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LED strips underwater

camilozk

Apr 20, 2014
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Hi!

there are some videos in youtube (link below) of people putting led strips underwater to prove that there is no drastic problem in doing so. also, somebody told me some days ago, using 12v led bulbs, that they have actually had this bulbs in containers full of water for several days and this was also not a problem.

why is this not a problem, and would it be different in the case of a digital led strip? (ws2811 or similar?)




 

Audioguru

Sep 24, 2016
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Several days is nothing. Several months will cause severe corrosion especially if the water is not distilled.
Tap water has all kinds of nasty things in it.
 

MidNor

Sep 24, 2018
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Led atrips are usually heavily isulatein especially the ones i took out of roof tubes.
Thats propably why they opperate under water.
As long as you can prevent a short it will work.
Please be careful they may pull a lot of current
 

Audioguru

Sep 24, 2016
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Water corrodes many metals.
If the LED strip has exposed metal that can corrode, then corrosion will ruin it.
 

Audioguru

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Pure water is an insulator. Tap water conducts a little. Salt water conducts more but is far from a short circuit.
 

Audioguru

Sep 24, 2016
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I think a few thousand volts on high surface area probes in salt water is pretty close to a short circuit.
 

camilozk

Apr 20, 2014
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so, what I infer is that water is not conductive enough to short circuit low voltage´s systems, is that right?
 

Audioguru

Sep 24, 2016
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so, what I infer is that water is not conductive enough to short circuit low voltage´s systems, is that right?
Correct. You can simply measure the resistance of water with a multimeter. The area of the probes and distance apart affects the resistance.
 
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