Cable help!

photonwave · Mar 12, 2010

I cannot find a suitable cable to save this project! What I have is a bunch of T8 style LED tubes. The ends are just like regular T8 tubes, but both ends have the dual prongs that act as a single conductor. This allows for a parallel or serial configuration.

So I'm trying to run these in a serial configuration. Picture included to give an idea.

Any clues where I could get some simple silicone-shrouded cables that can hook up T8-LEDs end to end? The shroud should ideally extend 1cm over the tube. I try looking everywhere and the closest thing I can find even RESEMBLING what I need is way too much for what I need. I just need a simple connector cable, not a whole gangable rig! I cannot use regular T8 fixtures like I'd normally use, I must have water-proof shrouded ends.

Ken_McE · Mar 12, 2010

Mind if I ask what you're doing with all this?

photonwave · Mar 12, 2010

Ken_McE said:
Mind if I ask what you're doing with all this?

It is for a client down under who is starting a large-scale multi-tier closely-stacked NFT system. His goal is to produce herbs and small fruits for food industry and markets. This would be the lighting rig under each tier.

The closest thing I've found is http://www.nationalelectricmfg.com/images/72000.jpg but that is an entire unit and not just that end connection on both sides of the cable.

Ken_McE · Mar 14, 2010

Been thinking about your question. The problem as I see it is that you have stacked together too many different specialized requirements. You want:

Silcone coated wires - I never see that.

Dual T-8 style terminations - I've never seen that.

Water and heat proof slip fitting for 8/12s inch tubes - I've never seen that.

These all add up to a very rare item. I'm going to guess that you also want specific lengths, specific wire gauges, and specific terminations on the other ends, which again increases the rarity. I see three ways to go from here:

1.) You make custom cables. I have made cables for various things but I don't believe I could build these as described. The waterproofing is where I'd fail. If I did, they would come out homemade looking and probably not what I'd want to provide to a paying customer. :shakehead Silicone spark plug wires are the only things I've seen that might provide raw material.

2.) You find a company that makes cables and order a small production run. The cables might wind up costing more than the whole rest of the project. :broke:

3.) you change the build to better match up with stock components. For instance, you could take standard 4' fluorescent light fixtures (or maybe this one), gut them out, use them just for the mechanical bits, enclose the whole fixture in a water tight box. This would handle the four tubes shown going right to left in your diagram. Or these things are off from your spec, but might help? I'm going to guess that either you already have four foot LED grow lights, or that the customer has specifically requested them?

photonwave · Mar 14, 2010

Ken_McE said:
Been thinking about your question. The problem as I see it is that you have stacked together too many different specialized requirements. You want:

Silcone coated wires - I never see that.

Dual T-8 style terminations - I've never seen that.

Water and heat proof slip fitting for 8/12s inch tubes - I've never seen that.

These all add up to a very rare item. I'm going to guess that you also want specific lengths, specific wire gauges, and specific terminations on the other ends, which again increases the rarity. I see three ways to go from here:

1.) You make custom cables. I have made cables for various things but I don't believe I could build these as described. The waterproofing is where I'd fail. If I did, they would come out homemade looking and probably not what I'd want to provide to a paying customer. :shakehead Silicone spark plug wires are the only things I've seen that might provide raw material.

2.) You find a company that makes cables and order a small production run. The cables might wind up costing more than the whole rest of the project.

3.) you change the build to better match up with stock components. For instance, you could take standard 4' fluorescent light fixtures (or maybe this one), gut them out, use them just for the mechanical bits, enclose the whole fixture in a water tight box. This would handle the four tubes shown going right to left in your diagram. Or these things are off from your spec, but might help? I'm going to guess that either you already have four foot LED grow lights, or that the customer has specifically requested them?

I didn't state silicone-coated, I stated silicone shrouded. Most spark plug wires are silicone shrouded at the end, for an example, to prevent dirt and water from getting inside the connection.

T8 ended shouldn't be too hard to accomodate, as they make shrouds that size.

Can't build the cables myself - these MUST be IP65 rated.

Found one company that has something close, still waiting on return contact.

Changing the build is impossible - this was already made to a very strict height requirement and there is not one single fixture on the market that will handle it and keep the height requirement - hence the need for the cable connections. If my manufacturer could have done these lights in a T5 format, I think I could have easily gotten away with a daisy-chainable slimline mounts, but in T8 size it is just impossible, taking up 1/6 of available headroom even in the lowest-profile mount is unacceptable.

Here is the closest thing I can find - http://www.nationalelectricmfg.com/images/72000.jpg That top cable and bottom cable is pretty much EXACTLY what I need. This is incidentally the company I am waiting on a callback from.

Ken_McE · Mar 14, 2010

I consider it a difficult project and hope it goes well for you. :thumbsup:
Mind if I ask what kind of arrangement you have for the LEDs? All red and blue?

photonwave · Mar 14, 2010

Ken_McE said:
I consider it a difficult project and hope it goes well for you. :thumbsup:
Mind if I ask what kind of arrangement you have for the LEDs? All red and blue?

It is quite a difficult project, especially since I'm doing it 3K miles from the actual site!

Stupid passport wait times.

Pure red and blue, yes. Using optics to get 160 degree viewing angle (same style as my avatar picture, actually)

photonwave · Mar 15, 2010

Problem seems to be solved. Since the tubes themselves can handle no more than three in a serial configuration, we're just going to create a power shunt with plugs at set distances.

Cable help!

photonwave

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Ken_McE

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photonwave

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Ken_McE

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photonwave

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Ken_McE

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photonwave

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photonwave

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