Do LED light drivers need mounting?

[darrenk]

good day, I have purchased Deta X8 series led lights for a few rooms. They come with drivers. My existing lights have plug points in the ceiling so it’s an easy change over, however what’s the go with the drivers, can they lay in the ceiling on top of insulation. Not sure if they need to be mounted when I have nothing for them to be mounted on. Just curious before I install. Thanks 

[EricL]

Hello @darrenk 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about your LED lights.

If you still have your instruction manual, you'll see on page two that it requires you to mount the driver and have a 50mm clear spacing all around it. It might be necessary to build or create a timber mount for each driver. For more information you can call DETA direct on 1800 826 859. 

Let me call on our experienced members @CSParnell and @MikeTNZ for their recommendations.

Please remember to wear personal protection such as gloves, goggles and a mask. Please remember to turn your mains power off for safety when working on your electrical project.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[darrenk]

Thank you, much appreciated. 

[R4addZ]

Hi @darrenk 

I personally don't think a timber mount would be the way to go, it is effectively providing immediate access to fuel should the driver burn out and set on fire! Any mount should be made from a non inflammable material (got to watch that word, the Americans had to invent the word flamable because too many people thought inflamable meant it wouldn't burn). Might I suggest placing the drivers on a piece of cement sheeting such as 

https://www.bunnings.com.au/durasheet-2400-x-1200-x-6mm-fibre-cement-cladding-2-88sqm_p0710090

They do sell it in smaller sizes I think but I couldn't find a reference. Make sure the sheet is of sufficient size to protect the surrounding area.

Others may know a better material/method.

[AlanM52]

Hi @darrenk,

Use something like a coffee tin or a small metal bucket.

If sitting on insulation pull that aside or weigh down with something like a rock or pebbles so it doesn't topple over.

You can also go for a walk through your local Op shop looking for stuff like China serving plates or metal serving trays etc.

Cheers

[MikeTNZ]

Hi @darrenk, 

According to the manufacturers instructions, you need to cut the insulation around the driver unit so that it has "free air circulation".

The pictures in the manual are quite sparse and mentions nothing about the length of the cable between the LED fitting and the driver pack itself.

The best you can do in this situation is ensure that you have air movement around the driver packs (which don't run incredibly hot unless they're overloaded), I'm picking there is one driver per fitting?

And also not set the driver on timber members, again, if the drivers are not running at full current capacity, they should not get that hot.

Should you have further questions, by all means, ask, we're here to help.

Cheers,

Mike T.