Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: Taxi_Driver on 05 January 2007, 19:02:34
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My back garden is about 120ft long.....right at the end is a shed and a gate.
And id like the area alluminated at night when i take my dog for a walk.
At the moment I have got two 20W spots powered by a 6v battery with a PIR sensor that turns the lights on for 20 secs....the battery gets recharged by a solar panel on the shed roof......I didnt make this....shop bought and blinking expensive and bloody useless......the solar panel carnt charge the battery enough.....even with a full charge it only lasts a day or so before it gives up working :(
So my plan is scrap this piece of junk and make something myself.
Idea is use a 12v car battery placed inside the shed.....goto halfrauds and buy two cheapo possibly 50W spotlamps (or extra driving lamps as they will probably call them)
Attach the lamps to the shed. (one pointed at gate the other pointed at the pathway up my garden)
Use a 10A (or higher) car relay to switch the spot lamps with a 12v PIR switching the relay.
Trouble is im finding it difficult to find a 12V PIR with a timer circuit at a reasonable price :(
What im hoping to achieve is, that the lamps will switch on for 10-15 secs when the 2x PIR's (one facing my house the other facing the gate) detect movement.
Im also hoping that a fully charged 12V car battery will last a week before going flat, then I can recharge it once a week, i think it should as the drain by the PIRs should be next to nothing and the 100W load on the battery will only be a minute max each day.
SO any ideas, where i can source a couple of 12v PIRs for outside use with a delay timer and needs to have light sensor in them as well....as no point switching the lights on during the day! at a reasonable price.... :-/
Also open to other ideas on how to achieve floodlighting by my gate......no mains power down there and i dont want run a reinforced cable 120ft.
Cheers
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How about caravan accessories? eg Towsure (http://www.towsure.com/default.asp?)
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How about caravan accessories? eg Towsure (http://www.towsure.com/default.asp?)
I did have a look at Towsure earlier....they have an outside light 12V with PIR but i dont think its going to be bright enough :( Thanks for the info tho :y
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sorry can't help here, but sure someone will :y
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sorry can't help here, but sure someone will :y
:( And i thought you were a wizz with your soldering iron Tunnie :(
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Why not leave what you have in place but change the battery arrangement. 6v heavy duty battery either from a motorscooter or a kids ride-on toy will give you plenty of light time and you don't need to make a wholesale change to your setup.
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sorry can't help here, but sure someone will :y
:( And i thought you were a wizz with your soldering iron Tunnie :(
Jaime is, he has a gas powered one! :o - I only have a draper budget one, i can solder but not very well.
Although tbh why bother with batters, run yourself some power from the house and get an outside plug! Not too far, just outside. You might have to run a cable the length of the garden, but is should be small enough?
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sorry can't help here, but sure someone will :y
:( And i thought you were a wizz with your soldering iron Tunnie :(
Jaime is, he has a gas powered one! :o - I only have a draper budget one, i can solder but not very well.
Although tbh why bother with batters, run yourself some power from the house and get an outside plug! Not too far, just outside. You might have to run a cable the length of the garden, but is should be small enough?
Gas one a bit too meaty for most stuff, but certainly has its uses....
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Why not leave what you have in place but change the battery arrangement. 6v heavy duty battery either from a motorscooter or a kids ride-on toy will give you plenty of light time and you don't need to make a wholesale change to your setup.
Thats certainly 'food for thought' ....was thinking of the 12V option tho as i have a 12V car battery sitting about doing nothing! :-/ Cheers :y
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Not hudely efficient, but use 12v, stick on a regulator to power the 6V PIR, relay that with 6v relay (12v caplable contacts) to 12v bulbs.
Then use HID lights, coz they are low power....
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sorry can't help here, but sure someone will :y
:( And i thought you were a wizz with your soldering iron Tunnie :(
Jaime is, he has a gas powered one! :o - I only have a draper budget one, i can solder but not very well.
Although tbh why bother with batters, run yourself some power from the house and get an outside plug! Not too far, just outside. You might have to run a cable the length of the garden, but is should be small enough?
So do i Tunnie....gas powered soldering iron that is ;)
Ummm 120ft of reinforced mains cable isnt cheap Tunnie :(
And TBH means running the cable from inside my house....drilling hole for the exit into the garden....rather do it using batterie/s ;)
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Not hudely efficient, but use 12v, stick on a regulator to power the 6V PIR, relay that with 6v relay (12v caplable contacts) to 12v bulbs.
Then use HID lights, coz they are low power....
HID's? thats sounding expensive now......im only a poor taxi driver you know ::)
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Not hudely efficient, but use 12v, stick on a regulator to power the 6V PIR, relay that with 6v relay (12v caplable contacts) to 12v bulbs.
Then use HID lights, coz they are low power....
HID's? thats sounding expensive now......im only a poor taxi driver you know ::)
ok, forget the hids, but the rest of it?
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Why not buy a torch?
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Why not buy a torch?
and strap it to the dog ;D
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Why not buy a torch?
and strap it to the dog ;D
i do have a torch.....but strapping it to the dog.....means she will be off....and i carnt see ;D
Just want some extra lighting coz the gate is padlocked all the time.....dont want AA sneaking upto my house and pinching all the semi synth i have ;D
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Could add one of those solar battery trickle chargers to it as well
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DO what I didi at our last house - run mains cable in plastic water pipe - proof against tools - I hid mine under the garden railway - which had a concrete base!
I'd suggest black pipe and fix to a fence
PS I used to run limited edition collectors stuff outside covering real miles!
Collectors really hate people like me!
Spend lots of money on highly detailed locos and run them rather than stick them in a display case!
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Could add one of those solar battery trickle chargers to it as well
Been there...bought the T shirt etc :(
Paid £140 for the set up at the mo.....solar panel carnt charge...jack shit >:(
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DO what I didi at our last house - run mains cable in plastic water pipe - proof against tools - I hid mine under the garden railway - which had a concrete base!
I'd suggest black pipe and fix to a fence
I would need to double check, but I'm not sure that is allowed. Outside cable should be armoured, just need to check if its a requirement.
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B&Q. They sell a black coach lamp with integral PIR and daylight sensor that runs from dusk till dawn at about 20% power, then when PIR picks up movement it switches to 60w for about £20. Do you need high power spots - if you do, get a rechargeable 2,000,000 candle power torchinstead - it'll light up your entire garden from the kitchen and lasts about 10 mins a time - self regulating trickle charger included - about £15. :y
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I've also got 2 independant PIR sensors that can be used up to 1000W incandescent or 400W fluorescent switching if you want them. I intended on adding them to my existing external lights but replaced the whole unit cos I wanted the dusk till dawn low light option and never got round to fitting them round the back.
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Why not buy a torch?
and strap it to the dog ;D
Now your being silly ::)
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Why not buy a torch?
and strap it to the dog ;D
Now your being silly ::)
Half the time i walk the dog i can't see her! In the fog recently was funny would't see her for 10 mins at a time! ::)
£140 for that setup!! :o - Is it the battery's fault, not designed for a slow trickle charge from the solar units??
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...and anyway, with the torch strapped to the dog, how would the dog be able to turn it on..... :-?
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Thought I'd add a poll TD, to help you decide.
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DO what I didi at our last house - run mains cable in plastic water pipe - proof against tools - I hid mine under the garden railway - which had a concrete base!
I'd suggest black pipe and fix to a fence
I would need to double check, but I'm not sure that is allowed. Outside cable should be armoured, just need to check if its a requirement.
This is NOT allowed, check part P of the building regs, it must be armoured. Also, any wiring that goes outside requires reporting and certification from either building control or an approved installer. You can avoid this by putting a plug on one end and making it "temporary or portable" or using a tardis and doing it before Jan 2005. I suspect you may soon start having to retrospectively certify any works before selling!
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DO what I didi at our last house - run mains cable in plastic water pipe - proof against tools - I hid mine under the garden railway - which had a concrete base!
I'd suggest black pipe and fix to a fence
I would need to double check, but I'm not sure that is allowed. Outside cable should be armoured, just need to check if its a requirement.
This is NOT allowed, check part P of the building regs, it must be armoured. Also, any wiring that goes outside requires reporting and certification from either building control or an approved installer. You can avoid this by putting a plug on one end and making it "temporary or portable" or using a tardis and doing it before Jan 2005. I suspect you may soon start having to retrospectively certify any works before selling!
Ah more government test tickles then!
Just stick a plug on then!
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Change of plan ::)
Went looking around this morning.....and ended up buying a 600W invertor 8-)
Couple of low wattage 240v floodlights with PIR detectors.....
Now this will either work.....and the 12v battery will manage to last a week before needing charging or i will end up with a shed of car batteries ;D
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£140 for that setup!! :o - Is it the battery's fault, not designed for a slow trickle charge from the solar units??
I think it would actually work if we had 16 hours of sun a day, everyday! But unfortunately we dont :(
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Change of plan ::)
Went looking around this morning.....and ended up buying a 600W invertor 8-)
Couple of low wattage 240v floodlights with PIR detectors.....
Now this will either work.....and the 12v battery will manage to last a week before needing charging or i will end up with a shed of car batteries ;D
Inverter not efficient.
Also, car batteries do not like discharge/charge cycles...
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Also, car batteries do not like discharge/charge cycles...
.. but caravan deep cycle batteries do.
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.....
Also, car batteries do not like discharge/charge cycles...
.. but caravan deep cycle batteries do.
Agreed, leisure batteries are better at coping with that use - though even leisure ones will only cope with a relatively low number of cycles...
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Change of plan ::)
Went looking around this morning.....and ended up buying a 600W invertor 8-)
Couple of low wattage 240v floodlights with PIR detectors.....
Now this will either work.....and the 12v battery will manage to last a week before needing charging or i will end up with a shed of car batteries ;D
Inverter not efficient.
Also, car batteries do not like discharge/charge cycles...
I know they are not terribly.....however standby power consumption of it was .5A.......and the lights are only going to be on very small amount.....ive set the timers on them to 5 secs.
Agreed this is best way to knacker a car battery ::) But it was one i had lying about.....it came out of one of my veccies......Driver of it managed to leave the lights on it overnight ::) And as i dont like jump starting cars (poss of damage being done) I bunged a new GO battery on it....bargain for £30!
-
Change of plan ::)
Went looking around this morning.....and ended up buying a 600W invertor 8-)
Couple of low wattage 240v floodlights with PIR detectors.....
Now this will either work.....and the 12v battery will manage to last a week before needing charging or i will end up with a shed of car batteries ;D
Inverter not efficient.
Also, car batteries do not like discharge/charge cycles...
I know they are not terribly.....however standby power consumption of it was .5A.......and the lights are only going to be on very small amount.....ive set the timers on them to 5 secs.
Agreed this is best way to knacker a car battery ::) But it was one i had lying about.....it came out of one of my veccies......Driver of it managed to leave the lights on it overnight ::) And as i dont like jump starting cars (poss of damage being done) I bunged a new GO battery on it....bargain for £30!
Half an amp! That is a significant constant drain...
-
Change of plan ::)
Went looking around this morning.....and ended up buying a 600W invertor 8-)
Couple of low wattage 240v floodlights with PIR detectors.....
Now this will either work.....and the 12v battery will manage to last a week before needing charging or i will end up with a shed of car batteries ;D
Inverter not efficient.
Also, car batteries do not like discharge/charge cycles...
I know they are not terribly.....however standby power consumption of it was .5A.......and the lights are only going to be on very small amount.....ive set the timers on them to 5 secs.
Agreed this is best way to knacker a car battery ::) But it was one i had lying about.....it came out of one of my veccies......Driver of it managed to leave the lights on it overnight ::) And as i dont like jump starting cars (poss of damage being done) I bunged a new GO battery on it....bargain for £30!
Half an amp! That is a significant constant drain...
It actually said in the spec <.5 so i shall to see how the battery holds up!
If i decide to add another battery in parallel......is there any precautions to take to stop one battery draining in to the other? :-/
-
Change of plan ::)
Went looking around this morning.....and ended up buying a 600W invertor 8-)
Couple of low wattage 240v floodlights with PIR detectors.....
Now this will either work.....and the 12v battery will manage to last a week before needing charging or i will end up with a shed of car batteries ;D
Inverter not efficient.
Also, car batteries do not like discharge/charge cycles...
I know they are not terribly.....however standby power consumption of it was .5A.......and the lights are only going to be on very small amount.....ive set the timers on them to 5 secs.
Agreed this is best way to knacker a car battery ::) But it was one i had lying about.....it came out of one of my veccies......Driver of it managed to leave the lights on it overnight ::) And as i dont like jump starting cars (poss of damage being done) I bunged a new GO battery on it....bargain for £30!
Half an amp! That is a significant constant drain...
It actually said in the spec <.5 so i shall to see how the battery holds up!
If i decide to add another battery in parallel......is there any precautions to take to stop one battery draining in to the other? :-/
Disconnect them ;D
-
Change of plan ::)
Went looking around this morning.....and ended up buying a 600W invertor 8-)
Couple of low wattage 240v floodlights with PIR detectors.....
Now this will either work.....and the 12v battery will manage to last a week before needing charging or i will end up with a shed of car batteries ;D
Inverter not efficient.
Also, car batteries do not like discharge/charge cycles...
I know they are not terribly.....however standby power consumption of it was .5A.......and the lights are only going to be on very small amount.....ive set the timers on them to 5 secs.
Agreed this is best way to knacker a car battery ::) But it was one i had lying about.....it came out of one of my veccies......Driver of it managed to leave the lights on it overnight ::) And as i dont like jump starting cars (poss of damage being done) I bunged a new GO battery on it....bargain for £30!
Half an amp! That is a significant constant drain...
It actually said in the spec <.5 so i shall to see how the battery holds up!
If i decide to add another battery in parallel......is there any precautions to take to stop one battery draining in to the other? :-/
Disconnect them ;D
Not helpful AA.. >:( ..Jaime sack AA ;D
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Just took dog for her walk....as i got halfway down path 1st floodlamp came on :) (i can see this far as ive 2 mains outside lights on the back of my house) as i passed the shed to the gate the 2nd floodlamp came on :) to alluminate the gate area......when i got back from her walk....as i approached the gate the floodlamp came on... :) after locking the gate and walking up my path the other floodlamp came on :)
All working as it should... :) ....just hope the battery can cope :-/
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Just took dog for her walk....as i got halfway down path 1st floodlamp came on :) (i can see this far as ive 2 mains outside lights on the back of my house) as i passed the shed to the gate the 2nd floodlamp came on :) to alluminate the gate area......when i got back from her walk....as i approached the gate the floodlamp came on... :) after locking the gate and walking up my path the other floodlamp came on :)
All working as it should... :) ....just hope the battery can cope :-/
You lead an interesting life ;D
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Just took dog for her walk....as i got halfway down path 1st floodlamp came on :) (i can see this far as ive 2 mains outside lights on the back of my house) as i passed the shed to the gate the 2nd floodlamp came on :) to alluminate the gate area......when i got back from her walk....as i approached the gate the floodlamp came on... :) after locking the gate and walking up my path the other floodlamp came on :)
All working as it should... :) ....just hope the battery can cope :-/
You lead an interesting life ;D
But at least i can see where im going now :D
Pity the same carnt be said for the headlights in the omega......now theres another idea....couple of 500w floodlights bolted to the roof.....1000W inverter and away we go :D