Scary year for pixels

**angus40** · 01-07-2021, 04:22 PM

Are these meltdowns a problem with wire quality ? Too many impurities in the wire or lack of strands in the wire ?
Or are these issues self inflicted by improper injection user error or user over taxing their hardware ?

I am happy to report 0 issues running Tls 3001 pixels @ 12v this year . I have run them at 5v for the past 6 years or so until I discovered they are good up until 17v (strings only) . The tls strips are 5v only but still no issues with them either .
Following this thread .

**tjetzer** · 01-07-2021, 07:32 PM

The issues with the rash of pixels melting/scorching/burning is due to faulty/cheap epoxy being used by certain suppliers. The cheap epoxy that was used is cracking and failing which is allowing water to get into the pixel.

**angus40** · 01-07-2021, 08:01 PM

Originally Posted by tjetzer

The issues with the rash of pixels melting/scorching/burning is due to faulty/cheap epoxy being used by certain suppliers. The cheap epoxy that was used is cracking and failing which is allowing water to get into the pixel.

Ah , cutting costs and extending the epoxy with too many fillers .
Calcium bicarbonate is real cheap per metric tonne.
Many fiberglass outfits extend their resins this way and it lends itself to brittle products .
Though it lower cost initially , the lesser quality product will be a higher cost in loss of reputation .

Or this may be a unknown bi-product of trying to increase production .
Over promoting or over catalysing resins can cause them to fail also.

**munu** · 01-08-2021, 12:29 AM

Sorry my ignorance but where is the epoxy being used? Is it the 'glue' that seals the entrance of the cable into the actual pixel? I would have expected that this is something that breaks down over several years and not within a year. Maybe I misunderstand or maybe it's just that bad so it doesn't even last for a month.

The main reason I am asking is because I am just starting out with displays for next year (our home is already very bright but no animation) so I am trying to figure out when/where to buy pixels.

**puppycrack** · 01-08-2021, 01:06 AM

I am just getting started with pixels, and while I have been trying to understand how to power all these pixels safely and properly (wire gauge, fusing, load calc, etc...), I now realize that a lot of the hazard may be out of my hands (the lights themselves). Questions:

1) what is the recommended way to push pixels into a substrate (pvc pipe, coro, j-channel)?
2) does anyone know how to determine if a pixel if of a substandard quality or should be returned / thrown away? vendors to steer towards or away from?

I don't mind paying for quality if it means my house doesn't burn to the ground. Especially b/c my first foray is to do my roofline, and fire there == bad.

Thanks,
- pc

**uncledan** · 01-08-2021, 01:23 AM

Originally Posted by puppycrack

I am just getting started with pixels, and while I have been trying to understand how to power all these pixels safely and properly (wire gauge, fusing, load calc, etc...), I now realize that a lot of the hazard may be out of my hands (the lights themselves). Questions:

1) what is the recommended way to push pixels into a substrate (pvc pipe, coro, j-channel)?
2) does anyone know how to determine if a pixel if of a substandard quality or should be returned / thrown away? vendors to steer towards or away from?

I don't mind paying for quality if it means my house doesn't burn to the ground. Especially b/c my first foray is to do my roofline, and fire there == bad.

Thanks,
- pc

First thing to look at is the epoxy/resin on each node. Epoxy should'nt be soft and no visible way of water intrusion. I've been lucky I guess but I don't buy from Ray. One bad pixel last year out of 40k and no fires 100% 12v. I will say most of mine are older resistor pixels but issues to speak of. You ask for cheap pixels you get fires.

**Stormyblade** · 01-08-2021, 08:15 AM

Originally Posted by munu

Sorry my ignorance but where is the epoxy being used? Is it the 'glue' that seals the entrance of the cable into the actual pixel? I would have expected that this is something that breaks down over several years and not within a year. Maybe I misunderstand or maybe it's just that bad so it doesn't even last for a month.

The main reason I am asking is because I am just starting out with displays for next year (our home is already very bright but no animation) so I am trying to figure out when/where to buy pixels.

In the below picture, I added a red line that shows where the resin is added to the pixel body. The manufacturers squirt or pour in the resin with the pixels held upside down, it dries/cures, and should be totally waterproof.

pixel.jpg

**MartinMueller2003** · 01-08-2021, 03:23 PM

Originally Posted by Stormyblade

In the below picture, I added a red line that shows where the resin is added to the pixel body. The manufacturers squirt or pour in the resin with the pixels held upside down, it dries/cures, and should be totally waterproof.

pixel.jpg

until you squeeze them the wrong way and cause a gap between the sleeve and the resin.

**munu** · 01-08-2021, 04:35 PM

Thank you. I purchased a first set from AliExpress and they came fairly fast (a week or so). https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000...25ee4c4dP7SKOK Based on the picture from @MartinMueller2003 I tried to push a pin into the 'glue' between the shell and the LED/cable. It was very hard so I guess it's good quality. I haven't done much yet but I might be ordering from this vendor again.

**MikeKrebs** · 01-09-2021, 02:13 AM

See link in previous post...Are all WS2811 15 bit color? I assumed since we send it 256 values for each color it was 24 bit color. Of course, the description also says the pixels must be clocked by a microcontroller and that isn't the way we would usually say that about WS2811 pixels.