OMG been racking my head around hanging my solar lights inside my container... I didn't want to weld anything onto it and I can't believe magnets on a steel container didn't cross my mind... Thank you sir!
This is great! Thanks for sharing the parts list, I hadn't started looking for lighting on our container yet. The magnets are an excellent idea. We are 100% off-grid so low power consumption is key for us.
I will be hooking up our temporary solar to this next week. Each light bar uses 20 watts, so 120 watts for all 6. The magnets are a game changer, in my opinion. So easy, so cheap. Good luck.
I have the lights and magnets on order. Container arrived yesterday. Inspired by thus video, commented last week. Breaking down my K.I.S.S. attitude, I will use the magnets to hold the steel clips to the steel container. Then clip the lights to the magnetically held clips. No rulers, no paint, no glue. Thank you for the video
Thank you so much! Let me know how it goes. The clips are magnetic, but not super magnetic, if that makes sense. I still don't know why I incorporated the yard stick! Oh well. Good luck!
Like you said, the clips don't have enough mass to be held magnetically. The magnets came with double-sided glue discs. I glued the clips to the magnets. Also, I had the issue with the roof seams. I moved the magnets to where the light doesn't contact the roof. Thank you for the video.
Great idea and video! Thanks so much. I used the same materials except the yardsticks electing to go with 2 small light weight 1/2” blocks of wood per fixture to provide the lights ample clearance of the uneven top of the container. Everything went up smoothly and the illumination of the container was great. Unfortunately on the first 95F day the glue broke down and down came the lights. The magnets were so hot you could not touch them for long without gloves. So I have a modification I will try and report back if it works. If not, I will give the hook magnets a try if the cost is reasonable, which I have not checked on yet.
My glue gave out a couple of weeks ago, too. I will have an updated video of new workaround with no glue. I'll be using these screw-on magnets. They are SUPER strong - only need 2 per light. Unfortunately, they come in a 10-pack, and I need a 12-pack. I won't be back out to the shipping container until the first week of August, so the video will be a month or so away. www.amazon.com/dp/B071ZKQ2X5?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details Thank you so much for the feedback!
I did a lighting job like this. It was before LEDs but it seemed like a good idea. One day while moving something around I knocked down one fixture and they all came crashing down. It was like a chain reaction. Chaos. I think I should have put some epoxy on the magnets so they would stick by themselves. I used those rare earth magnets, which are cool, but once you jank on them they all come tumbling down. I didn't have any power so I rigged the whole thing up so I could just clip an inverter onto my car battery when I was there at night. Seemed like a great idea at the time.
Hopefully, I'll avoid having them all come crashing down. That would be frustrating for sure! I found the epoxy eventually breaks down from the heat of the sun-baked roof. We've even had some plastic parts deform from the heat. We've increased the number of vents since then, and that has helped. Thanks for watching!
Ha! Me, too! Yesterday I waited for her to run errands before I used the counter to build a cage with PVC primer and cement. I was so nervous of dripping that purple primer on stone floor!
I used magnets in mine in a very similar fashion. Once the metal gets hot the glue breaks down and the lights come down. I resorted to getting hook magnets to do the same thing.
Good info. It made it through the last part of summer, but it wasn't tested for a full hot season. If it breaks down this summer, I'll post an update. After the fact, I thought about using some magnates with a hole in the center for screwing to the yard sticks. Thanks for watching.
The Bluetti is great, but it's heavy. We keep an old Goal Zero generator in the shipping container with a 120w solar panel to keep it topped off. Later this year we plan on getting serious with the solar setup. Thanks again for watching.
The lights we used in this system run on a small 120v solar power system. I do use 12v lights in my bath house (these lights: amzn.to/4coa1k1), and they work well for that application, but I don't think they would be bright enough for a shipping container. I use light strips in other applications (deer blind, side-by-side under dash, cabinets), and I really don't think they would work well for a shipping container. They do not throw off a wide enough light footprint in my experience. Good luck and thanks for watching.
Great work! Two comments. The explanation @ 2:00 was confusing. I'm assuming you meant daisy chain them with a 20" cord that comes with each light. Is that right? Also, seems like 2 magnets would be way more than enough holding strength.
Sorry for the confusion. Yes, I used the 20" cords that came with the lights. 2 magnets should be strong enough if your ceiling is dead-on flat. Our shipping container ceiling was a bit wavy. This caused some of the lights/magnets to not sit exactly flush, which made them not as strong as the should be (magnet not quite sitting flush is not nearly as strong as when it is laying perfectly flush). With having 4 magnets per light, we were able to mitigate the fact that some of the magnets were not flush. I hope that makes sense. Using the yard stick also helped with the "sitting flush" issue as it could flex a bit. If you need any pictures of any part, DM me on our Instagram account. The WB Weld is expensive, so there is a work-around if you don't already own that. You can use magnets that have a hole in the center for a screw, so you could just screw those magnets to the yard stick. Link: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071ZKQ2X5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Thanks for asking! The glue failed after the second summer in use. The sun's heat was too much for it. We put out an updated video where we used magnets with screw holes, and those have worked perfectly. Thanks again!
Ha! That totally would wave worked! So funny, I seriously never thought of it. The dollar savings would have been $6 bucks, but I would have saved time on the spray painting of the wood. I mean, why the heck didn't I think of that?! Thanks!
Hey, thanks for watching. Please take a look at the update to this video. The magnets were certainly strong enough, but the glue failed during the scorching hot summer. I switched to using magnets that I could attach with a screw, and they have been rock solid. Here is a link to the update: czcams.com/video/-3C_qjNeZSg/video.html
The back of the lights were smooth aluminum. I could have scuffed the metal and hoped they held. As it turned out the glue eventually failed to hold to the smooth magnets during the second summer. I assume the excessive heat radiating from the metal roof did it in. I have a follow-up video where I use magnets that have a screw hole in the middle. That has worked flawlessly for two summers now. Thanks for watching.
Hey Glen. Thanks for watching. All of the items I used are listed (with links) in the description. I purchased the lights on Amazon. Here is the link for the lights: amzn.to/30HFvlg Thanks again! Take care.
@@OurNewLand Oh, well that's nice! I bought some magnets that look just like those from Amazon and they rusted just being in my house after a couple of years. Thanks for the idea!
If you are using these to hold your lights up inside a shipping container, check out our video on our updated strategy. The glue I used to attach the magnates mentioned in this video failed after the second summer of use. We now use magnets with a screw hole in the middle, and they have worked flawlessly. Thanks again!
The double sided tape can’t hold up to the 140+ temps of the sun-baked metal roof. As it turns out, even the epoxy couldn’t hold up. We ended up having to use magnets screwed to the wood. We have an updated video showing what we did. Thanks for watching.
I totally agree. It was no one of the first videos we did. We now know better. Take a look at our Improved Lights video. It works better and is a much shorter video.
OMG been racking my head around hanging my solar lights inside my container... I didn't want to weld anything onto it and I can't believe magnets on a steel container didn't cross my mind... Thank you sir!
I'm glad you found it helpful!
Because you’re SIMPLE!!!!
So I ordered strong magnets with screw on hooks and a 4 pack of lights for 60 bucks off of Amazon based on your idea. They work perfectly! Thank you.
Heck yeah! Thanks for letting us know!
This is great! Thanks for sharing the parts list, I hadn't started looking for lighting on our container yet. The magnets are an excellent idea. We are 100% off-grid so low power consumption is key for us.
I will be hooking up our temporary solar to this next week. Each light bar uses 20 watts, so 120 watts for all 6. The magnets are a game changer, in my opinion. So easy, so cheap. Good luck.
I have the lights and magnets on order.
Container arrived yesterday.
Inspired by thus video, commented last week.
Breaking down my K.I.S.S. attitude, I will use the magnets to hold the steel clips to the steel container. Then clip the lights to the magnetically held clips.
No rulers, no paint, no glue.
Thank you for the video
Thank you so much! Let me know how it goes. The clips are magnetic, but not super magnetic, if that makes sense. I still don't know why I incorporated the yard stick! Oh well. Good luck!
Like you said, the clips don't have enough mass to be held magnetically.
The magnets came with double-sided glue discs.
I glued the clips to the magnets.
Also, I had the issue with the roof seams. I moved the magnets to where the light doesn't contact the roof.
Thank you for the video.
@@patrickkelly9721 That's awesome, man! Well done!
Thanks for sharing this! I just got mine and thought about welding them on there but this is much easier and faster
Make sure you watch our updated video. It still uses magnets, but the magnets screw to the yard stick instead of glue on. Thanks for watching!
Great idea and video! Thanks so much. I used the same materials except the yardsticks electing to go with 2 small light weight 1/2” blocks of wood per fixture to provide the lights ample clearance of the uneven top of the container. Everything went up smoothly and the illumination of the container was great. Unfortunately on the first 95F day the glue broke down and down came the lights. The magnets were so hot you could not touch them for long without gloves.
So I have a modification I will try and report back if it works. If not, I will give the hook magnets a try if the cost is reasonable, which I have not checked on yet.
My glue gave out a couple of weeks ago, too. I will have an updated video of new workaround with no glue. I'll be using these screw-on magnets. They are SUPER strong - only need 2 per light. Unfortunately, they come in a 10-pack, and I need a 12-pack. I won't be back out to the shipping container until the first week of August, so the video will be a month or so away.
www.amazon.com/dp/B071ZKQ2X5?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
Thank you so much for the feedback!
@@OurNewLand I dropped my idea and used the magnets you suggested with the holes. Worked great! Thanks again!!!
Wow! Great job! I would never have thought of doing this. I will have to implement this idea in the future! Great video!
Thank you! We now have found so many uses for magnets in the containers.
Wow that's a shiny refrigerator. As a woman we notice weird things. Great lighting idea.
Ha! I'm glad there weren't a lot of fingerprints visible!
I did a lighting job like this. It was before LEDs but it seemed like a good idea. One day while moving something around I knocked down one fixture and they all came crashing down.
It was like a chain reaction. Chaos. I think I should have put some epoxy on the magnets so they would stick by themselves. I used those rare earth magnets, which are cool, but once you jank on them they all come tumbling down.
I didn't have any power so I rigged the whole thing up so I could just clip an inverter onto my car battery when I was there at night. Seemed like a great idea at the time.
Hopefully, I'll avoid having them all come crashing down. That would be frustrating for sure! I found the epoxy eventually breaks down from the heat of the sun-baked roof. We've even had some plastic parts deform from the heat. We've increased the number of vents since then, and that has helped. Thanks for watching!
If my wife caught me playing with JB Weld on the kitchen counter, I would be building my own dog house, but I would have lighting
Ha! Me, too! Yesterday I waited for her to run errands before I used the counter to build a cage with PVC primer and cement. I was so nervous of dripping that purple primer on stone floor!
looks great and should last a long time. thanks for sharing and have a great day
Thank you!
You read my book... : }
Well done !
Thank you, Thor!
I used magnets in mine in a very similar fashion. Once the metal gets hot the glue breaks down and the lights come down. I resorted to getting hook magnets to do the same thing.
Good info. It made it through the last part of summer, but it wasn't tested for a full hot season. If it breaks down this summer, I'll post an update. After the fact, I thought about using some magnates with a hole in the center for screwing to the yard sticks. Thanks for watching.
simple and easy lights, great job.
Thank you. It was fun and needed!
@@OurNewLand It made a huge difference
Nice!! I did something similar in my container - but never thought of using magnets. Good idea! BTW - I use the same Bluetti gen to power my lighting.
The Bluetti is great, but it's heavy. We keep an old Goal Zero generator in the shipping container with a 120w solar panel to keep it topped off. Later this year we plan on getting serious with the solar setup. Thanks again for watching.
Looks solid! Thank you for sharing. New sub here on the recommendation of Bramble Hill. Blessings. 😊🌻
Thanks! I subscribed to your channel a few days ago! I love your barndo build!
Hi there does strip lights run on 12v ok ? As completely off grid where my shipping container is
The lights we used in this system run on a small 120v solar power system.
I do use 12v lights in my bath house (these lights: amzn.to/4coa1k1), and they work well for that application, but I don't think they would be bright enough for a shipping container.
I use light strips in other applications (deer blind, side-by-side under dash, cabinets), and I really don't think they would work well for a shipping container. They do not throw off a wide enough light footprint in my experience.
Good luck and thanks for watching.
Replaying this again
Thank you!
Great work! Two comments. The explanation @ 2:00 was confusing. I'm assuming you meant daisy chain them with a 20" cord that comes with each light. Is that right? Also, seems like 2 magnets would be way more than enough holding strength.
Sorry for the confusion. Yes, I used the 20" cords that came with the lights.
2 magnets should be strong enough if your ceiling is dead-on flat. Our shipping container ceiling was a bit wavy. This caused some of the lights/magnets to not sit exactly flush, which made them not as strong as the should be (magnet not quite sitting flush is not nearly as strong as when it is laying perfectly flush). With having 4 magnets per light, we were able to mitigate the fact that some of the magnets were not flush. I hope that makes sense.
Using the yard stick also helped with the "sitting flush" issue as it could flex a bit.
If you need any pictures of any part, DM me on our Instagram account.
The WB Weld is expensive, so there is a work-around if you don't already own that. You can use magnets that have a hole in the center for a screw, so you could just screw those magnets to the yard stick. Link: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071ZKQ2X5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Here’s another subscriber for you. This is our main channel. I’m “Simply Pam”. 😃👍
Thanks for subbing! We appreciate it!
Looks great!
Thank you! It was a fun project.
How has it held up?
Thanks for asking! The glue failed after the second summer in use. The sun's heat was too much for it. We put out an updated video where we used magnets with screw holes, and those have worked perfectly. Thanks again!
@@OurNewLand thanks for this update I will search for the update video
Why not glue the magnets to the light fixture?
Ha! That totally would wave worked! So funny, I seriously never thought of it. The dollar savings would have been $6 bucks, but I would have saved time on the spray painting of the wood. I mean, why the heck didn't I think of that?! Thanks!
I was thinking the same thing three minutes into this video! LoL
Oh common don't JB weld it just drill holes and add a good gasket sealer.
Yup, that would work!
The magnet say not less than 18 pounds. Why so many ? Lights weigh 2 pounds ?
Hey, thanks for watching. Please take a look at the update to this video. The magnets were certainly strong enough, but the glue failed during the scorching hot summer. I switched to using magnets that I could attach with a screw, and they have been rock solid. Here is a link to the update: czcams.com/video/-3C_qjNeZSg/video.html
Why not just glue the magnets to the lights ?
The back of the lights were smooth aluminum. I could have scuffed the metal and hoped they held. As it turned out the glue eventually failed to hold to the smooth magnets during the second summer. I assume the excessive heat radiating from the metal roof did it in. I have a follow-up video where I use magnets that have a screw hole in the middle. That has worked flawlessly for two summers now. Thanks for watching.
where do you get the lights?
Hey Glen. Thanks for watching.
All of the items I used are listed (with links) in the description. I purchased the lights on Amazon.
Here is the link for the lights: amzn.to/30HFvlg
Thanks again! Take care.
Do you have a link for tge generator please
Those magnets rust super easy
We've been luck so far, as we haven't seen any rust after 2.5 years. That being said, I am surprised we haven't found rust yet. Thanks for watching!
@@OurNewLand Oh, well that's nice! I bought some magnets that look just like those from Amazon and they rusted just being in my house after a couple of years. Thanks for the idea!
If you are using these to hold your lights up inside a shipping container, check out our video on our updated strategy. The glue I used to attach the magnates mentioned in this video failed after the second summer of use. We now use magnets with a screw hole in the middle, and they have worked flawlessly. Thanks again!
@@OurNewLand thank you!
double sided tape dude
The double sided tape can’t hold up to the 140+ temps of the sun-baked metal roof. As it turns out, even the epoxy couldn’t hold up. We ended up having to use magnets screwed to the wood. We have an updated video showing what we did. Thanks for watching.
FFS man just put the lights up
I totally agree. It was no one of the first videos we did. We now know better. Take a look at our Improved Lights video. It works better and is a much shorter video.