Flicker candles with addressable (pixel) LEDs

Project update

Hi folks,

It's been a few months, so I figure it's time for a project update.

I have ordered most of the major electronic elements for the candles:

Controllers

Pixels

Power Supply

Cabling

Enclosure

Most of these were pre-sale items, so I won't have them in-hand until July/August and will need to start construction in-earnest once they arrive.


I also spent some more time familiarizing myself with XLights/Nutcracker 4 and just finished a proof-of-concept full sequence with synchronized audio. The lower four candles are synced with the wind in the audio, and the cluster of four candles at the top-center are just flickering randomly for the entire sequence (for reference). I will probably have something like this as the main loop and fade to the "blow out" sequence when a ToT triggers a sensor.

I finally have enough odds and ends to start prototyping the candles, so I knocked together a few prototype components after a trip to the hardware store earlier today.

I picked up a few sizes of PVC pipe, but the one that I favor for the pathway candles is the 2" schedule 40. I hacked off a ~5" section of pipe and after cleaning off the printed text on the pipe with acetone, I applied a few layers of hot glue drips.

While the glue was drying I started on two different "flame" mixes to cover the LED on the tip of the bullet node. The first was straight clear silicone sealant, and the second had a small amount of cornstarch mixed in. Here is a side-by-side comparison of the two. The pixel in the foreground (right) has the cornstarch mixed in to the silicone and the one in the back (left) has no cornstarch.

I picked up a few more supplies and spent some more time prototyping and believe I have worked out the details for the final design. On the first prototype I didn't allow adequate time for the layers of hot glue to cool so successive layers seemed to just merge together. I made two more prototypes, but this time I let the glue dry between layers.

Many of the PVC candle build threads recommended using Rustoleum American Accents Heirloom White (satin finish), for the base coat of paint, so I went this route as well. It covered really well and had no issues adhering to the glue or PVC.

Many of the PVC candle builds use pipe insulation to support the light in the candle, but I couldn't get the bullet node to stay centered/straight using this method. Instead, I opted to use plastic end caps for mailing tubes (2" to match the 2" ID PVC) and trimmed off the lip at the edge of the cap with scissors to allow them to slide inside the tube. The mailing tube caps are much cheaper ($20 for a bag of 100 on Amazon) than PVC inset end caps, but seem to be sturdy enough to hold the bullet node in place once they are glued in.

After test-fitting the bullet node, I took it back out and tacked the end cap into place and flowed more hot glue into the inside of the candle.

After applying the base coat

I applied Liquitex BASICS Acrylic "Raw Umber" with a wet brush and a wet rag to distress/age the nooks and crannies around the drips of "wax" to give the candles some character. I then applied a layer of clearcoat finish over the paint to protect it. Once I complete the wiring I will insert each pixel and flow more clear hot glue into the area inside the candle surrounding the pixel to give the effect of melted wax around the wick.

This past weekend I started production for the rest of the candles for the walkway. I hacked off ~10" sections from the 10' lengths of 2" Schedule 40 PVC pipe with a coping saw. The coping saw provided more control than the hacksaw for adding irregularities to the cuts. I then used a fine grit sanding sponge and acetone to clean off the printed text from the outside of the pipe.

I then used a ratcheting PVC cutter to cut each 10" section roughly in half. The pipe cutter leaves nice clean edges for the bottom of the candles.

After cutting, I cleaned up the rough cut ends of the pipe with a deburring tool. Here are the first 44, only 16 to go.

This evening I finished cutting/cleaning/deburring the remaining sections of pipe and tacked on the trimmed mailing tube caps.

Next step requires quite a bit of hot glue. Hopefully this will be enough.

I managed to finish off the last layer of hot glue today (for the remaining 58 candles). Needless to say it took a lot of glue...



Next up, paint...

Still chugging along... All the candles have been painted with the base coat of antique white, and I made it a little over half way through distressing them this evening