What do I need to know about heat?

[deonb]

I'm pretty familiar now with running pixels in a cold, wet place (Seattle). However, the end of the year I plan to have a pixel display in South Africa. I'm just going to put a bunch of stuff in a crate around May and ship it there.

What do I need to know about running in a hot environment?

Specifically - does any of the following not hold up well?

* E682 with a 5V/60A Power Supply inside a CG-1500
- On the lawn
- Against the house (brick)
- Under the eaves
* Ray's 5V WS2811 pixels inside:
- Boscoyo strips
- Connected to PVC pipes (icicles)
- Draped over stone/tiles
- Cable tied to welded wire frame
* Ray's 5V WS2812 60/60 strips in HDPE/PEX pipe
* Ray's 12V 10W DMX RGB flood lights
* Boscoyo strips
* HDPE Arches
* Coro fixtures such as stars etc.
* 3D printed parts out of ABS or PLA

Any reason to prefer white vs. black wire, or white vs. black Boscoyo strips?

 

[Habbosrus]

You may need to think about venting heat from your enclosure. Many of us will add vents and/or fans to our enclosures to extract the heat. I haven't seen a cg-1500 up close, but I believe there isn't a whole lot of room in them. You may need to re-think your enclosure. Others here will have a better explanation on heat build up.
I've found the black wire to hold up better than white or multi coloured wire.
I have both black ws2812b and White 2811 strip and both have held up very well (if I moved house less, they would hold up even better )
I have found that my Coro creations made from 5mm and thicker Coro have lasted very well. However, my creations made with some white 3mm Coro have only lasted a couple of seasons (they are still holding together, but looking a little ragged). Black 3mm Coro seems to handle the heat much better. The strips and Coro creations from Boscoyo look like they'd hold up very well. I plan to buy some of both this year.

 

[i13]

I agree with Habbosrus about venting enclosures. Clear wires seem to be the worst in the sun.

The strips in silicone tubing seem to cope better than the resin coated ones but I don't know if that is due to heat or UV from the sun. Having them in tubing may or may not help.

The outer casing on the clear pixel nodes will gradually discolour but not the round end where the light output is.

 

[deonb]

Wow, I'm surprised about the black wires & coro holding up better than the white. That's the reverse of what I would expect.


What could be the reason behind that?

 

[i13]

My guess would be that it is due to the UV from the sun penetrating them.

 

[the grinch]

Yes the biggest issue in the heat is ventilation of controller boxes and power supplies ! I try to keep important controller boxes shaded during the day so when light up happen s not as extreme. As far as coro and different display elements we still get many years of use out of them but sun does take a toll on them . other than that you shouldn't have any problems not sure of the temp in south Africa but here in south Australia we experience 43 degree celsius days over xmas period . You also can cover things with old towels or blankets during theday ! Goodluck with your ventures

 

[deonb]

My guess would be that it is due to the UV from the sun penetrating them.

I was fully prepared to come back and say, "but white light should reflect more UV!", and then I researched and realized, yeah, I have no idea...
http://gizmodo.com/why-are-drought-balls-black-instead-of-white-1724040253

Ok, I'll go with the prevailing experience that black is better.

 

[deonb]

Yes the biggest issue in the heat is ventilation of controller boxes and power supplies !

On side-by-side configs, is it better to have 2 power supplies in one enclosure and 2 controllers in another?


Or is 1 power supply + 1 controller per enclosure better?

 

[OzAz]

My guess would be that it is due to the UV from the sun penetrating them.

I was fully prepared to come back and say, "but white light should reflect more UV!", and then I researched and realized, yeah, I have no idea...
http://gizmodo.com/why-are-drought-balls-black-instead-of-white-1724040253

Ok, I'll go with the prevailing experience that black is better.

Same with cable ties - the black ones are UV resistant the white ones aren't


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[OzAz]

As for the cg-1500 enclosures their slightly rounded shape makes it harder to put exhaust vents on. I've got 4 x 40mm vents on mine, 2 on each side. Had no issues during our hot summer. But like others I kept them in shade as much as possible.
Eg:
https://www.switchesplus.com.au/detail/DSE-Hi-Box-40mm-Ventilator-Grey-ABS-Fits-all-Hi-Box-products?r=accessories


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[the grinch]

Yeah with the plastics stuff white is more proned too breaking down with the weather . I remember many years ago I used to do gyprock (drywall) and bosses would only allow to buy red or black plastic buckets for plaster mixing and as it worked out yes they where right they would last at least 4 times longer I was told due too xtra pigments made them stronger ? As far as the ventilation is important but dont worry yourself too pieces . This previous season I think maybe was pushing my luck with running 4 12v 33a power supplies plus falcon f16v2 in a metal enclosure I ventilated on both sides with little grilles 1 at bottom and 1 at top 4 in total my thoughts where as hot air rises ! it ran faultless the whole season a couple of hot nights I opened the door on enclosure and did notice a drop of3 degrees celsius via falcon controller heat sensors but yeah no issues was impressed . luckily this xmas lights thing only runs at night as during the day I would think we would be stuffed ! And also is only a short period each year our gear is out in the elements so as said you still can expect a few or many years of enjoyment out of single set of lights , display , elements etc etc even though sometimes they may look a little bit crusty and weathered in daylight still good of a night time !

 

[Habbosrus]

Yes the biggest issue in the heat is ventilation of controller boxes and power supplies !

On side-by-side configs, is it better to have 2 power supplies in one enclosure and 2 controllers in another?


Or is 1 power supply + 1 controller per enclosure better?

I would imagine 1 x power supply and 1 x controller would be better, as you will get higher temps running 2 x power supplies in an enclosure. It will also depend on how hard you are pushing your power supplies. The harder you push them, the more heat is generated. In a small enclosure, with less possibilities for heat dissipation, you may encounter more issues with 2 x power supplies.

 

[multicast]

Wow, I'm surprised about the black wires & coro holding up better than the white. That's the reverse of what I would expect.


What could be the reason behind that?

Its exactly the same reason tires are black. Black wire typically has a Carbon Pigment in it, which gives it UV stability. Its one reason why our commerical grade strings are made with black wire.