections. If you do the cutting very carefully, with a fine tooth saw blade, you will have clean straight ends. When you put them together, the joint is almost invisible. I doubt anyone would notice it in the crowded confines of the engine compartment. I also spaced out my mounting clips so one of them was placed right where the two sections joined. This adds strength to the joint, and helps to disguise it.

Re: Waterproof, heat resistant, with 3M VHB double stick LED strips, or?

Reply #4 – December 05, 2017, 11:56:19 am

Don, when I put 2 13' sections of LED strips under the coach for mood lighting I cut a 20" length or 3/4" sq alum thinwall tube in half by running it thru a table saw. The depth of the walls after cutting just gave the led strip a nice protection. I used the backing tape to hold them in the now channel then smeared a thin cover of clear caulking over the LED strip and this has both held the strip in channel and given it extra waterproof protection. I first welded small 3/4 x 3/4" tabs every 5 ft along one side of channel and this is how I hold it to the underbelly. Works great and has been thru deep snow last year and rain and last night put them on while sitting outside and all works fine still. Simple system that you can easily do too. They do note not to put more than 15ft on one power supply, so I have a switch for each side on my drivers side console going to different power supplies ( one coach batteries ans other to engine ones) I do not reallt think it matters but did it anyway.
JohnH

Re: Waterproof, heat resistant, with 3M VHB double stick LED strips, or?

Reply #5 – December 05, 2017, 03:39:51 pm

I found what looks to be a source for LED channel that appears to be similar to Lee Valley, but they are US based and ship them in 2 meter lengths. Shipping 3 of the 6' channels, Opal covers, end caps, and clips would be $17 making the total cost about $70 not including LED strips. Contemplating ordering so that they will be there when we get back to San Diego. $17 for shipping soiunds reasonable considering the size of the package.
Here is a link, they may be a good source for some of this stuff. They are a sign oriented outfit rather than RV centric. Though they carry water proof strips, they are the constant voltage rather than constant current current variety. They do carry one constant current LED strip, but it is 24 volts. I am contemplating a robust 12 volt regulated power supply that takes a range (buck boost) of voltage and outputs a constant voltage. If I did this for house lighting etc., I would install in line with the fuze panel under the bed. I am still thinking about this part of it... The product linked below is of a higher profile than the Lee Valley version, so I may have I don't want it to narrow the access window for reaching down into the engine compartment, so I will keep looking a bit. Ideally, it won't have more than about ¾" on the 90º legs. Or I may go another way entirely... decisions, decisions.
Don

Corner Mount LED Strip Channel - Model A8 [Profile Only]

Re: Waterproof, heat resistant, with 3M VHB double stick LED strips, or?

Reply #6 – December 05, 2017, 03:58:54 pm

I think the heat in the engine compartment is going to be challenging for the lights - specifically the adhesive and the plastic lens. I notice the "blurb" on the page you just linked mentions the aluminum channel acting as a "heat sink" for the lights. Wouldn't put much faith in that... If you use double sided tape to mount the strips (instead of the questionable adhesive found on the back of the strip), then the light strips are insulated from the aluminum. This negates any "heat sink" function. However that doesn't matter, because the aluminum channel (and everything else in the engine compartment) will see the same (extremely hot) operating temperatures. I would also worry (as mentioned by Roger above) about the lens that clips into the channel. On the channel I used, the lens was very thin and flexible. It does not appear to be a material that would stand up well to high temps. Of course, I could be wrong about that. Just something to consider...

I know you already said you are looking for "heat resistant" lights in your thread title, but I think that should be the primary focus of your search.

Re: Waterproof, heat resistant, with 3M VHB double stick LED strips, or?

Reply #7 – December 05, 2017, 05:23:14 pm

I have had waterproof LED strips in the engine for close to two years now. They are not on very often and generally not for very long. They are holding up OK. The waterproof LED strips have a silicone like covering which seems to keep in more heat. These strips definitely are hotter in use. All of the waterproof strips that I had inside the coach (SuperBrites, I think) have been replaced with the non waterproof LE brand. The engine bay lights are waterproof but not in channels. I just used plastic clips to hold the strips in place. Not fancy but does the job.

The plastic covers for the strips did not do well with the waterproof strips, it might just have been that brand. Lee Valley sent me all new covers and those have had no problems with the LE brand strips.

Power supplies...

A 120v to 12v (or any other voltage) for LED lighting is inexpensive and provides a fairly well regulated voltage (which most LEDs prefer). I use one with the awning LEDs because they have no built-in voltage management and they as 3.1 volts. Dimmers, switches and other controls work fine downstream from the power supply.

Running long stings of LEDs causes the voltage to drop along the length. It is much more efficient (in fixtures replacing fluorescent lights for example) to run strips in parallel.

Re: Waterproof, heat resistant, with 3M VHB double stick LED strips, or?

Reply #8 – December 05, 2017, 05:51:15 pm

Quote from: Roger & Susan in Home2 – December 05, 2017, 05:23:14 pm

The waterproof LED strips have a silicone like covering which seems to keep in more heat. These strips definitely are hotter in use.

X2. I put up two 15" long cheap "auto parts store" supposedly waterproof LED strips in our engine compartment about a year ago. They were meant to be a temporary solution to engine bay lighting, until I got around to redoing the insulation. Which I haven't done yet...

The lights were installed mainly to discourage critters from climbing up inside the compartment at night. I leave the lights on 24/7, because I'm too lazy to turn them on and off each day. So the other day when Don started talking about this subject, I went out and took a close look at them. On both strips, the "silicone" coating directly over each individual LED was completely gone! Melted, vaporized, disintegrated... I guess they got too hot being on all day long in the summer heat, and the silicone (or whatever it was) gave up the smoke. All of the LEDs still work fine and shine brightly, but I doubt that they are now waterproof.

Anyway, goes to show what happens if you exceed the rated operating temps...whatever that was.

Foretravel Owners' Forum For owners and Fans of Foretravel Motorcoaches September 25, 2025 ...

Waterproof, heat resistant, with 3M VHB double stick LED strips, or?

December 03, 2017, 10:49:10 am

Re: Waterproof, heat resistant, with 3M VHB double stick LED strips, or?

Reply #1 – December 03, 2017, 11:24:45 am

Re: Waterproof, heat resistant, with 3M VHB double stick LED strips, or?

Reply #2 – December 05, 2017, 10:07:15 am

Re: Waterproof, heat resistant, with 3M VHB double stick LED strips, or?

Reply #3 – December 05, 2017, 11:40:55 am

Re: Waterproof, heat resistant, with 3M VHB double stick LED strips, or?

Reply #4 – December 05, 2017, 11:56:19 am

Re: Waterproof, heat resistant, with 3M VHB double stick LED strips, or?

Reply #5 – December 05, 2017, 03:39:51 pm

Re: Waterproof, heat resistant, with 3M VHB double stick LED strips, or?

Reply #6 – December 05, 2017, 03:58:54 pm

Re: Waterproof, heat resistant, with 3M VHB double stick LED strips, or?

Reply #7 – December 05, 2017, 05:23:14 pm

Re: Waterproof, heat resistant, with 3M VHB double stick LED strips, or?

Reply #8 – December 05, 2017, 05:51:15 pm

Affiliate Notice