For beautiful mood lighting, just combine off-the-shelf parts -- and add mineral oil
Posted 03.16.2009 at 10:03 am
20 Comments
Something in the Air
A connected pump gives the lights a funky bubbling effect.
Luis Bruno
When you're a performance artist, creating the right ambience in your show is everything. It all starts with lighting. So two years ago, my partner and I decided to build a lamp that would capture the aquatic theme of a show that our company, Radiohole, was putting on. We wanted to make a lightbulb look like it was submerged in water, so we used mineral oil, a liquid that's clear and nonconductive (we spilled a lot of oil before finally hitting on a fixture that was both portable and leakproof).
We were also looking for a dynamic effect, so we ran a pump from a fish tank to blow bubbles in the oil, making it look as if it's boiling from the bulb's heat. The final design of the lamps wound up looking so good onstage that many people asked us about getting them for their homes. All the parts to build them yourself are available at home-improvement and electrical-supply stores. If you'd prefer to remain a spectator, though, you can order finished ones at radiohole.com.
Materials
All of these, except the aquarium air pump, can be obtained from McMaster-Carr, for convenient one-stop web shopping. All told it's about $75 in materials.
A vapor-tight fixture with a half-inch hub. This is an industrial fixture, made from cast aluminum and used for outdoor or hazardous locations. It has rubber seals between the various parts to keep moisture out. In our case, we are using the seals to keep the mineral oil in. There are various styles and colors. These can be obtained at an electrical supply store or, like everything else here, over the internet. The price is around $40. Here are some examples of styles and prices.
A basic air pump, the kind used to aerate an aquarium. Price: around $8.
Clear quarter-inch PVC tubing. This can be obtained at the same place you get the air pump. Some pumps come with the tube. 25 feet will run about $2. The length depends on how far the pump is from the fixture. We've run lines up to 40 feet.
A length of three-wire 18awg SJOOW cord. Around $0.55 a foot. You could use any kind of 18awg wire, but we like to use SJOOW cord because it has a strong, flexible neoprene jacket and we like the look of it. Again, the length is up to you.
Nylon liquid-tight strain relief with flex fitting. Be sure to get the half-inch NPT thread, to match the threads on the fixture. This is McMaster-Carr part #69915K63, around $3.25.
- A 3-prong male plug.
- A couple of 18awg wire nuts
- Light-viscosity mineral oil. Mineral oil is a clear, odorless, and most importantly for us, non-conductive liquid. A pint costs around $11. We get it from McMaster-Carr (part # 3190K291).
- A colored clear 25-watt bulb -- the color is up to you.
Tools
- Drill with a 9/32 bit
- Screwdriver
- Wire strippers
- Utility knife
See page two for detailed assembly instructions.
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This is just wild and wonderful! Do you use an ordinary light bulb?
Will a CFL work?
Also, what is the run time on this? Can a 50W bulb work the same as well?
is it possible to get a detailed list with part numbers for every item? some are listed here but its a bit vague in places...
@ unknown element)
www.mcmaster.com
LIGHT FIXTURE 14915K55 35.24
18AWG SJOOW 7422K21 0.59/ft.
3 PRONG PLUG 7196K31 7.03
CORD GRIP 69915K63 3.64
WIRE NUTS 7108K31 3.01/14
MINERAL OIL 3190K291 11.98/PINT
COLORED BULB (BUYLIGHTING.COM) 1.55
We've run the 25w bulb for upto 24 hours continuously - no problem. The only issue with higher wattages would be heat but my educated guess is that the mineral oil will keep it cool enough. I'll run a test at higher wattage and post my findings.
The unit will work with any lamp with an E-26 socket (medium base edison).
As far as parts cory25 has got it. I will add that there is some room for variance in exactly what parts you use - for example, there are different vapor fixtures on the market - the important thing is that you get a good seal so the oil doesn't leak - that is messy and slippery. I would not recommend using any other substance than mineral oil unless you are 100% sure it is dielectric. With the possible exception of the mineral oil, most of this stuff could be found at your local hardware store.
We are still experimenting with this and if any one else experiments with this idea, we'd be curious to hear the results
This may mean nothing to most people, but I can't stop staring at the tape on the right holding up the fake 'industrial' wall in the background of the photo. They couldn't crop it, really?
FYI I dunno if I did something wrong, but the 14915K55 fixture is aluminum, not black. big difference, I think that is why pop sci lists a different site..
did you guys paint yours black or what? what kind of paint would stand up to the heat of the bulb and all?
what does the 1/2'' versus 3/4'' hub refer to?
Did anyone ever test this with a higher wattage bulb or a CFL? We have an application that wouldn't work with less than 60 watts of light output...
This was my first product which I built from pop sci. It came out great!! Love it.
If you think this project is cool, check this out.
www.WineClockDisplay.com
Just got finished building one and it looks great. I used mineral oil from the drugstore and after the bubbler has run for a few minutes, lots of tiny bubbles remain suspended in the solution. Is there a certain weight of mineral oil that will minimize the number of residual bubbles?
Did anyone ever test this with a higher wattage bulb or a CFL? We have an application that wouldn't work with less than 60 watts of light output...
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Just finished building one for my son's room. He doesn't really appreciate it though, so might have to steal it back!
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I've built 2 of these using cfl's. It works just fine however, it is brighter than the 25w incon. light. It put me back about $110 for both ($60 each). The hard part is locating all the parts. The mineral oil is sold in most local grocery stores in the pharmacy area, heavy oil works fine. I got a double output pump from walmart $10 and local hardware store has the 18 sjoow wire. As for the higher output bulbs use a large gauge cable do to the power factor. Larger bulb consumes more power. 14-16 will work. It will put a lot more heat off!
Great project Thanks!
Monty
This would be a great family project. There is nothing better than families doing in together to complete an activity that will be a pride a joy in the family home .Very cool. Unusual home lighting will always be a reminder of that project and your friends will help by using it a discussion point.
Greg
www.litecraft.co.uk
Well, As far as parts cory25 has got it. I will add that there is some room for variance in exactly what parts you use - for example, there are different vapor fixtures on the market - the important thing is that you get a good seal so the oil doesn't leak - that is messy and slippery. I would not recommend using any other substance than mineral oil unless you are 100% sure it is dielectric. With the possible exception of the mineral oil, most of this stuff could be found at your local hardware store.
Speaking for myself, I never asked for plastic anything. Manufacturers did this to save a buck, not because anyone necessarily liked it. Generally, I have found that many things that used to be made from metal which are now plastic is cheaper, but inferior in quality. Plastic also contains chemicals that have been suspected of leaching into our food. I would welcome its demise.
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What a cute and great project to do with the family. I wonder if you could include scented oil in the mix or color to create a range of lamps. I am thinking like a rainbow of colors. This would be absolutely delightful for special moments.
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I’ve been thrown into so many situations where I had to develop a solution on the fly working off another developers code—so I can certainly relate to the tedious yet thrilling feeling of getting things patched up just in time.
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