inconsistant description IP68 or IP67?

bernard

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Sep 15, 2013
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Never bought RGB before and I am a little hesitant about this one; The description says IP 68 but when you scroll down it says "technology IP67".

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/12mm-WS2811-pixel-module-IP68-DC5V-input-full-color-note-we-updated-WS2801-to-WS2811-which/701799_404056686.html

Have you used those or would you suggest something else (smart, 5V)? There is only one feed back and I wonder if I am looking at the right stuff. I would have thought there would be hundreds of them.
 

bernard

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oh believe me, anything helps at this stage! thanks for the lightning speed response!
 

jediknight2

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IF you haven't ordered these yet and your ordering from Ray you are up against TIME right now. He gets SWAMPED this time of year!
 

bernard

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yes, it seems that time might become a factor. I read lots of threads about responses and deliveries lately.

Back to my original question about IP68 and iP67 description for the same product, what to think about it? might be a typo but it raises a red fag...not sure what I would be getting.
 

markl

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The unfortunate truth is that you can't really trust either of those ratings. I'm certain they haven't been certified by anyone, and although either rating should be more than sufficient for our hobby use, you'll find many reports of water related failures on both type. (Although those marketed as IP67 seem to have far more reports than the others.)

What you really want to know is whether they're injection molded silicone or epoxy filled. Since the description says "injection type", I'm guessing the former. I chatted with Ray a ways back about similar $14 strings, and they were in fact the silicone type. I think he generally calls the silicone filled IP67 and epoxy filled IP68. The problem with those is that the silicone is flexible and doesn't seal well around where the wires enter the pixel body, especially if the wires get pulled apart. The epoxy filled should be more water resistant because the epoxy hardens and encapsulates the PCB...to some extent. I have the square base pixels, and you can still see occasional voids in the epoxy. I plan sealing around the "bulb" with liquid tape just in case.

Mark
 

bernard

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Thanks Mark for the info on epoxy vs silicone. Good tip with the liquid tape too.
I guess I just need to give it a try and see how it goes. The price is not bad and it is not a big risk.
Thanks again
 

fasteddy

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The chinese seem to have their own beliefs on what IP ratings are. Its the construction of the lights that will determine the IP rating like markl touched on that will really determine the level of protection

IP-classification testing is normally carried out in accordance with the global IEC 60529 standard or its European equivalent, EN 60529. But im sure the Chinese dont do any of these tests or really comply with this standard
 

bernard

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Out of curiosity, are they actually some RGB strings that truly are IP 67 or 68 compliant and for which the IP rating is not an advertisement "trap"? wonder what the price might be for them.
Thanks again for the info you shared with me
 

fasteddy

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bernard said:
Out of curiosity, are they actually some RGB strings that truly are IP 67 or 68 compliant and for which the IP rating is not an advertisement "trap"? wonder what the price might be for them.
Thanks again for the info you shared with me

I know ive tested the Minleon Triklits under 2 feet of water for a constant 2 week period and they kept working perfectly, but they are really aimed at the commercial world and well above the price that a DIYer would spend.
 

bernard

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That is an impressive result you got with those lights. Can you imagine a swimming pool with RGB in the bottom...
 

kane

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bernard said:
That is an impressive result you got with those lights. Can you imagine a swimming pool with RGB in the bottom...
The pool lights in my pool are actually RGB LED, but they have in inbuilt controller to cycle between colours.. Problem is, they don't cycle together, so you end up with two separate colours and it looks average!
 
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