Complicated under cabinet lighting question... (SOLVED)

[bare]

Hi everyone, I'm a long-time reader and I finally signed up because I have a problem I'm hoping you can help me with. I know this is my first post so I apologize if I look like one of those guys who only shows up when they have a question... I run my own technical website and forum for repairing motorcycles, so I know and appreciate what goes into these forums - I sincerely appreciate any help or advice that you guys can offer, I'm in a bit of a jam trying to solve my problem.

Also, I apologize if this is the wrong section for this post, I read the section titles and was unsure if it belonged here or under "fixed lighting" in general. Please move my post if this is the case.

Now on to my problem... I just remodeled my kitchen and I bought this set of lights from Lowe's:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_366093-1390-GU9163-BAL-I_0__?Ntt=366093&productId=3531560&rpp=16

The package says it's expandable up to six lights so I bought 3 more of these:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_366096-1390-GU9161-BAL-I_0__?Ntt=366096&productId=3531562&rpp=16

I checked and there was no problem with hardwiring the driver in a wall outlet box to supply power. With that sorted out I dismantled the junction box that the pucks plug into to be sure that there was no special circuitry. There was not, the junction box was just a simple printed circuit board with the female barrel plugs soldered in place.

I opened the kit, checked the puck light wire and found it to be 24 gauge. I ordered a roll of 24 gauge wire to lengthen the wires for the pucks. To be sure I wouldn't have any resistance issues from adding wire I only cut one puck at first, lengthened the wire and the puck remained just as bright. My plan was to hardwire the driver to 110AC, then take the 24 gauge wiring and lengthen it into a junction box in my attic. I then took 24 gauge wire and fed it down the walls and into place under all my cabinets. Since the original junction box for the pucks was just a fancy PCB that connected all the wires together, I just stripped all the wires, twisted them together and wire-nutted them in the junction box. I got my walls back up, cabinets installed, wired up the pucks and found them to be VERY dim.:(

I freaked out because all my walls are up and the cabinets are in so I can't change anything. I went to Lowe's, bought another unit, opened the old one and unsoldered the wires, opened the new one and unsoldered the wires and then swapped units. Since all my stuff is hard-wired and the wires are in the walls I didn't have any choice here. The new unit does the EXACT same thing. I went through and cut one puck out (going from 6 pucks to 5) and suddenly the remaining pucks got brighter. I then cut another puck out, bam - brighter again. So I cut a 3rd out and the pucks were back to full brightness.

This caused me to get my meter out and run some tests, the driver is load-sensitive so it ups the voltage each time it senses another puck. Anywhere from 1-3 LED pucks gets about 3.3V driving each puck, so 1 puck is 3.3V, 2 pucks are about 6.6 and 3 pucks equal about 9.9 volts output. Once I plug in #4 or higher the voltage drops. With 4 pucks I get a drop to about 2.9V per, 5 pucks drops me to about 2.8V per, and all 6 drops me to a very dim 2.7V per puck.

A call to the company (Good Earth Lighting is the actual manufacturer) gets the typical "you modified it, we can't help you" answer.

Sooo... Here's my dilemma... I now have all my walls and cabinets in place, the wiring is in the walls and I can't get this system to do what I need. Is there anyone out there who can help me design a system that will work with my existing wiring? I have 18 gauge lamp cord coming out of the wall for a driver and 24 gauge, essentially speaker wire, running to all my cabinets. If anyone can advise me on a driver that would work with these pucks I'm all ears. If anyone has a better idea that I can implement with my existing wiring I'm open to suggestions.

I am very handy with a soldering iron and a meter. I can get anyone whatever information is necessary. I am really in a bind here, the wife is all over me to figure this out so we can finish the kitchen - please help.

What I would LIKE if it is a possible option - warm LED lights (2700-3000K color), a driver and a dimmer if possible. The dimmer is not a deal breaker, but I would very much like one. I also would like a switch for the driver that is under the cabinet. I'm trying to avoid adding another switch on the wall.

I'm sorry for writing a NOVEL here, but I figured the more information I provide the fewer questions anyone needs to ask me.

A BIG thanks to everyone in advance for ANY insight that can be offered.:thumbsup:

 

[bare]

Re: Complicated under cabinet lighting question...

I forgot to add... I have been searching the forum for info, but because of the specific nature and urgency of my problem I thought it might be best to just post my dilemma in the hopes of getting assistance. I understand forum "etiquette" would call for searching first, I didn't want to give the impression that I didn't at least try first.:D

 

[mds82]

Re: Complicated under cabinet lighting question...

I've done a bunch of under cabinet lighting myself so hopefully i can help a bit here.

So right now it stand that the driver you have isnt working correctly. you also have 6 LED's, individually wired all coming back to a central location. If you are going to run it off AC power then what you basically need is a LED Driver for them. Most all LED Drivers are meant to power a string of LED's in series. You can run all 6 LED's in series with each other either by connecting the ends of the wires at the central location, or connecting them directly in line( which would make the distance between them much shorter)

With the stock driver, i would recommend checking the amperage ouput to the LED's. it might be 350mA or 700mA, but you would need to double check first. Recom has some simple LED Drivers: http://www.recom-lighting.com/tools/datasheets.html the RACD12 takes 110AC input power and can handle 1-11 LED's at 350mA output. You would just need to wire all the LED's in series.

You could also get a larger output driver, 1000mA and run all the LED's in parallel. If you run them in parallel the output will be divided between all the LED's.

Hope this helps for a start

 

[bare]

Re: Complicated under cabinet lighting question...

I forgot to specify, and thanks for replying and reminding me, the original junction box for this driver had all the lights plugged in in parallel so that's how I wired them. Since the driver and the LED wires all junction in one place I can either keep them in parallel as they are now, or I could rewire them in series like you mention.

You mention checking the amp draw for each LED, is there anything unusual about this process for LED's or is it just a matter of placing my meter in-line with the + wire feeding the LED?

I can get that information this afternoon, no problem.

Thanks again for the reply.

 

[mds82]

Re: Complicated under cabinet lighting question...

you can check it just with a in-line meter.

 

[bare]

Re: Complicated under cabinet lighting question...

OK, I did a quick amperage test and I'm seeing 720mA drawn for one puck. I assume this means they are 750mA LED's. I want to add, because I don't know if it matters, but this was testing amperage with only one LED connected. When I connected a second LED the amperage dropped to 330mA, adding a 3rd LED made it drop further and so on. I know that current is inversely proportional to voltage, and I know this is a load sensitive driver, so adding a second LED causes the voltage to double - therefore the amperage to be cut in half. Am I right?

I just figure it's better to put everything out there rather than leave something out and make a mistake.

Just a side note, I have no problem using these existing LED's (it'll save me having to mount new ones), but I am not opposed to replacing them if anyone thinks I can create a better system with something else.

Thanks so much for the help!!!

 

[bare]

Re: Complicated under cabinet lighting question...

I did some digging on the site you linked above (Recom lighting) and it looks like I might want a unit from the section titled "Constant Current AC Dimmable LED Driver". I assume this because I mentioned wanting a dimmable driver. My question is, how do I dim this unit? I looked at the .pdf for it and I don't see a dial on it. Is this something where I'd need to add a separate dimmer outside of the driver?

With that said, given the information I've provided so far how can I figure exactly which unit I need? Is it just as simple as multiplying the amp draw times 6 since I have 6 LED's? I was reading the voltage and current outputs on that datasheets you linked and it's a little confusing to me.

Thanks again for the reply and any help.

 

[PapaLumen]

Re: Complicated under cabinet lighting question...

For parallel multiply the currents. For series multiply the voltages.

Amp draws if wired parallel would be 700ma x 6 = 4.2A but at 3v or whatever the forward voltage of the led's are (probably somewhere between 2.9v and 3.4v) The only one they have that can provide 4.2A also puts out 11-13.5v so too much voltage for your needs.

If you can wire them in series instead and just use RACD20-D (US), the top one from that "constant current AC Dimmable LED Driver" section you should be good, choose the single 700ma output which has a voltage range 3-34 (your six leds prob have a voltage of about 18v when wired in series) although as mentioned if there is a way you could run the wire from one light to the next it would shorten the length considerably.

Not sure about the dimming but it says for dimming - "Rheostat (10%~100%) 0-150kOhm" or "External Voltage (10%-100%) 1-10VDC" so hopefully someone here can tell you what you need.

 

[blasterman]

Re: Complicated under cabinet lighting question...

Trying to wrap my head around the circuit here.

From what I understand, you have six total pucks with a single ~2.9-3.4 volt LED in it with the puck wires running through the walls. All the wires, + and - terminate at a common and accessible point, correct? You want to drive them at either 350mA or 700mA? (I'm confused at which). Let's ignore voltage drop and other variables because it likely won't matter

 

[bare]

Re: Complicated under cabinet lighting question...

Amp draws if wired parallel would be 700ma x 6 = 4.2A but at 3v or whatever the forward voltage of the led's are (probably somewhere between 2.9v and 3.4v) The only one they have that can provide 4.2A also puts out 11-13.5v so too much voltage for your needs.

OK, so then I'll just have to climb in my attic and redo the wiring. All the wires are junctioned in one accessible box, so I just need to change parallel to series.

If you can wire them in series instead and just use RACD20-D (US), the top onefrom that "constant current AC Dimmable LED Driver" section you should be good, choose the single 700ma output which has a voltage range 3-34 (your six leds prob have a voltage of about 18v when wired in series) although as mentioned if there is a way you could run the wire from one light to the next it would shorten the length considerably.

So then as long as the current is sufficient the voltage will vary to where it needs to be? Forgive me if I sound a little slow grasping the concept, much of my experience with DC is with simple 12V circuits where the voltage stays fixed. When I checked voltage before I was drawing about 3.3V per LED, so your figures sound consistent with what I measured.

That RACD20-350D unit does seem to fit the bill. I see it's the US version so it accepts 110V AC input and outputs either 2 circuits at 350mA or 1 circuit at 700mA - am I reading that all correctly? My only question is in regards to the max LED's listed in the spec sheet, it shows 10 x 2W - I'm assuming my LED's are 2W LED's so this means that my 6 in series is less than the 10 max, right? I'm just making sure I cover all my bases before I start ordering stuff.

Not sure about the dimming but it says for dimming - "Rheostat (10%~100%) 0-150kOhm" or "External Voltage (10%-100%) 1-10VDC" so hopefully someone here can tell you what you need.

I read this too, I'm trying to figure out how I can use this unit since I need an on/off switch and a dimmer and this appears to be only the driver. I'm hoping that someone can help me figure out that one little nuance of my problem.

From what I understand, you have six total pucks with a single ~2.9-3.4 volt LED in it with the puck wires running through the walls.

Yes, there are 6 pucks and each has a single LED. I wasn't sure of the LED type/size but after advice from above I did a current test and it shows that a single puck draws 720mA from the existing driver. I did voltage tests originally and found that a single LED drew ~3.3V, so that's consistent with your figures as well. I assume that since the LED was drawing 720mA that means it must be a ~700mA LED.

Yes, the wiring is all in the walls which is my cause for concern, I can't just redo all this without dismantling my kitchen and re-opening my walls. I guess I complicated this for myself because I have a galley kitchen and I wanted one controller on one wall to control the lights on both walls. If not for the desire to have one controller for 2 walls of cabinets I would have just run all the wires under the cabinets on one side.

All the wires, + and - terminate at a common and accessible point, correct?

Yes, everything is in one junction box in my attic over the kitchen. This means that even though the wiring is currently in parallel, I can still climb in the attic and redo everything in series.

You want to drive them at either 350mA or 700mA? (I'm confused at which). Let's ignore voltage drop and other variables because it likely won't matter

I wasn't sure about this myself, but from the advice above I did a current check using the existing driver and it shows 720mA. I assume from the replies above that this means I want to drive them at 700mA. If I'm wrong I hope someone tells me so, lol...:)

Thanks so much for the help so far, from everyone who's replied. If the driver mentioned above will work for my needs then my only question is to figure out how to add an on/off switch and a dimmer to the circuit. Is this something I need to do separately from the driver or is there possibly another driver I can use that has the dimmer and on/off switch already integrated?

 

[PapaLumen]

Re: Complicated under cabinet lighting question...

Yep, you got it. It will only draw the voltage it needs but will provide constant 700ma current. Its a constant current driver which is what led's need as opposed to a constant voltage driver and yes, it could power more led's.

As far as the dimming, maybe you could mail them and ask about it and ask if they can point you towards something suitable and how to wire it. Not sure if it goes before, into, or after the driver etc. An on-off switch will be easy just wire it inline to the input.

3.3v sounds about right for the led's.

Hopefully the longish wires wont hurt too much, you will just have to try it and see..

Oh and if 700ma is too bright you could always use the 2x 350ma outputs running three off each.

Let us know how you get on.

*edit* looks like the dimmer is wired into the driver itself.

 

[blasterman]

Re: Complicated under cabinet lighting question...

Ok, so going by what you just described we have six LEDs in individual pucks, and you have fairly long leads embedded in the walls. Pucks / LED's are installed under your cabinets ready to go, and the ends of the leads terminate some distance, but all the terminations are in one spot. LED's are some variety of 3watt emitter, but they came from the factory already configured to run at least 700mA.

How long (approx) is the run for each LED?

If the leads all terminate in one spot, then rewiring shouldn't be necessary. Just wire them in series at that point, unless we're dealing with a huge distance and that's easy to calculate if we know the approximate distance. If you don't know for sure which lead is + or - just get a 3volt battery (or two AAs in series) and test each lead. Or use a diode tester on a multimeter - whatever frustrates you the least.

You can of course crawl through the attic and cut the leads, but I don't see why this is necessary unless we have super long runs.

There are about a jillion LED drivers that can push 6 LEDs at 700mA without dimming. About a jillion others with dimming capability, but it really depends on how you want to dim. Do you want to use some external PWM controller...do what to wire it in a switch, or will a knob on the driver itself for occasional adjustment work fine for you.

 

[bare]

Re: Complicated under cabinet lighting question...

As far as the dimming, maybe you could mail them and ask about it and ask if they can point you towards something suitable and how to wire it. Not sure if it goes before, into, or after the driver etc. An on-off switch will be easy just wire it inline to the input.

I had this thought as well, was going to give it one more day to see if anyone here had any great ideas and then hit them up directly. I assume that it requires a pre-driver dimmer since the driver is listed as "dimmable". I would think that using a post-driver dimmer wouldn't care if the driver was dimmable or not. Of course we all know what happens when I assume...:)

Hopefully the longish wires wont hurt too much, you will just have to try it and see..

I don't think they're too long, we're probably only talking about 10-12 feet at the longest. I know wire length can create extra resistance, but the wires all test out at only 1ohm of resistance (I twisted each individual wire's +/- together at the junction box when running the wires so that I could do a resistance check to be sure there wasn't a short).

Oh and if 700ma is too bright you could always use the 2x 350ma outputs running three off each.

I don't think this will be necessary, but options are always good.:D

Let us know how you get on.

I definitely will!

*edit* looks like the dimmer is wired into the driver itself.

Where did you see this? I scoured the dimmer info, datasheets and .pdf's and didn't see this...?

Ok, so going by what you just described we have six LEDs in individual pucks, and you have fairly long leads embedded in the walls. Pucks / LED's are installed under your cabinets ready to go, and the ends of the leads terminate some distance, but all the terminations are in one spot. LED's are some variety of 3watt emitter, but they came from the factory already configured to run at least 700mA.

Yep, this all sounds right. I am not opposed to changing the LED's if someone thinks there is a better option out there, but I'm fine with these if I can make them work. They're already mounted in place and ready to be finish wired, so it would save me that step.

How long (approx) is the run for each LED?

At the most they are about 10-12 feet per LED, this means approximately a 10-12 foot run from the driver to the junction box and then another 10-12 feet from the junction to each LED puck. I mentioned above that a resistance check showed a consistent 1 ohm for each wire "loop" running back to the junction point. I consider this minimal unless someone else tells me I'm wrong.

If the leads all terminate in one spot, then rewiring shouldn't be necessary. Just wire them in series at that point, unless we're dealing with a huge distance and that's easy to calculate if we know the approximate distance. If you don't know for sure which lead is + or - just get a 3volt battery (or two AAs in series) and test each lead. Or use a diode tester on a multimeter - whatever frustrates you the least.

I wired them consistently so I know which is + and which is - for each LED. I also figure I'll just do what you said, climb up there and redo the wiring from parallel to series - no biggie.

You can of course crawl through the attic and cut the leads, but I don't see why this is necessary unless we have super long runs.

Yeah, everything should be just fine.

There are about a jillion LED drivers that can push 6 LEDs at 700mA without dimming. About a jillion others with dimming capability, but it really depends on how you want to dim. Do you want to use some external PWM controller...do what to wire it in a switch, or will a knob on the driver itself for occasional adjustment work fine for you.

This is the biggest issue of concern for me right now, finding the right driver for what I want. The driver is going to be mounted under my cabinet hidden in that 1" lip that hangs under the cabinet. I would like very much if I can find a driver with an on/off switch and a dimmer knob directly on the driver, that way I can mount the driver and everything is there in one place - no need to mount a separate switch and dimmer also. I am currently getting power for the driver from an adjacent junction box where my ceiling light switches are, the power comes into the box to feed the switches there and I just tapped in a constant 110V AC wire for the driver directly in that box. This gives me the option to rewire and add a wall switch if I want to, but I would much prefer the on/off and dimmer switch just be under the cabinet on the driver. I would be very interested if you know of another driver other than what's been mentioned that better suits my needs.

Thanks again to everyone who's replied. I've learned some and I'm getting much closer to solving my problem thanks to you guys.

 

[mds82]

Re: Complicated under cabinet lighting question...

Yes you should be able to mount this under the cabinet you have there. if you look at this picture: http://media.digikey.com/Photos/Recom Power Inc/RACD20-350D.jpg it shows that there are 2 connectors there on the top right that you can attach a rheostat to. You can then mount the rheostat under the cabinet as well so its mostly hidden. From my personal experience you are going to want to keep the undercabinet lights as bright as possible because it helps so much.


Just another idea for you... If you are not happy with only having 6 under cabinet light units you can easily, and inexpensively make a entirely new set for very little cost. It would cost you around $5 or less per LED you want to add. I know i made some years ago for my parents kitchen, using a total of 20 LED's or so and that is their primary source of light. You might not need to to much re-wiring as well. Feel free to shoot me a PM if you want as well.

 

[PapaLumen]

Re: Complicated under cabinet lighting question...

If you look closely at the pics of the driver you can just see the connections on it.

 

[blasterman]

Re: Complicated under cabinet lighting question...

Not familiar with Recom, but the driver mds82 linked looks like it will work perfectly. Most dimmable drivers require an external 10v input or PWM, but an increasing number allow you to just drop a pot on the leads and actively adjust. Instant dimmer switch if you get the right rotary. Might not dim to 100% off, but it will be close.

Oh yeah, the driver's mentioned here are light years better products than what you had. Just remember to not wire it hot because it's a sure fire way to blow the entire string.

 

[arek98]

Re: Complicated under cabinet lighting question...

As said unless you wires are extreme they do not matter. Constant current driver should supply given current and will just “think” that LEDs have higher Vf (because extra voltage drop on wire). Problem starts if voltage drop on wire + Vf of LEDs goes over max voltage that driver can supply.

You said that voltage on LED drops to 2.7V with all six connected. Did you measure this on LED or divided voltage of whole string by 6? If you measured voltage on LED then connect all 6, connect driver and measure voltage that driver supplies to whole string.

You will see if it is within driver spec. If it reached drivers max then you have somewhere resistance that drops extra voltage.

You said that wire is 1 ohm. Each of them or all together? If each wire is 1ohm and you have 12 of them (2 for each LED, right?) then you have extra 12 ohms, at 0.7A this is 8.4V lost, this may be an issue.

When this is sorted out (extra resistance) I would make sure that all 6 LEDs are connected properly in one string. Connect driver and see if it is still dim. If yes then probably driver for whatever reason can’t supply enough voltage. Buy different driver then (I used Recon and Meanwell and did not had a problems).

 

[bare]

Re: Complicated under cabinet lighting question...

Yes you should be able to mount this under the cabinet you have there. if you look at this picture: http://media.digikey.com/Photos/Recom Power Inc/RACD20-350D.jpg it shows that there are 2 connectors there on the top right that you can attach a rheostat to. You can then mount the rheostat under the cabinet as well so its mostly hidden. From my personal experience you are going to want to keep the undercabinet lights as bright as possible because it helps so much.

I had looked at the unit up close by doing a google image search on the model number, but I never noticed the spot you mention where I can attach a rheostat - thanks for pointing it out.

Just another idea for you... If you are not happy with only having 6 under cabinet light units you can easily, and inexpensively make a entirely new set for very little cost. It would cost you around $5 or less per LED you want to add. I know i made some years ago for my parents kitchen, using a total of 20 LED's or so and that is their primary source of light. You might not need to to much re-wiring as well. Feel free to shoot me a PM if you want as well.

I wish I had known this in advance, I spent about $15/per for the existing pucks I have now. I'd say that I'd pull them down and return them and build new, but I honestly just want to get the whole thing done at this point.:laughing: As far as adding more lights, I appreciate the input but my kitchen isn't so large that I think I need more than 6. If I get these up to full intensity (the problem I was having with the old driver) I should be set. If not, then I may be back here to learn more about making my own.:D

If you look closely at the pics of the driver you can just see the connections on it.

I do see them now that it was pointed out, I was overlooking them before. My question now is, where do I get the proper rheostat? Is this as simple as a Radio Shack trip or do I need something particular? I'm not trying to seem dense, but apparently I know just enough about this stuff to get myself in trouble.:laughing:

Oh yeah, the driver's mentioned here are light years better products than what you had. Just remember to not wire it hot because it's a sure fire way to blow the entire string.

I kinda figured that anything I would buy that was purpose-built would likely be better than anything I bought off the shelf that was designed to be cheap and come in kit form.:rolleyes: When you mention not wiring the unit hot, I assume you mean to turn off the power first - right? Or do you mean something else? I've done electrical work for years and it's very, very seldom that I ever fool with wiring when it's live. I'd shut down this breaker, do all my wiring, and then turn it back on afterwards.:thumbsup:

Thanks to everyone again, I think the only question I still have is about the rheostat and an on/off switch. Ideally I'd like to find a rheostat that turns all the way off and kill 2 birds with one stone, what do you guys suggest?

 

[bare]

Re: Complicated under cabinet lighting question...

This post came in when I was replying to the others so I'll respond to it here.:thumbsup:

As said unless you wires are extreme they do not matter. Constant current driver should supply given current and will just “think” that LEDs have higher Vf (because extra voltage drop on wire). Problem starts if voltage drop on wire + Vf of LEDs goes over max voltage that driver can supply.

You said that voltage on LED drops to 2.7V with all six connected. Did you measure this on LED or divided voltage of whole string by 6? If you measured voltage on LED then connect all 6, connect driver and measure voltage that driver supplies to whole string.

You will see if it is within driver spec. If it reached drivers max then you have somewhere resistance that drops extra voltage.

I actually measured it both ways, the voltages I specified above (3.3V-2.7V) were measured at one single LED. I also did a complete measurement at the driver for the entire system, one light showed ~3.3V, 2 lights showed ~6.6V, 3 lights showed around ~10V and this is where the voltage stopped progressing in a linear fashion. Adding the 4th light put me ~12V, the 5th light put me ~14V and the 6th put me just a hair over 16V. I know that it's a load sensitive driver (unsure if that's the proper terminology) but it's supposed to up the voltage each time it senses another LED.

You said that wire is 1 ohm. Each of them or all together? If all wires are 1ohm and you have 12 of them (2 for each LED, right?) then you have extra 12 ohms, at 0.7A this is 8.4V lost, this may be an issue.

Each wire tested at about 1 Ohm resistance, but I believe this is skewed a little bit. I have a Fluke 73 meter and when I short my probes together I still get about .7 Ohms resistance, so I figure this 1 Ohm is actually more like .3-.4 Ohms. The other thing to consider is that the wiring was all done in parallel, so theoretically the resistance is even less because of the parallel circuit. Am I making sense? I'm curious if you agree because I hadn't considered what you're saying about the 8.4V loss - it definitely raises some questions to me...

When this is sorted out (extra resistance) I would make sure that all 6 LEDs are connected properly in one string. Connect driver and see if it is still dim. If yes then probably driver for whatever reason can’t supply enough voltage. Buy different driver then (I used Recon and Meanwell and did not had a problems).

Are you saying that I should try rewiring my existing lights and driver to a series circuit rather than a parallel one? I'm intrigued for sure...

Thanks for the feedback, it is much appreciated.

 

[blasterman]

Re: Complicated under cabinet lighting question...

24awg wire has a rated resistance of about 2.5 ohms per 100 feet, at least according to the chart I looked at. So, I would expect your results to be in the same ballpark. 2 ohms doesn't amount to much with a current regulated driver because it will just shove more voltage down the circuit to get the rated current level. At 10 ohms though we need to start looking at the maximum voltage capability of the driver because running them close to their max voltage level isn't good for the driver.

The dimming range of the driver is controlled by the driver itself, not the pot or dial dimmer. It's rather uncommon for any of them to be 0-100% range and most only go down to 10%, although the RACT20 says it has 0-100% range with a triac dimmer. It might be a better choice if this is what you want.

LED drivers should never be 'hot' connected to a string of LEDs while the driver is plugged in. They need to be under load when fired up. Even an intermittent short or disconnect will kill LEDs, so just make sure everything is wired down tight and connected before plugging in the driver.