VOLT Garden Lighting

[Dirk]

Whatever serves @nrobfd_pl and [ha, ha, just went looking for the OP's name. Doy!] best. I was more concerned for his question than the thread.
So how many times did I post those same pictures of my yard?!?

 

[nrobfd_pl]

Whatever serves @nrobfd_pl and [ha, ha, just went looking for the OP's name. Doy!] best. I was more concerned for his question than the thread.
So how many times did I post those same pictures of my yard?!?

Thanks for the help (and for starting this thread!). I didn't want to start another thread just to ask about lighting and I'm still learning the etiquette around here.

 

[Dirk]

Thanks for the help (and for starting this thread!). I didn't want to start another thread just to ask about lighting and I'm still learning the etiquette around here.

Apparently, so am I!!

 

[Toxophilite]

If the OP doesn't mind, I vote leave the VOLT product discussion on a singular page! For the new folks planning, it can't be overstated that you will need more transformer than you will conservatively figure and by a good margin, and you will need much more wire than conservatively figured. With pigtails and tucking here and there, a 250" roll was 60' shy of what I calculated. You will most likely need that 15V tap, so get the one with it, and don't base it all on lesser unless you have a very minimal system. I'm now considering my first unplanned add. Wondering if their underwater lighting would make a fish light.

 

[Dirk]

If the OP doesn't mind, I vote leave the VOLT product discussion on a singular page! For the new folks planning, it can't be overstated that you will need more transformer than you will conservatively figure and by a good margin, and you will need much more wire than conservatively figured. With pigtails and tucking here and there, a 250" roll was 60' shy of what I calculated. You will most likely need that 15V tap, so get the one with it, and don't base it all on lesser unless you have a very minimal system. I'm now considering my first unplanned add. Wondering if their underwater lighting would make a fish light.

100%. I very much wish I had gotten a much larger power supply, because I'm maxed out now and have all sorts of other lighting ideas.

We can ask the OP if he minds us hijacking his thread. Or not, he may not even notice.

 

[Ahultin]

I got lucky in a sense in that I had run two trunk lines going opposite directions from the transformer. When the projects "scope of work" exploded (as mine so often do) it was easy to split those trunks to two separate transformers.

 

[Dirk]

I got lucky in a sense in that I had run two trunk lines going opposite directions from the transformer. When the projects "scope of work" exploded (as mine so often do) it was easy to split those trunks to two separate transformers.

Same here. My transformer is located about halfway in my layout, with two (maybe three?) trunks. So that's the plan, to add a transformer and split the load. Someday...

 

[Toxophilite]

100%. I very much wish I had gotten a much larger power supply, because I'm maxed out now and have all sorts of other lighting ideas.

We can ask the OP if he minds us hijacking his thread. Or not, he may not even notice.

View attachment 487180

Their transformer booklet states more than 200' use 10/2 and don't recommend going over 300'. If you can plan multiple trunks off the transformer, that's better. I found that the end of that 250' 10/2 roll I bought, with only 5 of the 5W lights hooked up, was losing 2 volts, down from 12.5 to 10.5. Put it on the 15V tap and down to 13.5. If I planned more on that trunk would have issue pretty fast, so trying for a single run to do most of the job is not the best plan.

 

[Ahultin]

Their transformer booklet states more than 200' use 10/2 and don't recommend going over 300'. If you can plan multiple trunks off the transformer, that's better. I found that the end of that 250' 10/2 roll I bought, with only 5 of the 5W lights hooked up, was losing 2 volts, down from 12.5 to 10.5. Put it on the 15V tap and down to 13.5. If I planned more on that trunk would have issue pretty fast, so trying for a single run to do most of the job is not the best plan.

You'll find that the led mr16's work reliably down to about 8v. The smart mr16's require just shy of 10 (a couple started going wonky at 9v)
Mine is all run 12/2 (1 run I probably should had bumped to 10/2 and if it became an issue I did run the trunk in conduit so I could still resolve it) with the longest run pushing 400ft

 

[Toxophilite]

You'll find that the led mr16's work reliably down to about 8v. The smart mr16's require just shy of 10 (a couple started going wonky at 9v)
Mine is all run 12/2 (1 run I probably should had bumped to 10/2 and if it became an issue I did run the trunk in conduit so I could still resolve it) with the longest run pushing 400ft

Maybe it's for the smart where they stated don't go below 10V. All in all, my last foray into this at another house was all Halogen, and so much nicer to play with these LED. All five LED and not even up to one of those Halogen floods. All other options would be up by the house, pool, and deck, as nothing more out there to light up.