Reddit reviews LEDwholesalers 12-Volt DC Waterpoof LED Power Suppply Driver Transformer with 3-Prong Plug, 60W, 3204-12V
We found 4 Reddit comments about LEDwholesalers 12-Volt DC Waterpoof LED Power Suppply Driver Transformer with 3-Prong Plug, 60W, 3204-12V. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
IP68 waterproof ratingConverts AC voltage to 12V DCWire leads and 3-prong plug for easy connectionsAutomatic thermal & overload cut-off, short circuit protectionEfficient, long life, stable, and reliable
Out of curiosity, what are you using these for? 11.5 watts per meter is a pretty high current requirement and your light output is going to likely be high to match. 11.5 watts per meter would yield ~57.5w for the entire 5m strip and require a minimum of 4.8A for power supply.
For reference, I bought these for our under cabinet lighting which are rated at 2.6 watts per foot or ~42w per 16'. This would require a minimum 3.5A power supply for the entire strand, though individual power supplies may be used. I don't have it all hooked up currently, but I'm using a 12v/1A psu for ~4.5' and it's barely enough.
The relationship between power, current and voltage is easy. Current = Power/Voltage. In the case of the strand you linked, 11.5w/M times 5 meters will equal 57.5 watts for the entire strand, or the power requirements for that particular model. 57.5(power) divided by 12v (voltage) gives you 4.8A of current consumption at full tilt. It's generally good to over supply your power so to run the entire thing on one supply you'd need a 5.5-6A psu. With that kind of current draw, you also have to consider the wiring needed. 18awg wire is generally rated at 7a, but that depends on the length of wire you need (to compensate for voltage drop), how its insulated, and how many wires will be carrying the load.
Generally, any basic 12v power supply will work. I have mine hooked up to a random old 12v wall wart, but you can get led specific drivers like this which have the transformer built in as well as overload protection and sometimes thermal protection. You can also get them up to 150w to run, say, a large kitchen with crown lighting, under cabinet lighting, and kick plate lighting. I've also read about people doing entire decks/patios with the larger PSUs.
As far as connecting them to the power or each other, you will either need to solder lines between them or buy brand specific connectors like these which have power connectors, direct connectors and 6" extension connectors. No soldering required and trust me, they're worth it.
tl;dr - Get a 6a psu or transformer for the entire strand or numerous smaller psu's if you want individual lights on individual circuits (say for switching purposes). FYI, a power supply with more than 6a (or whatever you need for "X" feet of light) won't hurt the lights. The lights only draw what they need. The amperage rating on a psu is simply the capacity, not the amount of current its pushing to the load.
you may have to plug both strips in to the controller with a splitter or by splicing as daisy chaining the strips end to end may cause the last LEDs on the chain to be noticeably dimmer than the first due to resistance.
Edit looking at it again I was assuming all white for the power supply rgb has the potential to exceed that limit. Try these I've had a lot of luck with them and they are well made.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003WOIVRU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_yba1DbFJYRKVS
That's a 60w version, there's also a 150w version if you really want to go crazy, I've powered a kitchen with an obscene amount of built in lighting with one.
Also you may need a barel plug for the power supply if not hard wiring. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01J1WZENK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Jha1DbK5B56WM
Two channels of light (two controllers, two lights per controller)...
Lights: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I3UHFMK
Controller (wifi, requires firmware flash to work with SmartThings): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GJMRLUY
Power supply: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003WOIVRU
Sorry. No time to post pics...
I've worked with an LED strip only once, for under cabinet lighting in kitchen. I purchased the strip and transformer from Amazon - the strip was https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002Q4YX24/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and the transformer was https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003WOIVRU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1.
The strip I purchased was cuttable - note in the description: Cuttable approx. every 4", at designated cut marks. I used 4 sections under the cabinets and connected the sections by soldering 18 gauge stranded wire IIRC to the end of each strip. This was part of a kitchen remodel, so I was able to run the low-voltage wire through the walls to a box in one of the base cabinets. There the transformer was wired to the strips and plugged into a 110v switched outlet I installed in the cabinet. I converted an old, wall-mounted, telephone jack over the counter into a light switch.
So, in short... All you really need is: