Power adapter for LEDs caught fire?!

[LewisGH]

So I’ve bought a cheap set of LEDs on Amazon and the power adapter broke after three uses. After fiddling with the adapter (bending the wires) it would begin to work again for a couple of seconds before cutting off again. Eventually, at the right position the LEDs turned back on and it seemed okay again. After 5-10 minutes the cable on the power adapter started to burn and there was a hole straight through to the cable.

The LED set came with a 12v 6 amp AC / DC power adapter, two 5m 4-pin RGB LED strips, controller and an infrared receiver which would connect the adapter to the two LED strips.

I have tried to work out whether the adapter and receiver/connector are suitable for the LED strips using the following details:

Per 5m LED strip:

Power: 40w
Voltage: 12v

Therefore, 10m of the LEDs would require 80w . So would the LEDs would then require a minimum of 6.67 amperage (80w/12v)?

If this is the case then I could buy an 8 amp power adapter but I cannot seem to find any IR receiver’s/connectors to buy online which have a rating of more than 6 amp (max) on the details.

Not sure whether the original 12v 6 amp power adapter was just faulty or whether it was suitable for the two LED strips?

Apologies for the long post! Just thought I needed some experienced thoughts.

 

[James]

send it back as faulty.
buy a replacement from a reputable wholesaler or diy shop.

offset the extra £20 cost against peace of mind that the house is less likely to burn down whilst you have a nap under your new subdued lighting.

 

[telectrix]

cheap adaptors = fire risk.

 

[freddo]

It is likely the conductors in that faulty cable are very very small, and probably aluminium or copper clad aluminium. The plug appears to have a sleeved earth pin as well which also makes it unsuitable for sale in the UK. You can get additional advice, including information on how to report the seller to trading standards here. If the cable is as poorly constructed as it appears then the adaptor is likely to be constructed to the same poor standards.

 

[littlespark]

Yes. I’m afraid buying cheap means not very good quality.

I think I have the same lights used somewhere on my house, strips connected end to end, and there’s a problem as the blue channel seems to be much dimmer at the furthest point.
I don’t use them very long, a couple of hours at most, as I believe leaving them on too long can damage them.
Perhaps your cable was damaged already, sounds like it if you had to wiggle it to get it to work.

The problem is, you don’t know how efficient these things are until you’ve spent hours putting them in.

 

[LewisGH]

send it back as faulty.
buy a replacement from a reputable wholesaler or diy shop.

offset the extra £20 cost against peace of mind that the house is less likely to burn down whilst you have a nap under your new subdued lighting.

I have managed to get a full refund, rightly so, without having to return the rest of the LED strips.

It's tempting to leave the lights set up and buy a new power adapter but I think you're right it's not worth the risk.
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It is likely the conductors in that faulty cable are very very small, and probably aluminium or copper clad aluminium. The plug appears to have a sleeved earth pin as well which also makes it unsuitable for sale in the UK. You can get additional advice, including information on how to report the seller to trading standards here. If the cable is as poorly constructed as it appears then the adaptor is likely to be constructed to the same poor standards.

Thank you for the info!