# Lighting up the water tank



## larkim (Sep 3, 2018)

Constantly frustrated about not being able to see the water level, I'd imagine a small strip of LEDs either plugged into the mains directly or into the Classic piggy backing off the switches etc would be a good solution. Anyone done this? Struggling to find a starting point of a nice short strip of LEDs, but maybe I'm not searching for the right thing?


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## Norvin (Sep 10, 2014)

I have heard of people putting white or brightly coloured objects to float in the tank. You can then see at a glance what the level is.


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## Timmyboy (May 31, 2020)

Speak to Fairrecycler he does leds for your water tank


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## larkim (Sep 3, 2018)

Norvin said:


> I have heard of people putting white or brightly coloured objects to float in the tank. You can then see at a glance what the level is.


 I thought of that but didn't like the thought of the potential for bacterial growth. Obviously, cleaning would solve that!


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## Rebel (Jan 14, 2020)

Search r/gaggiaclassic. Several people have added LEDs.


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## Rincewind (Aug 25, 2020)

larkim said:


> I thought of that but didn't like the thought of the potential for bacterial growth.


 so why not kill two birds with one house brick....and....



Rebel said:


> people have added LEDs.


 instead of adding yer normal LED's why not add something that kills those 2 little birdies mentioned above...i.e. *ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT/LED's*....practical and errr practical :classic_biggrin:


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## Norvin (Sep 10, 2014)

Just thinking out loud... The output on the alarm terminals of a PID is DC (24v?). So if a PID alarm is not used for steam temp control, could it be used to power LEDs by setting the alarm to a much lower temp?


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## MrShades (Jul 29, 2009)

Norvin said:


> Just thinking out loud... The output on the alarm terminals of a PID is DC (24v?). So if a PID alarm is not used for steam temp control, could it be used to power LEDs by setting the alarm to a much lower temp?


No it's not - the alarm circuit is normally just a relay, so it doesn't output anything


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## Norvin (Sep 10, 2014)

MrShades said:


> No it's not - the alarm circuit is normally just a relay, so it doesn't output anything


 I was getting the steam and brew actuations mixed up, that's what you get by posting while in bed on a Sunday morning.

However, the principle is similar, could you not use the voltage that actuates the alarm relay to power the LEDs? I have removed the on-board relay on a couple of PIDs to convert them to drive brew SSDs, linking their input to the output terminals to give DC (12V according to my notes) output.

As I said, just thinking out loud, exploring possibilities.


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## MrShades (Jul 29, 2009)

Norvin said:


> I was getting the steam and brew actuations mixed up, that's what you get by posting while in bed on a Sunday morning.
> However, the principle is similar, could you not use the voltage that actuates the alarm relay to power the LEDs? I have removed the on-board relay on a couple of PIDs to convert them to drive brew SSDs, linking their input to the output terminals to give DC (12V according to my notes) output.
> As I said, just thinking out loud, exploring possibilities.


Probably get the voltage, but I doubt it would have the power - the LEDs need an 18W power supply as a minimum IIRC - so the LEDs may not light or may blink


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## Rincewind (Aug 25, 2020)

MrShades said:


> the LEDs need an 18W power supply as a minimum IIRC


 😵 that's some hefty LED's there...a "normal" LED only uses "*milli*" Amps....even the 3mm/5mm "White" light ones don't use massive amounts of (I) current, unless it's one of the "car-headlight/high-intensity-torch *CREE type* LED's".

P=IV ....therefore 18W divided by 12V = *1.5 Amps* ....that's quite a few "*normal*" (non-CREE) *LED'*s there, *more than enough to light up the water-tank*.

That's ☝ (the above) assuming *the circuit has 1.5 Amps spare* to supply said LED's of course.

FWIW i'd use colour changing ones...looks prettier...YMMV :classic_smile:


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## -Mac (Aug 22, 2019)

What about sticking an LED tape strip between the machine and tank (on the back of the machine)?


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## Rincewind (Aug 25, 2020)

-Mac said:


> What about sticking an LED tape strip between the machine and tank (on the back of the machine)?


 Yeah that could work as well....providing there is sufficient power (current and voltage) for the strip. *It's a fine balancing act*....the right amount of LED's to give out a set amount of Light Intensity....too much and it'll look like Blackpool Illuminations and too little and it'll look like an 80's led watch....the water in the tank will add to the light intensity/dispersion massively....i.e. a little light + water = goes a long way to bling bling city :classic_smile:


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## -Mac (Aug 22, 2019)

You could have a separate plug for the LEDs and cut off what you don't need.


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## Rincewind (Aug 25, 2020)

-Mac said:


> You could have a separate plug for the LEDs and cut off what you don't need.


 I assume as in "plug" you mean *MAINS plug* ? ...yeah you could do that...but it's extra "faff" and "possibly unsightly".....i'm a "less is more" man...YMMV


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## -Mac (Aug 22, 2019)

Yes, mains plug. I'm sure you could hide it well enough behind the machine.


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## Rincewind (Aug 25, 2020)

-Mac said:


> Yes, mains plug. I'm sure you could hide it well enough behind the machine.


 True....but if i was doing it then i'd incorporate said LED/lights into the chasis and derive their power from the PID (if enough was spare)...correctly done then your only going to need a few LED's, placed appropriately....IMO a strip is overkill (YMMV) and any huge current munching LED's/lights are also gonna be to bright; unless that is one's aim/desire....me i prefer subtlety.


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## -Mac (Aug 22, 2019)

Sounds like a big faff to me


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## larkim (Sep 3, 2018)

I've ordered a £5 LED driver from amazon (240v input 12v output) and with a couple of piggyback disconnect adaptors I'll wire it up directly to the back of the inbound mains and stick this to the inside rear of the case somewhere (I hope it fits!) with a short cut down strip of cool white 12v LEDs also coming for about £5.

Should be good to go in about half an hour once the parts arrive later in the week - I'll post photos. Any light is better than no light so hopefully a single strip stuck over the top of the tank will be sufficient and not overkill. A faff (my better half has rolled her eyes a few times about this mod) but will solve one of my bigger bugbears with my machine without having to resort to sticking a ping pong ball in the water!!


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## larkim (Sep 3, 2018)

Finished, quite happy with the outcome. Took about 20 minutes, bar struggling to find a decent adhesive to stick the strip above the water tank.

I used this https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003DV8QBS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And this https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B077PLXW16/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

With a little bit of live and earth pulled from a cable, and a couple of piggyback disconnect adaptors.

The LED driver sits nicely behind the pump stand, the LED strip fits nicely in the gap between the side panel. In the end I've used Bostik to stick the waterproof plastic casing of the LEDs to the metal; time will tell how well that will hold!!

I'm not the neatest worker nor the cleanest maintainer of my Gaggia, but the whole thing was pretty quick, cheap and effective!


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## Rincewind (Aug 25, 2020)

Result 😎

Extra kudos for the *EMC friendly* transformer 👍

You forgot the obligatory "lit-up-in-the-dark" picture :classic_wink:


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## larkim (Sep 3, 2018)

Rincewind said:


> Result 😎
> 
> Extra kudos for the *EMC friendly* transformer 👍
> 
> You forgot the obligatory "lit-up-in-the-dark" picture :classic_wink:


 LOL, never even thought about the EMC potential! Would have been gutted if the LEDs had taken out my wifi!!

Didn't think to go dark, but it would be pretty bright. Part of me is wishing I'd picked a more subtle colour than the cool white, but there's no other LED highlights in the kitchen so whatever I picked would have been wrong. Orange to match the bulbs on the GC I suppose would have been a good option, though I'm not sure an LED can run that colour (at least, orange LED strips didn't seem to be plentiful on eBay!)

The key for me was the term "LED driver" which I stumbled upon by searching on here through FairRecycler's posts where he mentions LEDs, so @Timmyboy deserves some kudos for nudging me in that direction to self serve myself.


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## -Mac (Aug 22, 2019)

Now you just need to fit a Betta Splendens


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## larkim (Sep 3, 2018)

-Mac said:


> Now you just need to fit a Betta Splendens


 Now I know what one is, that would be pretty cool!! But perhaps not....


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## larkim (Sep 3, 2018)

One thing I didn't do was wire it up to the on-off front switch; I've got a smart plug which controls the whole power supply. My rationale being that it meant I kept the cabling away from the hot area, not knowing if the cables I used had issues with heat or not, and that I didn't know how to do that!! I suspect it's simply a matter of removing the piggyback from the live input and adding that on one of the pins of the switch instead, so I might consider that if others think that could work. Wouldn't change anything functionally though.


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## Davebo (Jan 9, 2021)

Awesome thread. I love the outcome. One other option would be to cut away the side casing as per the newer Classic Pro. #justsaying


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## larkim (Sep 3, 2018)

Davebo said:


> Awesome thread. I love the outcome. One other option would be to cut away the side casing as per the newer Classic Pro. #justsaying


 Does that work effectively? I'm not sure I'd get that much more light in there in the early mornings.


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## Argonaut (Dec 10, 2009)

Is it possible to reload the pictured of finished project.

They don't view when you click on them.


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## larkim (Sep 3, 2018)

Google photos archive of the photos as the links above don't work for some reason

https://photos.app.goo.gl/RRDJ433dv1mjrSVT9


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## Argonaut (Dec 10, 2009)

Thanks for that ... is it just one vertical strip down right hand rear panel ? or it it across horizontal the top ..... do you have a pic of the LED strip fixed in place ?


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## larkim (Sep 3, 2018)

Probably not got a photo. It runs across the full width of the tank at the back in a single strip.


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## Argonaut (Dec 10, 2009)

any chance of a photo ?


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## larkim (Sep 3, 2018)

If I remember! It's at home, I'm at work. It won't be a complex photo though - just a strip of LEDs running right to left stuck to a piece of metal!

I've anotated this pic a bit (badly!) but this should tell you where it goes etc.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/JaNRrhCK6EuupzEx5


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## LucioG (Oct 13, 2021)

I took the easy route- https://photos.app.goo.gl/dcEFLzFEPPPspbqH6


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## larkim (Sep 3, 2018)

That's a different aesthetic, personally I don't like the visibility of the individual LED cells on the strip, but "in person" that might not be so obvious as it is on a photo.

It was pretty easy and completely non-destructive to do the internal approach that I used, with the bonus for me that all you see is the light output and it is consistent across the whole of the tank.

Definitely an easier approach to go for though. Do you have an LED driver attached to the rear of the Gaggia, or is the LED strip simply plugged into a mains transformer?


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## LucioG (Oct 13, 2021)

I do prefer having the LED's hidden, illuminating from above. I was trying to avoid wires and LED strip exposure to internals and water. I can solve that with water proof shrink wrap I guess. It's a simple led strip plugged into a transformer/DC adaptor. The strip is waterproof and there are no wires from the LED strip inside the case.

Well that's my 1.0 attempt, I'm sure I'll get bored with it and eventually turn my Gaggia into a Christmas tree.


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## Kyle T (Jan 6, 2016)

Thank you for the inspiration to do this mod. I did it on Thursday. It looks great.


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