So is this the surprise the persons whose ""meh" original design shown in these lights and posted in the respective thread gets on Monday-- the chance to buy more ??
I still haven't found the paper I made careful calculations on how many I needed and for what. So the ones I bought last time are in the box until I find it or figure it out. No more for me until that happens. Where did I put it ??
@ceagee You clipped it to the overhead pulley that runs around to everybody's home office, and it showed up here. If you can make sense of 19xW36, 3XW3.3, 6WW6.6 and 4W/WW3.3, that is. I don't recognize the handwriting.
@kuoh It makes sense. Unfortunately that doesn't come anywhere near what I measured, or what I bought, and I STILL don't recognize the handwriting. The scrap paper it's on came from my pile, though. Elves. It's elves. Or maybe it's what I scribbled at midnight the first time they came up.
@thismyusername actually, since the LED button caper, I took them out of the box and plugged them in, but while they were wound up. They all light and no flashers. So hopefully unfurled they would be same ? Thanks for the heads up though. Want to get them up before the weather gets too awful. As as least some of them were meant for the outdoors/ holidays.
@ceagee I plugged all mine in still wrapped up and didn't notice the flashing segment until I made a Cheer Up Sucker. I still haven't unwrapped the others and tried with them extended but I will soon.
Got hundreds of feet of this last time. All strings over 6 foot that I've opened so far have bad segments. Haven't had time to contact meh support. Meh please save a bunch for me for warranty replacement. That said, the parts that work are amazing and wonderful.
@ThrowingChicken i opened two of the 40+ and 3 of the 30+ i think and each one has had a blinky 2 foot ish section. Will take inventory completely after im done moving and get in touch with meh
@eblade The blinky ones that I received all stopped blinking and reverted to working properly after 30 minutes or less of use. Not sure why, but that's my story.
@narfcake@christinewas I think blamed, but in any case, we seem to have the sweetest goat this month, don't we? If I blame the goat for that, will I fall into a black hole?
¥HayDesigner Well, I thought that too, but if the cabinet is about 4' tall and 3' wide, that would onlt be slighty more than one time around the inner perimeter.
@haydesigner yeah, the rope light goes up through a hole drilled in the bottom, and runs under the shelf along one side, across the back, and then along the other side before going up to the next level and repeating.
@RedOak result of not being good at keeping the cabinet stocked.
@Moose We lit up a curio cabinet with LED tapes a couple of years ago; one suggestion. They make dark brown and black plastic 'lath' strips (but thin strips of wood, painted, would work also). We stuck an inner flange painted to match the cabinet on the inside of the door frame, so when the door is closed no light comes out around the edge. Only the glass areas are lit up. It made a difference.
I picked up these last time to replace the failed fluorescent fixtures under my kitchen cabinets. I can't decide if I should install a grounded outlet to plug these into, or if I should just clip the end of these and hardwire directly to the existing wires. The cabinet has three wires (ground, hot, neutral) and I'm tempted to just wire nut them these. Tell me why that's a bad idea!
@a13z i am not an electrician. That said, to me it's not a bad idea, especially if there's a switch controlling those wires that you'd like to switch the lights.
Only bad part of that idea is stranded wire with wire nuts is not technically a great idea, but connect the wires securely and you'll be ok.
@RedOak@unksol Thank you. I had been thinking about having to replace these when they fail down the road. An outlet would make putting another fluorescent fixture in difficult, but so many of these new LED fixtures and rope lights seem to just have a plug on the end. The safety aspect weighs in favor of an outlet, so grounded outlet it is. Not sure I can do it myself since it might involve cutting tile, but we'll see. Thanks again!
@a13z get a quote - you might be surprised how reasonable it is for a good electrician to 'sneak' a wire behind the tile/wall/cabinets. And if the tile needs to be cut for a box that isn't that difficult with the right tools. Experienced electricians have clever solutions that might not have occurred to you.
The other option is to go with a 5 volt or 12 volt set of LED lights where the transformer can be remotely located.
@a13z The reason I did not do exactly what you propose is that doing so would eliminate the supplied plug, which carries a fuse in it. If the transformer bump in the power cable starts to fail, those lights will overheat and can start a fire well before a 15 or 20 amp circuit will blow. But that little in-line plug fuse will save you. Take the whip from the florescents and connect it to a surface mounted shallow box with a duplex outlet in it, and you have done it right. Paint the cover plate to blend with your tile if you have to.
@kemlex An excellent suggestion! A surface mounted box under the cabinet sounds easy enough that it might outweigh the potential eyesore. If it sticks out too far then I'll get quotes to have it installed flush with the tile. Thanks for the input.
@a13z If you want to get a bit fancier, you can duck that whip up into the back wall of a wall cabinet, and mount your shallow box there. This also gives you a place to stash all of that excess power cord. A 2nd 1" or so hole will let you lead the LED cord down to the lights. This is of course contingent up on the spouse's willingness to give up some of that cabinet space.
Last time I bought the 45.9'.. this time I wanted the 3'3" but someone heard me so I had to settle for a 6'6" .. Gonna put these on top of my roll top just behind the big screen LED.. the 3'3" would have been perfect, meh!
I bought some of these last time without paying much attention. I wanted to put them in the compartments of my boat. Didn't realize they were 120v because I'm not smart. Tried running them on 12v after the in-line transformer but even after the transformer they're still on 111v DC. Bummed me out. now I've got roughly 100ft of LEDs and no real good use for them, and from the looks of these comments I got lucky with 5 strands that all work great. (even after hacking and then splicing the wire back together on one of them)
@kenac I would just buy a cheap 12-volt DC/AC Power Inverter to run them. Each 3.3 foot (1 meter) uses just 4.8 watts, so just about any cheapo 200 watt inverter would do the trick (around $25 or less) since you are only allowed to go to a maximum of 106 feet (roughly 154 watts max).
@BobOblong not sure it is good to mix a boat with 120 VAC (the inverter) unless it is a very big boat. I'd just pick up some waterproof 12 volt strips (multitude of choices on eBay from well-rated sellers) - inexpensive and power hassle free.
If you look on the bottom, every two feet or so they have a " - - - " symbol in gold ink, showing where each of the LED circuits end/begin. If you cut in the middle, you have roughly 1/4" to splice in your line. It's not easy, but it can be done.
I wouldn't suggest this for everyone. I have a background wiring professional sound studios and the solder scares on my arms and hands go into the double digits. That being said, anyone familiar with basic wiring should be alright, as there's simply a two-line run for the whole rope which you can cut where you need and splice/terminate appropriately.
@deafinoneear What is the appropriate way to terminate them? Do they go together, or isolated from eachother? I might want to do this so I don't have excess length. Thanks!
@kadagan To terminate, you just have to seal the end with a rubber cap or anything water proof and non-conductive. Remember there is 100+ volts DC between the lines. Do not tie the legs together or you'll short out the entire strand.
Despite some issues with intermittently flashing segments, these are still a good deal and look quite nice. Hopefully I'll get lucky with good ones this time or Meh makes good with warranty claims.
@kuoh Wow that looks really good. Would you mind snapping another photo of how you mounted them with the brackets. I tried this with my cabinets and it doesn't look as clean. The LEDs seem to directly point at the viewer causing some eye strain.
PS. I also had some flickering of sections, seems that the construction of these isn't the best. They settled down once I had a few feet mounted.
@Chronicle I didn't use the brackets. This is a rental and I didn't want to drill any holes, so I used some narrow high bond double sided foam tape about every 8 inches or so. They're about half the width of the LED strips, but hold very well on the varnished wood. I figure they should make less damage than a bunch of screw holes when it's time to take the lights down for the next move.
As for the LED direction, yeah if you stare at them they can be blinding, even the warm white ones that are mounted here. The only way around that for the areas at and above eye level would be to install diffusers or create a ledge and mount them facing away from you. More trouble than it's worth for most people.
@scubalab Each kit includes clear plastic mounting clips with screws, (1) 5ft 120V AC removable power cord with 1.6A inverter and (1) removable end cap
@ekw I'm in the same boat. It's been since October 19th and I still haven't received them or even notice if they shipped. First purchase I have made from Meh. This is ridiculous.
Dang...already sold out of the longest bright white :( Was hoping to grab a replacement this time since last time mine was faulty. Ended up grabbing 6x 6.6ft instead (longest available now)
I installed 2 separate 6.6 ft bright white runs under cabinets in my kitchen to improve the work lighting in our normal food prep areas. I had long wanted under cabinet lights there, but was too lazy to go search for some. Dare I say Meh was the kick in the pants I needed to finally make me put these lights up.
For one light strand, I replaced a two-outlet wall panel with a switch/outlet combination wired so the switch controls the outlet. For the other, because it is a GFCI master for the counter run, I used a short extension cord with an in-line lamp cord toggle switch to provide on/off functionality.
In for two more to wire under the kids' loft beds to provide more play/reading light. I think the extension + lamp cord power system will be good for them again.
I installed mine last weekend. I had undercabinet lights already, but they didn't go all the way over to the mixer shown in the picture. These are a bit more energy efficient, but despite getting the warm white, they are a much harsher/brighter white than I was expecting. I'd rather have more light than a warmer light, so I can't complain too much.
The lights are run in a giant sideways U, I don't think they'd have been bright enough with a single strand.
I slapped a short strand onto my printer for a quick way to light up the bed better. One section does occasionally flicker but works well enough for me.
@mmichalka I had been looking at usb lights, but this came up and the price it was cheaper and easier. I should probably make some proper clips but right now the rubber bands do the job.
@forthe48 These will likely be EXTREMELY bright in your PC case. I just finished two builds last week, and the redux of my home theatre (see below), and I cannot even imagine using these in a case... If you get some cheaper, Chinese stuff, it might not be too bright, but I'd stick with using case fans or Crucial "Tracer" RAM, or other similar for LED lighting effects.
@forthe48 these are nice light strips but not an ideal match for inside the PC case lighting. You'd have to cut a hole to run the separate 120 VAC power cord.
A better match there would be compact strips what can run on the power available inside the case: 5 or 12 VDC. (Disclaimer: the insides of our PCs are functional and not works of art.)
@kmurphy Your pic got me to order three more shorter strings yesterday. I'm just running them across the inside top but it should make a huge difference.
How did you handle switching? I think I'll get the remote switches and attach the switch itself to the wall by the closet door. But I'm not sure if I'll try to get power run into the closet or run the plug out to the nearest outlet as it appeared you did.
@duodec Right now it's just hooked to an extension cord across the floor. but I'm going to put an outlet and switch right inside the closet. just haven't had the time to do it yet
Meh links to a $10 Lutron cord dimmer for 120 v lighting. The description says these can be dimmed with an ELV (electronic low voltage) dimmer. These are $75+. My guess is that an ELV dimmer would be needed only if you dimmed between the supplied power cord, with its built-in transformer, and the led lights. Has anyone tested that Lutron cord for functionality with these lights?
@kemlex On further research, the Meh link to the Lutron Credenza TT-300 dimmer is likely wrong for most users. That model is for incandescent/halogen loads up to 300w. It will not dim very effectively for shorter lengths of led lights. Instead, use the CFL/LED rated TTCL-100 model for rope lengths up to 69 feet (1.45 w/ft x 69 feet = 100 watt, the rated LED max load for this model). It can be found at: 1 For 70ft+ lengths, the TT-300 will likely be serviceable for you, but may not go as low as you would like. Note that Lutron also makes an Attache dimmer module which can be spliced into the power cord (between the plug and the bump containing the transformer only!), but it is incandescent/halogen rated, so only longer LED ropes will work properly.
@kemlex These ropes are HV (120VAC), not ELV. The "transformer" is just a reverse protection diode so the LEDs don't blow up (LEDs are DC so they only use half of the AC cycle, the other half must be blocked). These types of LEDs are not easily dimmable, especially in the low brightness range. For good dimming, use 12V LED ropes.
I put up 20' ropes in both my office and behind my bedroom dresser (for cool backlighting). I used the bright white in the office and the warm white in the bedroom. I also looped a 6' rope of bright white behind my TV in the living room, but I don't have a picture right now because it's daytime and you can't really see the light. It's great for just having a little bit of light when watching TV or playing games.
My update on the Home Theatre Bias Light from last time (original meh discussion starts about here: http://bit.ly/1MHeolJ) is great! Unfortunately, I was late last time, and had to buy lengths of 13.2' (4m), and this time I only had the 6.6 (2m) lengths available, but still had to grab some more. The good side is that I have not had a single failure thus far - all good strands.
The old Home Theatre Bias Light I had posted: This was done with cheap Wally World crud, which though it professed to be white, was definitely a more purple hue for the longest run, and even the more "white" portion was off from my target of 6000K by over 1000K. It worked for quite some time adequately, but the time came to retire it.
The new AV Bias Light: This uses the American Lighting ropes that I purchased last time they were available on meh, as well as the 120-TL-Jump-6 120V LED Tape Light Jumper (not sold on meh) to span the gap between the outer shelves, and the center of the AV console. I also used plastic track as a way of avoiding having to screw in brackets (http://amzn.com/B004D57SCQ - not American lighting since their official tracks seem unavailable anywhere, but these fit the width of these ropes perfectly). And they are now on an updated switch; a Lutron CFL/LED dimmer (Model # TGCL-153PH-WH http://thd.co/1iOfHHK), which works beautifully. It also fits well in the three-switch plate that covers the multiple lighting fixtures in the living room.
In the image, you can see the old LED ropes vaguely in the bottom shadows. With the new lights I was able to cut the length use by more than half, as these are significantly brighter. And thankfully, they are all within a reasonable variance of their stated 5000K; I notice that sort of thing because I'm a bit of a lighting snob - The whole house runs at about 4500K on halogen or LED, and a few CFLs that I haven't been able to kick just yet for financial reasons.
For those who would like to mimic this sort of idea in their own home theatre: - It MUST BE BRIGHT WHITE! Warm white will not only look horrible during use, but it will also fatigue your eyes even worse than my bluish-purple old lights, despite the chatter from many screen/panel specialists about how "blue light" is bad for your eyes. This is not what they mean, and this from a calibrator - One of the guys who talks about blue light. - Consider the use of plastic tracks, as linked above, to point the light BACK toward the wall, rather than inward/outward. You are trying to use the wall as a reflective surface to maximise your light output. Otherwise a lot of light gets lost. - Technically, you can use a cheaper dimmer switch that's meant for incandescent bulbs, but I preferred the newer Lutron CFL/LED model for the sake of modifying how far the slider adjusted voltage (there's an internal dial that you adjust during installation). There are also outlet remotes available, if your outlets are not on a switch. Costco has some now, for Christmas. - There are also a few sellers on ebay and Amzn who sell the jump cables for any gaps - Model #120-TL-Jump-6 120V. If that length won't work, I recommend using nylon sheathing/sleeving like this (http://amzn.com/B0008JHB0K) - It is flexible enough to allow the connectors at the ends of the segments to pass through, but not so ridiculously huge as to get in the way. You will have to double or triple the sleeving, as these LEDs are significantly brighter than most cheap Chinese strands - Trust me, I know all about manufacturing electronics in China. I use this nylon stuff all the time for IT work, and AV installations, to keep the cables nice and tidy. It was an offhand discovery that led to its use to block light.
@arosiriak Looks great! I was inspired by your last post and looped a 6' strand of bright white behind my 48" TV. I just love it. I'd post a picture but it's daylight and really hard to see the light.
@arosiriak Do you (or anyone else!) know any options for track/channel for these things that don't charge crazy shipping? I hate buying something cheap, and paying over 3 times the price of the item for shipping! I found this one at Home Depot:
@kadagan Unfortunately, that product from Home Depot is for 1/2" thick rope, whereas this meh offering is 3/8" wide (and far more flat than the larger rope style). If you notice on the product page, there are customer questions, including one that goes into LED sizes vs track availability.
Generally there are two types: One is a more rounded 1/2" wide rope, and the second is this 3/8" rope which is flatter (harder to bend corners, but more controlled, directional light). Any track for 3/8" will work, and the link to Amzn that I posted earlier is just the one that I got. The official American Lighting track is part number 120-TL-TRACK-4, but good luck finding it anywhere... My time on Amzn and ebay just ended with frustration until I ordered the ones I shared. The seller I had was great, the tracks came well packaged, and they're very easy to cut as needed. Not official, but I haven't found anything else that has a competitive price.
Happy hunting, and post back if you find something cheaper!
@Anomalous, It's beautiful... We just watched A New Hope in the family countdown for the new Star Wars; We're doing one each weekend leading up to the release, but following the unorthodox, but vastly improved watching order of: IV A New Hope V The Empire Strikes Back (I The Phantom Menace) - actually not necessary since the important story points are covered in the following episode. Cutting it, and following this order is often referred to as the "hatchet method" II Attack of the Clones III Revenge of the Sith VI Return of the Jedi
To finish out the areas I missed last time, I got more. New-Woozy-Lasagna images are repulsive, and I think this is better. I could share some lasagna with him:
@wspeidel The actual width of the rope is 3/8" - I have used 3/8" tracks, but not tubes, so it may be easier to work with 1/2" tubing to accommodate the width + height, which could create a diagonal cross section greater than a 3/8" tube would easily fit. As much as it pains me to bring up math, the Pythagorean Theorem comes into play: 3/8" W^2 + 5/16" H^2 = C^2 or the diagonal (0.1406025 + 0.09765625 = 0.23825875) C = 0.488" So, your tube probably needs to be 1/2"...
As to the usage scenario, unless you have a dimmer installed, either on a switch, or on an outlet, this is pretty bright stuff, and would easily overpower many framing situations. The stated output is approx. 80+ lumens/ft, which is about 2.5x what I had from the stuff I have from Wally World. Great quality, but do consider the brightness for the usage, and whether or not you can employ a dimmer.
@wspeidel I'd be a bit concerned about durability. The instructions say not to run them coiled up the way they come. I did simply to test them. They did get a bit warm (not "hot" tho). Unless it is a short tube with open ends, heat build up might be an issue.
@RedOak@wspeidel Heat could be an issue. I just finished contract employment with a company that designs, outsources manufacturing, and sells portable lithium-ion battery packs (The more stable Lithium Iron Phosphate - LiFePO4) for emergency use. They also sell numerous accessories, including solar panels for charging, various LED spot lights, etc... LEDs were the most problematic, by far.
One of the first lessons I learned from the electrical engineering side of things is that ALL LEDs are notorious for overheating. Running them hot decreases their effective lifespan significantly! Look at any LED bulb for a house fixture, and it will be covered in a massive heatsink, nearly doubling the size, and quadrupling the weight. However, keep in mind that the amount of heat that these ropes create is relatively little, dispersed across a length. From the packaging on my 13.2' ropes, I'm running 19 Watts total, which is fairly low. The wattage not only dictates the level of brightness (learned from incandescent bulbs, but not perfectly translatable here). More accurately, it defines the total power, which will end up correlating to the heat output. 19W of heat is pretty low, especially along a 13 foot length of rope, and could be run in a tube. Granted, I would not recommend it for more than a handful of hours at a time, since the tubing obviously would just insulate heat.
Conclusion: A tube is definitely not recommended for long runs, and especially not for long runtimes, as @wspeidel mentioned. However, the tracks will not be as big a deal, as they maintain one open side, and the rest of the enclosed area is in direct contact with the rope, actually acting as a sort of heatsink by increasing the surface area for heat dispersion. So it depends on how much airflow you have around that area, how long you plan on running it at any given time. In my case, I get even more leeway, since I have it running at lower power levels through a dimmer switch. Good luck!
Here's a tip I just learned. Before I buy something, I get the Meh monthly..just in case something else comes up in a month, right? Ok, well, I bought it, and then found out that the bright white wasn't available in the 20 ft size. Since it was only like 2 minutes after buying the Meh, I'm sure the lovely Meh people would have cancelled my Meh with no problem, but I just didn't want to mess with it. So, if you're buying the monthly meh, make sure all the pull down windows on the stuff you are buying show what you want! Hi mom!
@djslack Really? Fantastic! I'll do that in the future! I thought joining this monthly Meh was a diabolical move to gyp the company from a few dineros--but then I saw Meh itself posted the idea! ...............................is there an address list I may have missed? If I want to send my Meh's now to friends, I have to erase and enter in all new addresses. BTW, guy who lit up his cabinet who's name I can't find now-that photo inspired me to buy a strand and mail it as a housewarming gift.
terrible-grand-partner ... more like terrible-grand-idea that I've now purchased 12m worth of rope lights for no good reason other than I'll "find something" to make with them (because VMP).
Since they supposedly work outdoors, I'm almost certain I can integrate some into our Christmas display. Lighting for the porch vs. using a spotlight for that "wreath on the door" thing?
@Pavlov And seeing your username makes me feel like I should have a bell to ring :) (I actually like the name, and the history, so please don't this as an insult - I just find it amusing)
Reminds me of a time when we conditioned one of my cousins to flinch, because we'd hit him every time we counted down from five, ending with a "ding" PUNCH ... Now we just like to start counting, or randomly yell "ding"... :) Not sure how ethically proper that was, but those were different days.
@kadagan Sorry the answer is so late - when you log into your Amex card, it might be there under your special offers. YMMV, apparently. If it is, just click "add to card" and you're good to go.
Everyone be careful the instructions say the plastic contains lead and you should take precautions. I got the warm ones last time, they work fine. The one string that didn't, they replaced. Meh has been good with faulty products. Thank you, meh!
Hmm.. I need some extensions, but they are pretty pricey (more than LED strips from this sale for similar lengths). Fingers crossed for another repeat soon :D
Got my second batch of these lights today and put one of the 3.3' strands behind the TV. Not bad, but it's going to take a little time to get used to. It does improve the contrast on the plasma TV without front lighting and reflections.
What other mounting methods has everyone used? The included screws for the clips seem like complete overkill, especially for a renter like me. I like the clear channel as mentioned, but I am curious what else is out there, what others have tried, and succeeded, and failed with. The strip doesn't seem that heavy so I am guessing it won't take much (32.8' strands in my case).
@rjolly87@OldCatLady I used my own screws with their clips. I optimized for fast installation, and used so-called "drywall" screws, even though there is no drywall in my basement. Those screws just go in very fast and very easily with a cordless drill.
Since I have lousy coordination, nails take longer for me. They do have the advantage of leaving much smaller holes in drywall.
Using lots of clips, and connecting both sides of each clip, makes the installation look smoother. If the lights are providing indirect light, then, the look of the string might not matter at all.
At first I used one clip, with only one screw, every 6 or so feet. Then I went back and added more clips, and put screws in both sides of the clip.
@Blacksm1th Yep. A few folks ran into that. Send a message to meh.com/support and include a link to the picture in your message. Be aware that due to a recent, uh, shitstorm, that they may be a little slower to respond than usual.
@sohmageek Someone let @christinewas into the warehouse and she ate a few hundred pairs of headphones. The ensuing storm of headphone goat shit was legendary.
@sohmageek LEGENDARY. Sorry, @Thumperchick. Sorry, everyone. The next time I have a dining opportunity like that, I will try to remember this burning pain in my little goat ass.
I'm trying to figure how to know if a string is really not working or if it just needs to warm up or something. One of my strands initially had an unlit stretch, then it blinked on and off, then it stayed on. Unplugged it. Re-plugged it in and it blinked off and on until I unplugged it.
@ikev85 That sounds very bad. I guess not working at all is much worse than too bright.... I always get a little nervous when electric things don't work properly.
Neither of these pieces of shit works. One was broken straight out of the box, the other broke about 30 minutes later. Should have tested these pieces of crap sooner
This is good advice when you buy anything, but especially when it has a 90 day warranty.
Also are you sure this is the batch you purchased from? They have sold it many times and the two most recent times are still in warranty (one by mere days)… if you came here with the “discus my rad purchase” button in your orders page then bad luck these are way outta the 90 days
Specs
Condition: New
Warranty: 90 Day Mediocre
Estimated Delivery: 11/23 - 11/25
Shipping: $5 or free with VMP
What’s in the Box?
1x LED Tape-rope hybrid
1x Power cord
1x Bundle of mounting clips and screws
Pictures
Two color temperatures
Bright white
Warm white
3.3ft Bright White
6.6ft Bright White
6.6ft Warm White
13.2ft Warm White
32.8ft Warm White
19.7ft Warm White
45.9ft Warm White
Meh
Price Comparison
$33.74 - $365.99 List, $14.16 - $69.99 at Amazon for Warm White
$33.74 - $365.99 List, $17.70 - $114.23 at Amazon for Bright White
Find a relevant price comparison? Please share it in a comment in this thread
Estimated Delivery
Monday, January 28th - Monday, February 4th
How original
@lichme oh lighten up!
Light deal
Bath?
You really couldn't sell them?
@relevantsam They had 138 miles of the stuff.
Second chance sunday.
Still no November.
Has it even been a week since you last sold these? Wow time flies...
So is this the surprise the persons whose ""meh" original design shown in these lights and posted in the respective thread gets on Monday-- the chance to buy more ??
you linked a white dimmer... can It come in beige?
@sohmageek I'm sure there's a sharpie for that.
I'm not getting roped in to buying more of these.
@Fish_Kungfu why you don't want to be strung out over the deal?
@AttyVette Geeez, lighten up! :)
@Fish_Kungfu You can LED a horse to water, but...
Yay! Got some 3 footers this time!
@Pufferfishy, TWSS?
@Pufferfishy Same here, bought the 36ft last time, glad I have a chance to get some shorter ones.
I still haven't found the paper I made careful calculations on how many I needed and for what. So the ones I bought last time are in the box until I find it or figure it out. No more for me until that happens.
Where did I put it ??
@ceagee I think you stuck it in the 24-ounce Bubba for safekeeping.
@pitamuffin Now if I can only find that.
@ceagee one word: Evernote. Great app/environment. Usable in every OS/on the Internet. It is my personal memory/brain dump.
@ceagee You clipped it to the overhead pulley that runs around to everybody's home office, and it showed up here. If you can make sense of 19xW36, 3XW3.3, 6WW6.6 and 4W/WW3.3, that is. I don't recognize the handwriting.
@OldCatLady I can't read my own, so it is possible. But I don't know how to decipher. drat
@ceagee Could it be 19x white 36', 3x white 3.3', 6x warm white 6.6', 4x white or warm white 3.3'?
KuoH
@kuoh It makes sense. Unfortunately that doesn't come anywhere near what I measured, or what I bought, and I STILL don't recognize the handwriting. The scrap paper it's on came from my pile, though. Elves. It's elves. Or maybe it's what I scribbled at midnight the first time they came up.
@ceagee paper or not, better pop those open, unfurl them and test them for flashers before the 90 days is up. :)
@thismyusername actually, since the LED button caper, I took them out of the box and plugged them in, but while they were wound up. They all light and no flashers. So hopefully unfurled they would be same ? Thanks for the heads up though.
Want to get them up before the weather gets too awful. As as least some of them were meant for the outdoors/ holidays.
@ceagee I plugged all mine in still wrapped up and didn't notice the flashing segment until I made a Cheer Up Sucker. I still haven't unwrapped the others and tried with them extended but I will soon.
@jml326 HEY! That's what I was gonna say.. Damn, Chewie done beat me to it.
Méh-jà vu all over again, again. It's like watching reruns on TV.
Got hundreds of feet of this last time. All strings over 6 foot that I've opened so far have bad segments. Haven't had time to contact meh support. Meh please save a bunch for me for warranty replacement. That said, the parts that work are amazing and wonderful.
@eblade Same thing here with the first one out of the box. Haven't had a chance to check them all before contacting Meh.
@ThrowingChicken i opened two of the 40+ and 3 of the 30+ i think and each one has had a blinky 2 foot ish section. Will take inventory completely after im done moving and get in touch with meh
@eblade The blinky ones that I received all stopped blinking and reverted to working properly after 30 minutes or less of use. Not sure why, but that's my story.
The only ones I would want this time are warm white 3 footers, and they're not there, so... meh.
The 45 footers from last time are going to light up the garage brilliantly though.
@duodec Garage. Hmm. Thought we were all set last time but the garage was not a beneficiary. Hmm.
Do you think warm white will make the garage just a bit warmer in the winter than bright white?
@duodec Ditto, now we got some 3' bright white ropes for under-cupboard lighting- even before I realized that they're dimmable...
Not sure if @christinewas should be blamed or thanked for this repeat ...
@narfcake Hmm. I'm gonna go with THANKED. You're welcome!
@narfcake @christinewas I think blamed, but in any case, we seem to have the sweetest goat this month, don't we? If I blame the goat for that, will I fall into a black hole?
@sligett It's probably best to avoid taking chances on that one.
Finally opened the box and did something with these today! Lit up our liquor/glassware cabinet with a 19.7' strand of lights.
@Moose Cool!
@Moose... I like it, but... 20 feet, really?
€Moose That looks awesome!
¥HayDesigner Well, I thought that too, but if the cabinet is about 4' tall and 3' wide, that would onlt be slighty more than one time around the inner perimeter.
@Moose cool cabinet. However the glasses to liquor ratio is way off. As a result of working at Meh?
@haydesigner yeah, the rope light goes up through a hole drilled in the bottom, and runs under the shelf along one side, across the back, and then along the other side before going up to the next level and repeating.
@RedOak result of not being good at keeping the cabinet stocked.
@Moose We lit up a curio cabinet with LED tapes a couple of years ago; one suggestion. They make dark brown and black plastic 'lath' strips (but thin strips of wood, painted, would work also). We stuck an inner flange painted to match the cabinet on the inside of the door frame, so when the door is closed no light comes out around the edge. Only the glass areas are lit up. It made a difference.
More of these messy-pendulous-wire thingys. Yay!
Meh is living up to its name! Awesome!
A repeat that I'm actually happy to see. Meh, I don't know what to say...
Turns out the bright white all sold out last time. Nobody wanted the "warm" (aka super dim) version. Thanks you Meh.
@tsm There were plenty of bright white ropes in all sizes when I ordered about 10 minutes ago, so Whatcho talkin bout, Willis???
@PhysAssist @tsm was talking about "last time"...which is why s/he said..."last time", and used the past tense verb wanted.
I picked up these last time to replace the failed fluorescent fixtures under my kitchen cabinets. I can't decide if I should install a grounded outlet to plug these into, or if I should just clip the end of these and hardwire directly to the existing wires. The cabinet has three wires (ground, hot, neutral) and I'm tempted to just wire nut them these. Tell me why that's a bad idea!
@a13z i am not an electrician. That said, to me it's not a bad idea, especially if there's a switch controlling those wires that you'd like to switch the lights.
Only bad part of that idea is stranded wire with wire nuts is not technically a great idea, but connect the wires securely and you'll be ok.
@a13z wire nuts for 120 VAC outside a box is not a wonderful idea. Potential to get pulled loose.
@a13z because it's a violation of the NEC and if your house burns down your insurance will not pay it?
@RedOak @unksol Thank you. I had been thinking about having to replace these when they fail down the road. An outlet would make putting another fluorescent fixture in difficult, but so many of these new LED fixtures and rope lights seem to just have a plug on the end. The safety aspect weighs in favor of an outlet, so grounded outlet it is. Not sure I can do it myself since it might involve cutting tile, but we'll see. Thanks again!
@a13z get a quote - you might be surprised how reasonable it is for a good electrician to 'sneak' a wire behind the tile/wall/cabinets. And if the tile needs to be cut for a box that isn't that difficult with the right tools. Experienced electricians have clever solutions that might not have occurred to you.
The other option is to go with a 5 volt or 12 volt set of LED lights where the transformer can be remotely located.
@a13z The reason I did not do exactly what you propose is that doing so would eliminate the supplied plug, which carries a fuse in it. If the transformer bump in the power cable starts to fail, those lights will overheat and can start a fire well before a 15 or 20 amp circuit will blow. But that little in-line plug fuse will save you. Take the whip from the florescents and connect it to a surface mounted shallow box with a duplex outlet in it, and you have done it right. Paint the cover plate to blend with your tile if you have to.
@kemlex An excellent suggestion! A surface mounted box under the cabinet sounds easy enough that it might outweigh the potential eyesore. If it sticks out too far then I'll get quotes to have it installed flush with the tile. Thanks for the input.
@a13z If you want to get a bit fancier, you can duck that whip up into the back wall of a wall cabinet, and mount your shallow box there. This also gives you a place to stash all of that excess power cord. A 2nd 1" or so hole will let you lead the LED cord down to the lights. This is of course contingent up on the spouse's willingness to give up some of that cabinet space.
3.3 foot one in one of the cable channels under my desk
@Jervas have you found it helpful with scaring off the dust bunnies down there?
I bought 3 last time around, 2 of which were faulty. Roll the dice you might get lucky.
@Nuke yes same issue. Got faulty one as well.
i bought light for my bedroom. im gonna read a book with my new light prob :)
Last time I bought the 45.9'.. this time I wanted the 3'3" but someone heard me so I had to settle for a 6'6" .. Gonna put these on top of my roll top just behind the big screen LED.. the 3'3" would have been perfect, meh!
I won't be an ungainly-blind-crow anymore after buying 10 of the 6'-6" warm whites!
I bought some of these last time without paying much attention. I wanted to put them in the compartments of my boat. Didn't realize they were 120v because I'm not smart. Tried running them on 12v after the in-line transformer but even after the transformer they're still on 111v DC. Bummed me out. now I've got roughly 100ft of LEDs and no real good use for them, and from the looks of these comments I got lucky with 5 strands that all work great. (even after hacking and then splicing the wire back together on one of them)
@kenac Put up some holiday lights or extra holiday lights or not.
@kenac I would just buy a cheap 12-volt DC/AC Power Inverter to run them. Each 3.3 foot (1 meter) uses just 4.8 watts, so just about any cheapo 200 watt inverter would do the trick (around $25 or less) since you are only allowed to go to a maximum of 106 feet (roughly 154 watts max).
@BobOblong not sure it is good to mix a boat with 120 VAC (the inverter) unless it is a very big boat. I'd just pick up some waterproof 12 volt strips (multitude of choices on eBay from well-rated sellers) - inexpensive and power hassle free.
I need LED's for my Undercabinet lighing. These cant be cut to length like others so I'm going to pass,
@Stallion they actually can, and I did it.
If you look on the bottom, every two feet or so they have a " - - - " symbol in gold ink, showing where each of the LED circuits end/begin. If you cut in the middle, you have roughly 1/4" to splice in your line. It's not easy, but it can be done.
I wouldn't suggest this for everyone. I have a background wiring professional sound studios and the solder scares on my arms and hands go into the double digits. That being said, anyone familiar with basic wiring should be alright, as there's simply a two-line run for the whole rope which you can cut where you need and splice/terminate appropriately.
@deafinoneear What is the appropriate way to terminate them? Do they go together, or isolated from eachother? I might want to do this so I don't have excess length. Thanks!
@deafinoneear I too am interested in this. I've got some lines I'd like to trim.
@kadagan To terminate, you just have to seal the end with a rubber cap or anything water proof and non-conductive. Remember there is 100+ volts DC between the lines. Do not tie the legs together or you'll short out the entire strand.
KuoH
@kuoh So all I need to do is cut it, and keep the wires isolated, and cap the end? Seems way too easy!
These last couple days on Meh have been quite illuminating!
Despite some issues with intermittently flashing segments, these are still a good deal and look quite nice. Hopefully I'll get lucky with good ones this time or Meh makes good with warranty claims.
KuoH
@kuoh Wow that looks really good. Would you mind snapping another photo of how you mounted them with the brackets. I tried this with my cabinets and it doesn't look as clean. The LEDs seem to directly point at the viewer causing some eye strain.
PS. I also had some flickering of sections, seems that the construction of these isn't the best. They settled down once I had a few feet mounted.
@Chronicle I didn't use the brackets. This is a rental and I didn't want to drill any holes, so I used some narrow high bond double sided foam tape about every 8 inches or so. They're about half the width of the LED strips, but hold very well on the varnished wood. I figure they should make less damage than a bunch of screw holes when it's time to take the lights down for the next move.
As for the LED direction, yeah if you stare at them they can be blinding, even the warm white ones that are mounted here. The only way around that for the areas at and above eye level would be to install diffusers or create a ledge and mount them facing away from you. More trouble than it's worth for most people.
KuoH
Meh, Bright whites of any decent size are all gone.
MEH...
It hurts my eyes looking at the warm white.
How long is the power cord?
@scubalab Each kit includes clear plastic mounting clips with screws, (1) 5ft 120V AC removable power cord with 1.6A inverter and (1) removable end cap
@scubalab Not long enough and too long at the same time.
STILL waiting for the ones I bought to arrive . . .
@ekw I'm in the same boat. It's been since October 19th and I still haven't received them or even notice if they shipped. First purchase I have made from Meh. This is ridiculous.
@ekw @robiske if you haven't already, shoot us an email at https://meh.com/support and we'll look into those orders.
bold-majestic-amusement
knivesandspeakerdocksandropelights.com
Dang...already sold out of the longest bright white :( Was hoping to grab a replacement this time since last time mine was faulty. Ended up grabbing 6x 6.6ft instead (longest available now)
These are really nice but if your looking to get a better mood in whatever room you are putting these in, buy the warm one's, they're much better.
I installed 2 separate 6.6 ft bright white runs under cabinets in my kitchen to improve the work lighting in our normal food prep areas. I had long wanted under cabinet lights there, but was too lazy to go search for some. Dare I say Meh was the kick in the pants I needed to finally make me put these lights up.
For one light strand, I replaced a two-outlet wall panel with a switch/outlet combination wired so the switch controls the outlet. For the other, because it is a GFCI master for the counter run, I used a short extension cord with an in-line lamp cord toggle switch to provide on/off functionality.
In for two more to wire under the kids' loft beds to provide more play/reading light. I think the extension + lamp cord power system will be good for them again.
@open_circuit very nice. And unobtrusive plug in solution.
Yay! It's RLM - Rope Light Monday!
I installed mine last weekend. I had undercabinet lights already, but they didn't go all the way over to the mixer shown in the picture. These are a bit more energy efficient, but despite getting the warm white, they are a much harsher/brighter white than I was expecting. I'd rather have more light than a warmer light, so I can't complain too much.
The lights are run in a giant sideways U, I don't think they'd have been bright enough with a single strand.
@markgm here ya go!
@kadagan Wow that's maybe the cleanest/noncluttered kitchen counter I've ever seen.
@rambopandabear that's not mine, that's @markgm. I just fixed his image link.. Haha
unscrewing and replacing this 13ft strand is going to be a pain
@TheDawgLives Leave the old one there and just run next to it
I slapped a short strand onto my printer for a quick way to light up the bed better. One section does occasionally flicker but works well enough for me.
@Nikodemus a 3D printer AND led lights? Jealous x2
@Nikodemus this made me buy. I desperately need this for my ultimaker original.
@mmichalka I had been looking at usb lights, but this came up and the price it was cheaper and easier. I should probably make some proper clips but right now the rubber bands do the job.
I am curious how these are compared to China specials on Ebay.
rainy-threatening-education
Here's to hoping there is no flops. I was going to go for the biggest ones, but someone bought them all already. Soft white.
hopeful-mewling-credit. Hopefully these'll look good in my PC Case.
@forthe48
These will likely be EXTREMELY bright in your PC case. I just finished two builds last week, and the redux of my home theatre (see below), and I cannot even imagine using these in a case... If you get some cheaper, Chinese stuff, it might not be too bright, but I'd stick with using case fans or Crucial "Tracer" RAM, or other similar for LED lighting effects.
@arosiriak Thats a bummer to hear. Do you think theyd be okay if I picked up a dimmer? If not i might just use these to light under my desk.
@forthe48 these are nice light strips but not an ideal match for inside the PC case lighting. You'd have to cut a hole to run the separate 120 VAC power cord.
A better match there would be compact strips what can run on the power available inside the case: 5 or 12 VDC. (Disclaimer: the insides of our PCs are functional and not works of art.)
I used mine to light up the closet.
Before:
After:
@kmurphy That's genius and looks great!
@kmurphy Your pic got me to order three more shorter strings yesterday. I'm just running them across the inside top but it should make a huge difference.
How did you handle switching? I think I'll get the remote switches and attach the switch itself to the wall by the closet door. But I'm not sure if I'll try to get power run into the closet or run the plug out to the nearest outlet as it appeared you did.
@duodec Right now it's just hooked to an extension cord across the floor. but I'm going to put an outlet and switch right inside the closet. just haven't had the time to do it yet
@kmurphy Thanks!
If my calculations are correct before all the coffee, between today and last time these came up, I've now ordered 669.6 ft of this stuff.
I guess I'm at least making the VMP better value...
That's what I'm going to do in my pantry! I hope the strands are good.
Not to sound "dim", but is there an on/off switch or do they have to be plugged/unplugged?
@mygirlsmom3 As they come, you would need to plug/unplug.
@mygirlsmom3 Plugged and unplugged.
But you could always get a remote switch:
https://www.google.com/search?q=ge+bluetooth+compatible+timer
Meh links to a $10 Lutron cord dimmer for 120 v lighting. The description says these can be dimmed with an ELV (electronic low voltage) dimmer. These are $75+. My guess is that an ELV dimmer would be needed only if you dimmed between the supplied power cord, with its built-in transformer, and the led lights. Has anyone tested that Lutron cord for functionality with these lights?
@kemlex On further research, the Meh link to the Lutron Credenza TT-300 dimmer is likely wrong for most users. That model is for incandescent/halogen loads up to 300w. It will not dim very effectively for shorter lengths of led lights. Instead, use the CFL/LED rated TTCL-100 model for rope lengths up to 69 feet (1.45 w/ft x 69 feet = 100 watt, the rated LED max load for this model). It can be found at: 1 For 70ft+ lengths, the TT-300 will likely be serviceable for you, but may not go as low as you would like. Note that Lutron also makes an Attache dimmer module which can be spliced into the power cord (between the plug and the bump containing the transformer only!), but it is incandescent/halogen rated, so only longer LED ropes will work properly.
@kemlex These ropes are HV (120VAC), not ELV. The "transformer" is just a reverse protection diode so the LEDs don't blow up (LEDs are DC so they only use half of the AC cycle, the other half must be blocked). These types of LEDs are not easily dimmable, especially in the low brightness range. For good dimming, use 12V LED ropes.
That will keep the monsters out for sure.
My bar with:
@JekiTheRogue So cool!!!
I put up 20' ropes in both my office
and behind my bedroom dresser 
(for cool backlighting). I used the bright white in the office and the warm white in the bedroom. I also looped a 6' rope of bright white behind my TV in the living room, but I don't have a picture right now because it's daytime and you can't really see the light. It's great for just having a little bit of light when watching TV or playing games.
My update on the Home Theatre Bias Light from last time (original meh discussion starts about here: http://bit.ly/1MHeolJ) is great! Unfortunately, I was late last time, and had to buy lengths of 13.2' (4m), and this time I only had the 6.6 (2m) lengths available, but still had to grab some more. The good side is that I have not had a single failure thus far - all good strands.
The old Home Theatre Bias Light I had posted:
This was done with cheap Wally World crud, which though it professed to be white, was definitely a more purple hue for the longest run, and even the more "white" portion was off from my target of 6000K by over 1000K. It worked for quite some time adequately, but the time came to retire it.
The new AV Bias Light:
This uses the American Lighting ropes that I purchased last time they were available on meh, as well as the 120-TL-Jump-6 120V LED Tape Light Jumper (not sold on meh) to span the gap between the outer shelves, and the center of the AV console. I also used plastic track as a way of avoiding having to screw in brackets (http://amzn.com/B004D57SCQ - not American lighting since their official tracks seem unavailable anywhere, but these fit the width of these ropes perfectly). And they are now on an updated switch; a Lutron CFL/LED dimmer (Model # TGCL-153PH-WH http://thd.co/1iOfHHK), which works beautifully. It also fits well in the three-switch plate that covers the multiple lighting fixtures in the living room.
In the image, you can see the old LED ropes vaguely in the bottom shadows. With the new lights I was able to cut the length use by more than half, as these are significantly brighter. And thankfully, they are all within a reasonable variance of their stated 5000K; I notice that sort of thing because I'm a bit of a lighting snob - The whole house runs at about 4500K on halogen or LED, and a few CFLs that I haven't been able to kick just yet for financial reasons.
For those who would like to mimic this sort of idea in their own home theatre:
- It MUST BE BRIGHT WHITE! Warm white will not only look horrible during use, but it will also fatigue your eyes even worse than my bluish-purple old lights, despite the chatter from many screen/panel specialists about how "blue light" is bad for your eyes. This is not what they mean, and this from a calibrator - One of the guys who talks about blue light.
- Consider the use of plastic tracks, as linked above, to point the light BACK toward the wall, rather than inward/outward. You are trying to use the wall as a reflective surface to maximise your light output. Otherwise a lot of light gets lost.
- Technically, you can use a cheaper dimmer switch that's meant for incandescent bulbs, but I preferred the newer Lutron CFL/LED model for the sake of modifying how far the slider adjusted voltage (there's an internal dial that you adjust during installation). There are also outlet remotes available, if your outlets are not on a switch. Costco has some now, for Christmas.
- There are also a few sellers on ebay and Amzn who sell the jump cables for any gaps - Model #120-TL-Jump-6 120V. If that length won't work, I recommend using nylon sheathing/sleeving like this (http://amzn.com/B0008JHB0K) - It is flexible enough to allow the connectors at the ends of the segments to pass through, but not so ridiculously huge as to get in the way. You will have to double or triple the sleeving, as these LEDs are significantly brighter than most cheap Chinese strands - Trust me, I know all about manufacturing electronics in China. I use this nylon stuff all the time for IT work, and AV installations, to keep the cables nice and tidy. It was an offhand discovery that led to its use to block light.
Good luck, my mediocre friends.
@arosiriak Looks great! I was inspired by your last post and looped a 6' strand of bright white behind my 48" TV. I just love it. I'd post a picture but it's daylight and really hard to see the light.
@arosiriak Do you (or anyone else!) know any options for track/channel for these things that don't charge crazy shipping? I hate buying something cheap, and paying over 3 times the price of the item for shipping! I found this one at Home Depot:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-Electric-72-in-U-Shaped-Clear-Mounting-Channel-NCH-1-6/205104656?keyword=rope+light+track
But it doesn't mention what size of rope it holds..
@kadagan
Unfortunately, that product from Home Depot is for 1/2" thick rope, whereas this meh offering is 3/8" wide (and far more flat than the larger rope style). If you notice on the product page, there are customer questions, including one that goes into LED sizes vs track availability.
Generally there are two types: One is a more rounded 1/2" wide rope, and the second is this 3/8" rope which is flatter (harder to bend corners, but more controlled, directional light). Any track for 3/8" will work, and the link to Amzn that I posted earlier is just the one that I got. The official American Lighting track is part number 120-TL-TRACK-4, but good luck finding it anywhere... My time on Amzn and ebay just ended with frustration until I ordered the ones I shared. The seller I had was great, the tracks came well packaged, and they're very easy to cut as needed. Not official, but I haven't found anything else that has a competitive price.
Happy hunting, and post back if you find something cheaper!
Set on shelf behind TV - perfect level of light any time of day.
@Anomalous,
It's beautiful... We just watched A New Hope in the family countdown for the new Star Wars; We're doing one each weekend leading up to the release, but following the unorthodox, but vastly improved watching order of:
IV A New Hope
V The Empire Strikes Back
(I The Phantom Menace) - actually not necessary since the important story points are covered in the following episode. Cutting it, and following this order is often referred to as the "hatchet method"
II Attack of the Clones
III Revenge of the Sith
VI Return of the Jedi
To finish out the areas I missed last time, I got more. New-Woozy-Lasagna images are repulsive, and I think this is better. I could share some lasagna with him:
Rope light application question.Will the light fit inside a 3/8 inch diameter tube and function as a picture light?
@wspeidel
The actual width of the rope is 3/8" - I have used 3/8" tracks, but not tubes, so it may be easier to work with 1/2" tubing to accommodate the width + height, which could create a diagonal cross section greater than a 3/8" tube would easily fit. As much as it pains me to bring up math, the Pythagorean Theorem comes into play:
3/8" W^2 + 5/16" H^2 = C^2 or the diagonal
(0.1406025 + 0.09765625 = 0.23825875)
C = 0.488"
So, your tube probably needs to be 1/2"...
As to the usage scenario, unless you have a dimmer installed, either on a switch, or on an outlet, this is pretty bright stuff, and would easily overpower many framing situations. The stated output is approx. 80+ lumens/ft, which is about 2.5x what I had from the stuff I have from Wally World. Great quality, but do consider the brightness for the usage, and whether or not you can employ a dimmer.
@wspeidel I'd be a bit concerned about durability. The instructions say not to run them coiled up the way they come. I did simply to test them. They did get a bit warm (not "hot" tho). Unless it is a short tube with open ends, heat build up might be an issue.
@RedOak @wspeidel
Heat could be an issue. I just finished contract employment with a company that designs, outsources manufacturing, and sells portable lithium-ion battery packs (The more stable Lithium Iron Phosphate - LiFePO4) for emergency use. They also sell numerous accessories, including solar panels for charging, various LED spot lights, etc... LEDs were the most problematic, by far.
One of the first lessons I learned from the electrical engineering side of things is that ALL LEDs are notorious for overheating. Running them hot decreases their effective lifespan significantly! Look at any LED bulb for a house fixture, and it will be covered in a massive heatsink, nearly doubling the size, and quadrupling the weight. However, keep in mind that the amount of heat that these ropes create is relatively little, dispersed across a length. From the packaging on my 13.2' ropes, I'm running 19 Watts total, which is fairly low. The wattage not only dictates the level of brightness (learned from incandescent bulbs, but not perfectly translatable here). More accurately, it defines the total power, which will end up correlating to the heat output. 19W of heat is pretty low, especially along a 13 foot length of rope, and could be run in a tube. Granted, I would not recommend it for more than a handful of hours at a time, since the tubing obviously would just insulate heat.
Conclusion: A tube is definitely not recommended for long runs, and especially not for long runtimes, as @wspeidel mentioned. However, the tracks will not be as big a deal, as they maintain one open side, and the rest of the enclosed area is in direct contact with the rope, actually acting as a sort of heatsink by increasing the surface area for heat dispersion. So it depends on how much airflow you have around that area, how long you plan on running it at any given time. In my case, I get even more leeway, since I have it running at lower power levels through a dimmer switch. Good luck!
Here's a tip I just learned. Before I buy something, I get the Meh monthly..just in case something else comes up in a month, right? Ok, well, I bought it, and then found out that the bright white wasn't available in the 20 ft size. Since it was only like 2 minutes after buying the Meh, I'm sure the lovely Meh people would have cancelled my Meh with no problem, but I just didn't want to mess with it. So, if you're buying the monthly meh, make sure all the pull down windows on the stuff you are buying show what you want!
Hi mom!
@wew You can just subscribe to vmp with your purchase instead of going through all that hassle.
@wew Also you have a month to cancel it, assuming you haven't used it.
@djslack Really? Fantastic! I'll do that in the future! I thought joining this monthly Meh was a diabolical move to gyp the company from a few dineros--but then I saw Meh itself posted the idea!
...............................is there an address list I may have missed? If I want to send my Meh's now to friends, I have to erase and enter in all new addresses. BTW, guy who lit up his cabinet who's name I can't find now-that photo inspired me to buy a strand and mail it as a housewarming gift.
terrible-grand-partner ... more like terrible-grand-idea that I've now purchased 12m worth of rope lights for no good reason other than I'll "find something" to make with them (because VMP).
Since they supposedly work outdoors, I'm almost certain I can integrate some into our Christmas display. Lighting for the porch vs. using a spotlight for that "wreath on the door" thing?
I HAVE BIG PLANS
@SLICKROCKHARD
Um . . . cool.I DON'T YELL WHEN I TYPE, UNLESS, OF COURSE, WHEN I DO
Seeing your username "SLICKROCKHARD" in all caps leads me to believe you are overcompensating.
@Pavlov
And seeing your username makes me feel like I should have a bell to ring :) (I actually like the name, and the history, so please don't this as an insult - I just find it amusing)
Reminds me of a time when we conditioned one of my cousins to flinch, because we'd hit him every time we counted down from five, ending with a "ding" PUNCH ... Now we just like to start counting, or randomly yell "ding"... :) Not sure how ethically proper that was, but those were different days.
Hey! Meh is covered by Amex's ShopSmall credit. All right - $10 of free lights! Thanks!
@grammarsheriff how does that work??
@kadagan Sorry the answer is so late - when you log into your Amex card, it might be there under your special offers. YMMV, apparently. If it is, just click "add to card" and you're good to go.
Everyone be careful the instructions say the plastic contains lead and you should take precautions. I got the warm ones last time, they work fine. The one string that didn't, they replaced. Meh has been good with faulty products. Thank you, meh!
jagged-tilted-industry
DAMN IT I WANT SOME NOW
@UPIDDY ooh, you are uppity.
Hmm.. I need some extensions, but they are pretty pricey (more than LED strips from this sale for similar lengths). Fingers crossed for another repeat soon :D
Got my second batch of these lights today and put one of the 3.3' strands behind the TV. Not bad, but it's going to take a little time to get used to. It does improve the contrast on the plasma TV without front lighting and reflections.
KuoH
Damn... I bought 45.9' of warm white but could use another 19.7'. I hope they come back around again. BTW... It's super-bright on my deck now!
@clarkspgh mediocre's other site haa them. More expensive, but have the 13' and 6' to get you the length you need.
https://morningsave.com/events/american-lighting
@MrMark What is this voodoo? When did they launch that site?
Got one of my 33' strands put up in my basement. Turned out nice - I didn't realize how dark it was down there.
Here is a good example: Left is how it was, right is with the light rope going back and forth
It ended right at the beam without trying - how convenient!
Side view:
What other mounting methods has everyone used? The included screws for the clips seem like complete overkill, especially for a renter like me. I like the clear channel as mentioned, but I am curious what else is out there, what others have tried, and succeeded, and failed with. The strip doesn't seem that heavy so I am guessing it won't take much (32.8' strands in my case).
@rjolly87 I will be using 'Coaxial Cable Staples', which have a very small brad. You use a tiny tack hammer, not a screwdriver. http://www.amazon.com/Gardner-Bender-PSW-3650-Staple-50-Pack/dp/B00374H3D8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447897901&sr=8-1&keywords=coaxial+cable+staples
@OldCatLady Hrmmmm..... I could also use small nails in place of the screws, I would just need to ensure the heads are big enough.
@rjolly87 @OldCatLady I used my own screws with their clips. I optimized for fast installation, and used so-called "drywall" screws, even though there is no drywall in my basement. Those screws just go in very fast and very easily with a cordless drill.
Since I have lousy coordination, nails take longer for me. They do have the advantage of leaving much smaller holes in drywall.
Using lots of clips, and connecting both sides of each clip, makes the installation look smoother. If the lights are providing indirect light, then, the look of the string might not matter at all.
At first I used one clip, with only one screw, every 6 or so feet. Then I went back and added more clips, and put screws in both sides of the clip.
Hmm... Mine has a section that's DOA. Anyone else got that?
@Blacksm1th Yep. A few folks ran into that. Send a message to meh.com/support and include a link to the picture in your message. Be aware that due to a recent, uh, shitstorm, that they may be a little slower to respond than usual.
@Thumperchick Shitstorm??? eh?
@sohmageek Someone let @christinewas into the warehouse and she ate a few hundred pairs of headphones. The ensuing storm of headphone goat shit was legendary.
@sohmageek LEGENDARY. Sorry, @Thumperchick. Sorry, everyone. The next time I have a dining opportunity like that, I will try to remember this burning pain in my little goat ass.
@Blacksm1th yes test them all. had some 6 footers doing that last time.
I'm trying to figure how to know if a string is really not working or if it just needs to warm up or something. One of my strands initially had an unlit stretch, then it blinked on and off, then it stayed on. Unplugged it. Re-plugged it in and it blinked off and on until I unplugged it.
@cf1 This is not normal and should be addressed, because I bet it's only going to get worse.
@cf1 look closely you will most likely see a tear in the ribbon... contact support.
@cf1 mine didn't work out of the box. when plugged in they turned on for a split second and then nothing. :\
@ikev85 That sounds very bad. I guess not working at all is much worse than too bright.... I always get a little nervous when electric things don't work properly.
@ikev85 Did you check the fuse in the plug? They normally blow for a reason, but occasionally you get a bad one that just goes.
KuoH
Neither of these pieces of shit works. One was broken straight out of the box, the other broke about 30 minutes later. Should have tested these pieces of crap sooner
@k1down
This is good advice when you buy anything, but especially when it has a 90 day warranty.
Also are you sure this is the batch you purchased from? They have sold it many times and the two most recent times are still in warranty (one by mere days)… if you came here with the “discus my rad purchase” button in your orders page then bad luck these are way outta the 90 days
@thismyusername yeah just idle bitching I suppose. It was my fault not to test them as I had some idea of the crap potential.