Paul__B:
OK then. Well, you will note in the Adafruit article quite a number of warnings. You originally mentioned 288 LEDs, apparently two metres of strip. The Adafruit article warns not to use more than a 144 LED strip.It also warns not to use other than the code they give you which is particularly cautious not to activate the LEDs over a certain limit in order not to draw more than the 2 Amps
And it has other advice as well - test one small part at a time, before presuming to put it all together.
As I have pointed out before, if you wish to use multiple rechargeable lithium cells, you will need the charger designed for the job. A single cell would require a different - step-up - converter and you would be draining it heavily, 3 Amps at least just to provide 2 A at 5 V.
Hey Thanks for that.
Yeah i see now.
What would happen if i drew 85watt out of a 50watt driver?
I don't intend to use a single Lithium Battery. My plan was to use 4 x 18650 and use a Dc to DC converter to step it down to 5v that i need to power both. I have a NiteCore Charger that will charge these outside of the finished device.
Alternatively i can look at using a Lipo power pack like that from a quad copter or RC car Like this
Also the lighting would never be continuously on. It will just flash patterns over a number of seconds.