Separate power for Lights from blower

[Irrumater]

Has anyone separated the power for you lights from the blower motor on inflatables?

I was thinking if I could do this, then plug the lights into my controllers and power them off and on with music while leaving the fans blowing.

Older AC lights shouldnt be a problem I don't think, just cut/splice a plug end on, but what about the newer 12v LEDs?

 

[MartinMueller2003]

Power them using a 12vdc ssr

 

[1pet2_9]

For my Halloween props, I don't bother. I remove the lights and stick floods right in front of them, which flash. It leaves big shadows behind them. And it's nondestructive.

 

[mikeh65]

I actually run a strip of pixels up the middle or my inflatables for Christmas. Then pass the cord out the zipper in the back. This works great with white snowmen, can make them any color you want. On the other hand, back in the day when inflatables used night-light bulbs, I did cut the cord coming from the blower and put a plug on the end. Then just plugged the lights into a SSR to control them. One last idea is to place a 20w RGB flood inside the inflatable. That would work also.

 

[1pet2_9]

I like your idea. I bet those China special 20w ws2811's would work. Just ziptie a clear plastic bag around it for a little more weatherproofing. I'm going to try that.


https://a.aliexpress.com/_mOEra6e

 

[MartinMueller2003]

I like your idea. I bet those China special 20w ws2811's would work. Just ziptie a clear plastic bag around it for a little more weatherproofing. I'm going to try that.


https://a.aliexpress.com/_mOEra6e

Careful. A 20w device is going to generate significant heat. Wrapping it into a bag may not be a great thing.

 

[mikeh65]

I like your idea. I bet those China special 20w ws2811's would work. Just ziptie a clear plastic bag around it for a little more weatherproofing. I'm going to try that.


https://a.aliexpress.com/_mOEra6e

I was thinking more like the 10w from Wired Watts. You could mount it to a weighted base and put it at the bottom pointing up. They are weather proof and run cool.

https://www.wiredwatts.com/sf10wkp1-10w-smart-flood-light

 

[1pet2_9]

I just started exhuming my dead inflatables, and replacing both the fan and the light, and splitting the light line apart from the fan is all not that hard. My average 3' inflatables take an 18W fan. The exact replacement fan that comes with a shared light line runs $20, but another 18W fan on Ali that does not come with a light and has a slightly different form factor runs more like $2. When replacing the fan, snipping and rerouting the light line is easier than splicing a pixel.

The biggest problem is sealing it back with the new fan. The legit replacement fans come with a lip, where you wrap around the fabric and zip tie it into the lip. The cheapo fans don't have a lip. But you can manage, with duct tape, hot glue, and a zip tie. You just need the size of the air intake to at least be semi close to the old fan's.

If the fan's not even broken, no need to snip the zip tie at all--simply unzip it open and snip & strip the light line. Much easier than I thought. I'm only going to mess with my broken inflatables, but I have a number of them.