Dimming Menards Building Lights

Per the past threads you mention, going to a fixed wall wart would be a roll the dice solution. You may be happy or not. Several mention using dc buck converter combos to go as low as below 3 volts to get the desired effect on various buildings. My two cents,  I don't think you save much if anything with the wall wart option and lose the capability to get the effect you like.

Might be possible to insert a resistor in the circuit for cutting the voltage to the LED.  However, from what I've seen, the sweet spot for getting enough light while being noticeably dimmer than normal is pretty narrow.

I haven't taken a Menards building apart, but maybe the circuit for cutting the voltage to the LED is adjustable.  Probably not, since it would increase the cost of production by 5 or 10 cents, but you never know.

Thank you both for your reply’s. I now wonder if there isn’t an adjustable wall wort out there.

I now realize they do make adjustable wall warts but the ones I’ve found so far warn of potentially unstable outputs.

You could insert one or more diodes in line with the power to reduce the voltage. Each diode should reduce the power by .6 volts or so.

Another tip that some modelers recommend is painting LEDs with: Tamiya Acrylic X26 Clear Orange. I recently ordered some of this paint and am anxious to see results. In the past I've painted all my Menards building lights with a craft yellow paint with some warming effect to the bright white lights.

For maximum flexibility, I would use the current Menard's wall wart and purchase an inexpensive, properly rated dc to dc buck converter with adjustable voltage output and connect the output wires to the male plug below. That way, you can tailor the output voltage to match whatever brightness you desire.

Two more good options to ponder.

I’m beginning to wonder if I dim all the lights I might get the outside ones I consider too bright adjusted perfectly but the inside lights adjusted too dim.

you all are helping avoid making expensive wrong decisions. I appreciate that!

@JSD posted:

I’m beginning to wonder if I dim all the lights I might get the outside ones I consider too bright adjusted perfectly but the inside lights adjusted too dim.

you all are helping avoid making expensive wrong decisions. I appreciate that!

Well, both the diode and buck converter options are relatively cheap *and* reversible, so you should be able to experiment without too much trouble or expense, and if the electrical measures would dim the interior too much, you can use the orange clear paint to tone down the outside lights without affecting the interior (which I've used on the too-bright headlights on some old-time trucks, to better match the old-style incandescent headlights).

You *might* be able to electrically separate the interior from the exterior lights, but that's more fiddly than I'd care to tackle just to adjust the lights! I *did* once put the lighting LEDs on a WS piece on a dimmer separate  from the TVs and appliances, which enabled me to have a "night" setting different from the "open for business" setting, as a side effect from doing some troubleshooting and using the repair parts WS was good enough to send me:

I have some learning to do with respect to buck converters and diodes and how to choose them and use them. The learning is part of what makes this hobby fun.

The issue is that Menards typically use 5V strip leds for lighting. Each led in the strip is its own circuit with a load resistor. So with a standard 5V adapter the leds are at max brightness. I find that to get a realistic brightness its best to use a DC to DC buck converter as suggested above. And the sweet spot is a quite narrow band of voltages; about 3 to maybe 3.5V. Too low and the leds go dark because you are below the Vf rating. Too high and they are crazy bright.

I wish Menards would use warm white strip leds rather than bright white. For that mid 19th century incandescent lighting look warm white are much more realistic IMO.

I’ve learned a lot from all of you. I’ve narrowed my options down to two: the Tamiya paint and the buck converter.

The Tamiya paint option allows me to only dim the outside lights on one end of the Menards lumber yard which I find the only ones that are really bothersome and I think is fairly low risk for a novice like me.

The DC to DC buck converter would allow me to dim other lights which we still think are too bright but might dim the interior lights more than I want to. However, if it is easily reversible it is certainly worth a try.

The most important thing to me is that I do no harm. I really like the building.

Ideally I would find a DC to DC converter that would allow me to insert it in the run between the Menards wall wart and the lumber building without cutting the cord, which would have adjustable voltage so I could try a variety of voltages, which has a built in volt meter, and which doesn’t require too much skill with a soldering iron. I would also need very precise instructions since this is all new to me. Of the above list not cutting the cord and being adjustable are the most important along with finding precise instructions. Please assume you’re talking to a dummy because you are.

I appreciate how patient you’re all being. As I said earlier I’m learning a lot.

Last October I was out shopping and while these folks were setting up their holiday village display thing I was admiring their extensive LED lighting kit. I have not needed to do this, but they used a drop of white nail polish to knock the output intensity down a bit for the overly bright LEDs. some LEDs needed one coat/drop, others needed more. I thought that was a clever and inexpensive low-tech solution. It looked good too - I wish I had taken a picture.

Correct me if I am wrong but Menards typically use a round barrel type connector which is 5.5/2.1 mm from what I recall. They are commonly used and readily available at any electronics jobber. They are also available on ebay and Amazon; as they are commonly used with led lighting for under-counter use etc.

So if you hook a male connector to the input end of the buck converter, and female to the other end, it will go inline simple plug "n play between the adapter and the lumber yard. The only problem with this is typically converters lose about 1.5V from input to output; so the lighting might be too dim at 3.5V. But it might be worth a shot. (You could also get a buck-boost converter which should be adjustable to whatever output you like)

It that's a no-go you are back to needing a 12-14 VAC supply, but you can still use the same buck converter with an input rectifier as discussed above.

Rod

Excellent, I’m almost ready to go shopping.