PixCon 16 Blowing Fuses

[greenvillehughes]

I just purchased a couple of PixCon 16 controllers.

I hooked up a few strings of WS2811 pixels, 12V, 100 pixels per string.

One string per port.

I am blowing fuses at the ports when all the lights are on.

Using the rule of thumb, 3 pixels per watt, I figure each string is pulling around 33 watts.

At 12V that comes to under 4 amps which is what the port fuses are rated at.

Anyone else having this happen to them?

Thanks for your help.

[LOR Staff]

When dealing with electricity, 'rules of thumb' can sometimes be wrong

 

Contact the mfg, and ask them the total draw on a single pixel lit WHITE at full brightness.  Then use those numbers.

[Mr. P]

Where did you get your lights? I personally have never seen 100 pixel strings rated at only 33w. That sounds more like 50 pixel strings.

[k6ccc]

I agree wilth Mr. P, that 33 watts for 100 pixels seems pretty low.  Get out an amp meter and measure them.  If you find that they are drawing 6 amps, the solution is NOT to put in 8 amp fuses!  The proper solution would most likely be to split the strings and feed the second half of each string through a separate fuse.  I can draw a schematic for that if needed.  I will have to do that for next year assuming I make the changes I plan on for my pixel tree.

[wbaker4]

Articles I have read indicate 60 ma per pixel is the guideline to use.

 

Walt

[wmilkie]

usually, each led element is roughly .020 amps, times 3 per pixel; so .060 per pixel; times 100 pixels = 6.0 amps per 100 count pixel string if all 300 leds(which would make white) are on at the same time; 6 amps times 12 volts = 72 watts