Rosco Litepad Kit Heating Issue

[Mark Collins]

Hey Guys!

So, I'm using the Rosco Litepad kit on a shoot right now to provide lighting for a dollhouse. It's an interesting little shoot that the lights are perfect for. However, I'm having an issue with them.

We taped the lights to the roof panels of the dollhouse to proide lighting for the rooms, but we ran into trouble when the lights heated up enough to start melting the adhesive on the tape. We eventually used muffler tape to hold them in place, but there's still the issue of the lights themselves heating up.

Has anyone else used this kit and had a heating issue with them? I was under the impression LED's generated very little heat.

[Tai Wah Lim]

Mark, we used the Litepad for a feature film. No heating problem. Lim

[Tim Sutherland]

A Rosco Rep pointed out to me that since all of the light comes out of the edges and refracts out, you can put a screw through the middle of it if necessary, and as long as you don't cut/break the edge where the wiring is, you can attach things that way, and you'll only lose a tiny bit of light from the center.

[David W. Jones]

Hey Guys!

So, I'm using the Rosco Litepad kit on a shoot right now to provide lighting for a dollhouse. It's an interesting little shoot that the lights are perfect for. However, I'm having an issue with them.

We taped the lights to the roof panels of the dollhouse to proide lighting for the rooms, but we ran into trouble when the lights heated up enough to start melting the adhesive on the tape. We eventually used muffler tape to hold them in place, but there's still the issue of the lights themselves heating up.

Has anyone else used this kit and had a heating issue with them? I was under the impression LED's generated very little heat.

There may well be a problem with the power supply, as I have heard that there have been various issues with it being reported. It could be that the guy in China who makes these sources parts from different manufactures, and there are QC issues. Who knows.

All the Best!

[Richard Andrewski]

Your putting tape over the edges no doubt to hold it down. The LEDs are along the edge where your putting the tape and that's blocking the normal heat dissipation. LEDs do generate significant heat and they have to let it dissipate or you will see issues like this. Sure you can drill a hole in the middle to attach it somewhere but if your renting the kit, the company your renting it from may disagree with that method!

I recommend clamping it somehow and making sure that you grab it somewhere other than along the 4 edges to let the heat get out like it should.

[Mark Collins]

Your putting tape over the edges no doubt to hold it down. The LEDs are along the edge where your putting the tape and that's blocking the normal heat dissipation. LEDs do generate significant heat and they have to let it dissipate or you will see issues like this. Sure you can drill a hole in the middle to attach it somewhere but if your renting the kit, the company your renting it from may disagree with that method!

I recommend clamping it somehow and making sure that you grab it somewhere other than along the 4 edges to let the heat get out like it should.

Thanks for the advice. I'll give it a try and see if that helps.

[Joel Svendsen]

Mark -

My name is Joel and I work for Rosco. My suspicion is that you are overpowering the transformer. We have three transformers that we sell with the LitePads - 1 Amp, 3 Amp and 5 Amp. If your transformer is the small "wall wort" style - that is the 1 Amp. If it looks like a PC style transformer (detachable cord that plug into the wall and a fixed DC cord that plugs into the LitePad) that is more than likely the 3 Amp. The 5 Amp is only sold with our 24"x24" LitePad. If you overdrive the Transformer, both the LED's and the transformer get too hot.

Feel free to PM me at joel@rosco.com if you'd like. We have an office in Toronto as well filled with LitePad experts.

On the flip side - I'd love to see some stills or short video of what your dollhouse looks like lit up with LitePads (if you have them)

Joel

[Mark Collins]

Mark -

My name is Joel and I work for Rosco. My suspicion is that you are overpowering the transformer. We have three transformers that we sell with the LitePads - 1 Amp, 3 Amp and 5 Amp. If your transformer is the small "wall wort" style - that is the 1 Amp. If it looks like a PC style transformer (detachable cord that plug into the wall and a fixed DC cord that plugs into the LitePad) that is more than likely the 3 Amp. The 5 Amp is only sold with our 24"x24" LitePad. If you overdrive the Transformer, both the LED's and the transformer get too hot.

Feel free to PM me at joel@rosco.com if you'd like. We have an office in Toronto as well filled with LitePad experts.

On the flip side - I'd love to see some stills or short video of what your dollhouse looks like lit up with LitePads (if you have them)

Joel

Thanks Joel!

That helps a lot, and the transformer thing may be the issue as well. We had 2 of the 3" circles and one of the smaller rectangle pads, I believe the 4" by 2" plugged into one transformer.

Would that, in combination with too much tape be the problem right there?

Also, I'll see if I can snag some of the footage off our DMT to send to you. It's for a student film so it shouldn't be an issue, and we did shoot it in 2K on the Red.