How to hide the plumbing for LED strip lights

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neb

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#311787 14-Feb-2024 22:40

I'm adding an LED lighting strip to the workbench for better all-over lighting than the current point-source, but one thing that no-one seems to cover is how to deal with the plumbing you need to run it, the DC feed just magically appears where it's needed for the strip. Specifically, I'll be running the strip along the underside of one of a series of gloss-white shelves that run over the workbench, which means I've got to route the DC cable up to it in a way that minimises visual impact and doesn't involve excessive amounts of damage to the shelving from screws or nails.

What are people doing for this, self-adhesive cable clips, hot glue, bare cable or inside ducting, ... ? I can put a few small screws in, but don't want to have too many holes in the finish.

richms

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#3195339 14-Feb-2024 23:38

Groove along the back of the shelf and then into the wall behind the shelf itself to some 16mm flexi condiut in the wall that comes out down by the powerpoint that has the controller in it. I drilled into the shelf a little on the face the LEDs are on, and then into the back of the board to meet up with it. I should have routed a groove along the shelf to take the tape but I didnt and now you can see the tape from the front.

The 16mm when gibstopped around and cut flush is almost totally hidden by a 20mm MDF shelf if you get the position of it right.

I did mess up when I did it and home run all the runs assuming I was going to be using dumb analog strips, and now have to take data back from one and to the next one for the sk6812 LEDs, since I dont want to use one data pin for each shelf.

I am going to re-do it all when I rearrange the upstairs with a new wall and move things, but the way I found the best was to put all the shelves up and mark where they were on the wall and use that to put the flexi conduit thru. Running along the shelf to get them going into the right stud bay and in one case back out and in again behind another shelf.

Edit: And on my lundia shelves, it goes up inside the wooden uprights where there is just enough gap between the end of the shelf's metal end and the back of the upright to slip some small wires thru.

Richard rich.ms

mdf

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#3195385 15-Feb-2024 09:02

I was very pleased with myself for thinking to route a hidden cable groove before I edge-banded some shelves. That is not at all helpful for your use case though. #CaptainHindsight

If you can can hide the cable to the base of the shelf in the wall okay (conduit? in-wall?), how would you feel about some shiny copper "accents" to bridge the last ~300mm or so from the wall to the LED strip? I think that could look really quite sharp as a feature. 😉

neb

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#3195963 15-Feb-2024 17:09

To give a bit of context, I think a photo would help:

So the LED strip will go at the front of the bottom-most shelf inside an alu track (various things have been moved around for testing the location, it'll be a bit less cluttered at the end), I'd probably loop the cable back behind the track, across the centre of the shelf, and down to where the power points are so the track mostly obscures it. That's less visible than running it down the side of the shelving where it'll be in direct view. So the question was mostly how to secure it on that run while minimising damage to the shelves.

tieke

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#3195982 15-Feb-2024 18:03

Looks like you can conceal most of the cable run behind the back of the shelf sides, and for the bits where it is visible under the shelves I'd just use some simple white conduit like these Bunnings ones.

tieke

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#3195983 15-Feb-2024 18:06

Unlike the more robust conduits, those ones come in are relatively low profile and have a peel-off self-adhesive backing. They come in a number of sizes/thicknesses, and are great for cable runs along the roofline/floorline, where they end up being barely noticeable.

Handle9

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#3196030 15-Feb-2024 21:29

neb: To give a bit of context, I think a photo would help: So the LED strip will go at the front of the bottom-most shelf inside an alu track (various things have been moved around for testing the location, it'll be a bit less cluttered at the end), I'd probably loop the cable back behind the track, across the centre of the shelf, and down to where the power points are so the track mostly obscures it. That's less visible than running it down the side of the shelving where it'll be in direct view. So the question was mostly how to secure it on that run while minimising damage to the shelves.

Any pictures running floor to ceiling?

I've got Ikea ones, which are excellent, in my kitchen. The drivers are sitting in the false ceiling and the feeds run down the back of the cabinets.

This video gives you an idea how it works

neb

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#3196284 16-Feb-2024 13:49

That's the only picture that's required, the alu channel with the LED strip will go at the front under the shelf and the cabling needs to end up at the back where the power points are. The question is how to route and attach it in a way that minimises visual impact and damage to the shelf. Since the former is almost certainly going to be looped back behind the alu channel, it's mostly the best method of attaching... hot glue is sorta moving towards being the least awful option, almost invisible and relatively easily removed.

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mdf

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#3196332 16-Feb-2024 14:43

I'd be inclined to go with @tieke's suggestion of the white stick on conduit channel. All white seems less intrusive to me than coloured (?) wires. If you're happy with visible wires, Bunnings stocks these stick on cord tidy tabs: https://www.bunnings.com.au/click-small-cord-tabs-10-pack_p0381052 (Australian website link since I cannot find them on the NZ website, but I bought some from Bunnings NZ within the last 2 weeks).

mdooher

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#3196334 16-Feb-2024 14:53

If the shelf is removable route a slot in the end

If not, get another piece of wood/melamine the exact same size as that shelf and place it on top of that shelf, This extra piece can have as many slots routed in its lower face as you want to get the wires to the back (you drill right through the bottom shelf above the extrusion and make a wire sandwich if that makes sense)

Matthew

neb

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#3196337 16-Feb-2024 14:58

mdf:
I'd be inclined to go with @tieke's suggestion of the white stick on conduit channel. All white seems less intrusive to me than coloured (?) wires. If you're happy with visible wires, Bunnings stocks these stick on cord tidy tabs: https://www.bunnings.com.au/click-small-cord-tabs-10-pack_p0381052 (Australian website link since I cannot find them on the NZ website, but I bought some from Bunnings NZ within the last 2 weeks).

I'm soldering on a white DC cable so it'll match the colour of the shelf, it's really just a case of attaching it. I've got some generic self-adhesive tabs like that but in previous use they let go after awhile, OTOH those claim 3M adhesive so presumably will last longer, or at least as long as the LED strip which is also 3M adhesive. So that looks like the best solution.

mdooher

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#3196340 16-Feb-2024 15:02

neb:
mdf:

I'd be inclined to go with @tieke's suggestion of the white stick on conduit channel. All white seems less intrusive to me than coloured (?) wires. If you're happy with visible wires, Bunnings stocks these stick on cord tidy tabs: https://www.bunnings.com.au/click-small-cord-tabs-10-pack_p0381052 (Australian website link since I cannot find them on the NZ website, but I bought some from Bunnings NZ within the last 2 weeks).

I'm soldering on a white DC cable so it'll match the colour of the shelf, it's really just a case of attaching it. I've got some generic self-adhesive tabs like that but in previous use they let go after awhile, OTOH those claim 3M adhesive so presumably will last longer, or at least as long as the LED strip which is also 3M adhesive. So that looks like the best solution.

If you want those things to stick forever just let them heat up in the sun then press them into place as hard as you can with your fingers for at least a minute

Matthew

neb

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#3201645 29-Feb-2024 15:50

So that worked out really well using @mdf's suggestion of the Bunnings cable tabs to hold the DC power cable in place, I've now finally got decent all-over workbench lighting:

One comment for anyone else considering buying them, the "small" tabs are actually quite large, you could probably get a thin mains cord into them, but since I was using cable with twin 18 AWG conductors they turned out to be just the right size.