Plastic Pipe Lamp - LED 12V 4W - ("Drainpipe Lamp")

After a renovation in the bathroom were some pipe elements left. These had been lying in the basement for a few years now, waiting to be either disposed of or put to good use.

When I heard about the contest "Plastic Challenge" here, I had the idea to make a lamp out of it. Here now comes the result!

Dimensions:

• Height: 23.5 cm
• Length: 13 cm
• Width: 20 cm

The pipes are made of polypropylene (PP). Polypropylene is a thermoplastic material.

These were the parts that were messing around in my basement. I was able to use two parts of them for this project.

To build this lamp you need:

• PP pipe repair joint with rubber sealing ring 130 x Ø 128mm (lamp "head")
• Drain pipe 800 x Ø 40 x 1.8mm ("legs" and "feet")
• Ø 110 mm polycarbonate twin-wall sheet, thickness 4mm or 6mm (or transparent polycarbonate glass)
• a piece of tin plate 120 x 25 mm
• 8x self-tapping screws Ø 4 x 20 mm
• 2x self-tapping screws Ø 2,2 x 9,5 mm
• 2x threaded screws Ø 2,5 x 10mm with matching nuts
• 2x screws 30 x Ø 6mm
• switch wire, ca. 15cm
• Drills, Ø 2mm, Ø 7 mm, Ø 8 mm
• 4 wingscrews Ø 6mm
• 2 nuts Ø 6mm
• 6 washers Ø 18 x Ø 6,5
• 150 mm x Ø 6 mm from a threaded rod
• Miter saw
• Fretsaw
• Metal saw
• Soldering Iron
• Solder
• Sandpaper
• Phillips screwdriver
• piercer

... and for the electrics:

• AC/DC Socket 5,5/2,1mm
• 4G bulb socket
• 2 Position Mini Toggle Switch
• bulb, socket MR16/GU5.3, 12V 4W - IMPORTANT!: I do not advise the installation of a higher wattage bulb, because of too much heat development!
• 12 V AC/DC power adapter

All these parts you can find here:

• Bulb socket: 10 Stück MR16 GU5.3 MR11 GU4 Fassung 12V mit Kabel

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00279SBDA/ref=cm_sw_em_r...

• Power adapter: LEICKE Netzteil 12V 2A | 12V 2000mA | Ladegerät 24W für LCD, LED-Streifen 

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00LEFGDOM/ref=cm_sw_em_...

• Power jack: HSeaMall 5,5 x 2,1 MM DC Power Jack Buchse 3 Terminals Buchse Panel Mount Stromstecker Adapter mit Staubdicht Kappe 10 STÜCKEvon HiBuyEU

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07D4DLJ69/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_M8NHG5TCTHWVKH32BX59?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 

• Switch: ELEAR™ 10 X EIN/Aus Mini Miniatur Kippschalter Instrumententafel Wippschalter 2 Polig von Etocars

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01MXLZ7R1/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_K3WEQ7HS7ED846P3X2MY?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 

Now you need a miter saw. Take a drain pipe 800 x Ø 40 x 1.8mm.

Saw off 2 pieces of a length of 20 cm. One side at an angle of 60° and 4 pieces of a length 40 mm. One side also at an angle of 60°. Clean the edges with sandpaper.

Now that all the parts are cut, you can start assembling. First you need to drill a few holes. The precise drilling of the holes on curves is not so easy, because the holes must be placed exactly at the highest point of the rounding.

Now you need:

• Ø 6/7 mm drillbit
• 2x 30 x Ø 6 mm screws
• 4x washers Ø 18 x Ø 6,5
• Ø 6mm wing screws or matching nuts

To attach the "legs" to the lamp head, you must first drill a hole in both "legs" with a 6/7mm drill bit at a distance of 30mm from the angled end.

Then you need to drill a hole into the sides of the lamphead with the same drill bit ... as shown in the pictures!

After that, the "legs" can be attached to both sides of the lamphead with 30 x Ø 6 mm screws. You will also need 4 washers and 2 matching wing screws.

In order to attach the "feet" to the "legs", some holes must first be drilled.

The size of the holes depends on the existing screws. I had initially planned with smaller screws, but then took larger ones. It does not matter for stability of the lamp.

For the next step you need

• Ø 2mm and Ø 4 mm drillbit
• 8 self-tapping screws Ø 4 x 20mm.

First, I drilled 2 holes at a distance of 10mm from the bottom into the "feet" at a distance of 20mm. Again, make sure that they are drilled on the long side at the highest point of the curve.

Then, using a Ø 2mm drill bit, drill 2 holes spaced 20mm apart in the "legs" at a distance of 10mm from the bottom. For this it is necessary to place the already assembled lamp in such a way that the highest points of the pipe roundings clearly point upwards!

You will need:

• tinplate 120 x 25 mm
• fretsaw
• drill Ø 2mm and Ø 4mm
• 2 self-tapping screws Ø 2,2 x 9,5mm
• 4G bulb socket

The 90° bend is done in the middle.

Proceed as shown in the pictures.

For this step you need:

• 150 mm x Ø 6 mm from a threaded rod
• 2 wing screws (or simple nuts) Ø 6mm
• 2 nuts Ø 6mm
• 2 washers Ø 18 x Ø 6,5
• metal saw
• drill bit Ø 6mm

Drill a hole on the inside of the legs with a Ø 6mm or Ø 7mm drill bit at a distance of 30mm from the bottom.

Then turn wing screws or nuts onto the threaded rod, insert washers and insert the threaded rod into the holes.

Now you can make a vertical alignment of the legs by turning the wing screws. For fixation I have screwed a matching nut in each of the "legs".

To mount the bulb socket in the lamp head you need:

• Ø 3mm drill
• 2x threaded screws Ø 2,5 x 10mm with matching nuts

First drill 2 holes - 40mm spacing - in the bulb base socket. Then drill 2 holes - also at a distance of 40mm - in the lamp head as shown in the picture. For this it is necessary to place the already assembled lamp in such a way that the highest points of the pipe rounding clearly points upwards!

After all 4 holes are drilled, you can fix the bulb base in the lamp head with the help of 2 threaded screws Ø 2,5 x 10mm.

To install the electrics you need:

• Ø 6mm and Ø 8mm drill bits
• switch wire, ca. 15cm
• AC/DC Socket 5,5/2,1mm
• a 2 position switch
• Soldering Iron
• Solder

First drill the hole for the switch with a Ø 6mm drill bit - centered at the highest point of the curve on the lamp head. Then, using a Ø 8mm drill bit, drill the hole for the AC/DC socket on the side of the lamp head.

Before you install the switch and the AC/DC socket, you should solder the wires. The last picture shows how to solder.

After the wires are soldered, you can install the switch and socket.

Now you can test if the wires are soldered correctly. For this you need a 12 V power supply.

For the last step you need:

• Ø 110 mm polycarbonate twin-wall sheet, thickness 4mm or 6mm (or transparent polycarbonate glass)
• fretsaw

First you need to saw a possible circular "glass" (Ø 110 mm). I did it with a fretsaw with a very fine saw blade.

Before you can insert the sawn lamp "glass", the rubber seal must be removed. Depending on your taste, the glass strips can be aligned vertically or horizontally. Then the rubber seal must be reinserted.

Done!

It was fun for me to create something new out of plastic parts that were no longer needed!

If you don't like the (ugly) gray plastic color (after all, if such pipes are laid in walls or in the ground, the color doesn't matter), you can use colors to give this lamp a completely different appearance. Here are some examples: