Dumb idea, or genius. (Temp range of LED tape

[littlespark]

Daydreaming today while at the ice rink.

Last day of the season, and they turned on their disco lights and music.
I got to thinking about embedding lights actually in the ice.
Would it be possible?
Not worried about the waterproof nature, but more any heat generated by a standard LED tape?
Could run the tape just an inch above the surface, but some clown would damage it with their skate.

 

[nicebutdim]

I don't believe LEDs would have any issue operating at those temperatures, but other electronics within tape could be problematic. There's bound to be plenty rated for much lower outdoor temperatures, common in colder climes.

 

[Spoon]

I'd go with, there would have to be a whacking big heatsink on them to keep the temp of them below 0.
Also maintenance of them would be a ball-ache.
On a positive note, they would look pretty.

 

[Dustydazzler]

I used to skate as a youth and I guarantee if you put flashy lights just below the surface of the ice , within 5 minutes of switching them on some skaters would use their toe picks to dig up the lights

 

[Taylortwocities]

Also you need to look at how the ice rink surface is maintained. It’s going to be melted, topped up with water and refilled periodically. Think there’s more IP issues to consider as well as temperature.

 

[littlespark]

Ok… so dumb idea.

Anything would have to be buried deep, as they do scrape off top layer after sessions and refill.
And PSUs would have to quite big for the length of tape involved.

Anything above the ice would get damaged… either by skates or the scraping machine.

The lights they have are fairly new, but original sound system gave up the ghost on Saturday night for an extra session.
It “burst into flames” before opening, so they had to improvise…. They had one unruly customer asked to leave… a window got broken and police were called.

Oh, and they had a complaint that the music was too loud.
From a house 100ft away, on a Saturday night!

I missed all that, as I went to the normal Sunday session.

 

[Taylortwocities]

You could have a look at how they use lighting effects on the dance floor on Strictly. Some very creative Laser stuff.
Might cost a few squillion though. Or hang around Elstree Studios on a Sunday and “borrow” some bits…

 

[snowhead]

I suspect along with some of the other potential issues, Volt Drop is going to be a problem.

However here's one someone did earlier,

LED Ice Rink

LED Ice Rink: Here is a cool project that I just did for my kids. An Ice Rink with remote controlled LED lights under the ice.

www.instructables.com

 

[littlespark]

I suspect along with some of the other potential issues, Volt Drop is going to be a problem.

However here's one someone did earlier,

LED Ice Rink

LED Ice Rink: Here is a cool project that I just did for my kids. An Ice Rink with remote controlled LED lights under the ice.

www.instructables.com

Well that looks like redneck inginuity at its best…

“It was a bit bumpy when it froze, so I just used a hot iron”


I know it’s not a big town, but the ice rink is a full 4 lane curling rink. A bit bigger than this 30 x 15 feet.
Can’t get any speed up on a rink that small…

 

[Rockingit]

So lond as it's buried deep enough I can't foresee any issues of using IPx8/9 tape apart from the actual mechanics of cabling and drivers.