Low profile power cable

[Adsibob]

I have a very thin (essentially flat) cAT 6 Ethernet cable, and it made me think that if it’s possible to power stuff through this using PoE, it should be possible to get a flat 13A power cable.

 

 Googling around, I found this:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Koumeican-thinnest-world-Flat-Code/dp/B00SNK6AG2/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_0?pd_rd_w=EHXab&content-id=amzn1.sym.f2aca063-8a8b-49d1-9be7-42a31a3f7e53&pf_rd_p=f2aca063-8a8b-49d1-9be7-42a31a3f7e53&pf_rd_r=196GYCZWK2WTPQM3SKW4&pd_rd_wg=62WQa&pd_rd_r=ab9ee858-7c2f-45c7-b427-c63193ed2f93&pd_rd_i=B00SNK6AG2

 

Apart from the extortionate price, is this too good to be true? Safe?

[Onoff]

47 minutes ago, Adsibob said:

Apart from the extortionate price, is this too good to be true? Safe?

 

Yes. No.

[Adsibob]

17 minutes ago, Onoff said:

 

Yes. No.

But it’s made in Japan, the pioneers of advanced electronic engineering.

 

 My options are:

 

1) try my luck with this weird Japanese invention (Link above);

 

2) go for safer option of rigging up a PoE supply and then find a floor lamp that can be powered by PoE (I expect that finding something that will match our interiors and lighting scheme in PoE will be nigh on impossible; or

 

3) accept that the bump in the floor runner is going to be bumpier than ideal and use one of these under our floor runner:

 

 

FFS, should have thought ahead and write in a floor socket!

[Adsibob]

Wait, there is a fourth option, perhaps… This is a bit Heath Robinson, but there is a company which makes “washable rugs” called Ruggable. They are effectively rugs with very thin (thin table cloth) decorative covers. The rug “pad” itself is not washable but the cover is. The pads come in two thicknesses. The thicker one is 1cm thick. I could cut out a channel thick enough for a normal cable, then cover it with the rug cover.

 

Anyone have experience of hiding cables under rugs?

[ProDave]

Can you explain exactly what you are trying to power and why it has to go under a carpet?

[Mike]

And a 5th option - a USB powered lamp. Mostly intended for desk use (e.g. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lepro-Dimmable-Brightness-Powered-Reading/dp/B09XF3HRGW ) but there may well be others if you hunt.

 

Over time there may be more choice as USB PD (Power Delivery) chargers become more common. They can theoretically deliver up to 240W, though I've not seen one over 100W. https://www.usb.org/usb-charger-pd

[Adsibob]

24 minutes ago, ProDave said:

Can you explain exactly what you are trying to power and why it has to go under a carpet?

We have a large open plan lounge that has very atmospheric lighting; in other words, it’s a bit dark. There is no ceiling lighting, just wall lights. In the middle of the lounge there is a large L shape sofa.
 

I would like a floor lamp or possibly a table lamp on a small side table, to be able to read more comfortably on the sofa. To achieve that, I either need a battery powered lamp as suggested by @Mike(which is an option I’d entertain if I found one that I liked which had decent battery life - Lots of searching had not yielded results for me yet) or a way of concealing a cable. There is an area of the floor to the right of the sofa which is about 1m wide and acts as a sort of passageway. A rug/runner would work quite well there, and there is also a wall socket I could plug the light into on the other side of the passage. But I don’t want a trip hazard, hence wanted to conceal the cable under a rug.

Edited April 10, 2023 by Adsibob

[ProDave]

Should have fitted a floor socket or two........

[Susie]

Would an extending or swing arm wall light help you read. 
depends if it would suit your decor. 

[Adsibob]

19 minutes ago, ProDave said:

Should have fitted a floor socket or two........

Indeed. But I wonder if I’m over complicating things. If I fitted a battery underneath the sofa, something like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07WV2WB9T?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_KMY4V9EPJZ3RB0WCE7GC 

how often would I have to recharge it, given I’d be using a 2.5w or 3w LED bulb at most, for maybe 8 hours a week?

 

3w would mean 24Wh a week. But what is the conversion to mAh? 
 

i know the formula is

mAh)*(V)/1000 = (Wh)

 

 but the voltage requirement is confusing me

 

Edited April 10, 2023 by Adsibob

[Adsibob]

5 minutes ago, Susie said:

Would an extending or swing arm wall light help you read. 
depends if it would suit your decor. 

I considered this, but after much research we decided it would ruin the interior scheme

[Mike]

1 hour ago, Adsibob said:

battery powered lamp as suggested by @Mike

A battery powered lamp is another option, but I actually suggested USB-powered :)

[Nickfromwales]

Just use an LED lamp or LED strip in the light fitting, and then the cables to it will be SELV, so all you'd need to do is not short them out. The cables can then be the super flat speaker cable types, job done.

https://www.thomann.de/gb/sommer_cable_tribun_240.htm?glp=1

Thank me with beer and pie.

[Adsibob]

26 minutes ago, Nickfromwales said:

Just use an LED lamp or LED strip in the light fitting, and then the cables to it will be SELV, so all you'd need to do is not short them out. The cables can then be the super flat speaker cable types, job done.

https://www.thomann.de/gb/sommer_cable_tribun_240.htm?glp=1

Thank me with beer and pie.

What’s SELV?

[Nickfromwales]

Just now, Adsibob said:

What’s SELV?

SELV (Safety Extra Low Voltage) describes a voltage that is set so low that in the event of direct touch either during proper operation or in the event of a single fault there is no danger of electric shock due to touch current. In the event of an insulation failure, adequate protection must still be provided.

[Adsibob]

30 minutes ago, Mike said:

A battery powered lamp is another option, but I actually suggested USB-powered

Sorry, yes that’s what I meant. I may have been conflating two ideas. But can’t find much but way of choice in terms of design. Are there any suppliers that offer good variety of options?

[Nickfromwales]

It's been 28 minutes, and no food or alcohol has arrived?

Is your internet down?

[SteamyTea]

8 hours ago, Adsibob said:

but the voltage requirement is confusing me

You need to know the voltage that the lamp runs at i.e. 3V, or 12V.

 

[ProDave]

So what you want is a normal lamp that has an LED lamp of some sort,  you then doctor it by removing the LED driver from the lamp, putting that in a box near the mains plug and extend the cable from the LED driver to the lamp with flat speaker cable as suggested.

[Adsibob]

7 hours ago, Nickfromwales said:

It's been 28 minutes, and no food or alcohol has arrived?

Is your internet down?

What’s your address?

[Adsibob]

1 hour ago, SteamyTea said:

You need to know the voltage that the lamp runs at i.e. 3V, or 12V.

 

But how do I calculate that? Most of the lamps on sale don't give this info. They just say stuff like "Lamp (excluded): max 1 x LED 11W E27". What would be the standard voltage of a floor lamp with such a bulb? Wouldn't it be 230V? Aren't 3v and 12v lamps only viable with a transformer. Perhaps i should get something with a transformer, then the battery on the power pack I listed would last much longer, is that right?

Edited April 11, 2023 by Adsibob

[SteamyTea]

2 minutes ago, Adsibob said:

But how do I calculate that?

Ohms Law.

 

 

Or put a volt meter on it.

[Nickfromwales]

Ohm my god!.

 

Nope, you just bin the lamp that comes with it, and do a bit of DIY to 'adapt' it. This way you can choose any style of lamp you like, and make it work on SELV + the flat cable.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374321783458?hash=item57275122a2:g:DRAAAOSwL~RjTQb2&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4GKMqZtL0Fz9k37ihqJERtBWxJaREthUi87GyS95H9c0wOR%2F87KOBJU99Z3oOM%2FvMD6hrrXM8gkXo%2B8CjyXVuJKJNFiaJciRUTE9RdDAB%2FILoipUlXRGeQkQYZRHxMclkm9zrfjBmK0SANOQ5yAg4Pb7EfdlHmt8IznenmC09A5%2F1pC2%2B2RvplhLhS2EiodntCSmZzj3578LYrs97TLN4DbyzV8YUYB0SkCfR7bou4fu9xQ%2Fr8etx3XOmnC4JFMhwh%2FqaCUJulevkIAwcL2N1j6dOB27XinlOY4zHG7yrtnY|tkp%3ABFBMjLip_e1h

 

Just solder one of those onto a sacrificial ES or SES lamp base ( chop up a 230v one ), feed from a suitable transformer, and send me my kebab.

[Nickfromwales]

2 hours ago, Adsibob said:

What’s your address?

I've changed my mind. Can I have the money instead?

[SteamyTea]

28 minutes ago, Nickfromwales said:

and send me my kebab.

My local Dirty Turks has just started charging £7.50.

Still a bargain for the amount of flavour a calories.