LED strip lights

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JohnShannon

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Jan 4, 2010
1,037
Farr 30 San Francisco
Nice idea looks like a 1meter length gets you 60 leds at 2.5 lmn/led about 150 lm

that is about 1/2 of an 8W fluorescent. To get that light you need 400mA of 12V 4.8W

So not to bad at all. About as efficient as a FL but cooler. How do you plan to dim them?
 
Joe

Joe

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Jun 1, 2004
8,164
Catalina 27 Mission Bay, San Diego
I hope you give it a try and get back with results.... I've tried LED, under the counter type lighting but found it less than satisfactory for any type of reading activity.
 
Bill Roosa

Bill Roosa

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Jun 6, 2006
6,990
currently boatless wishing Harrington Harbor North, MD
You can also DIY

LEDs are pretty cheap and come in lots of (OK 4) colors. I have replaced my 40.5 courtesy lights (2.5 amp draw) with LEDs. The courtesy lamps where mounted behind a diffuser so I just drilled a lot of holes and mounted the LEDs so they shine on the counters, floor, and in the front curved part aimed them to cover the salon table. At max brightness they put out around 20 candle power and draw 0.75 amps. Even worked in a "red light" "white light", scheme so we don't lose night vision.
The dimmer is just an old variable resistor that I had lying around and put a small knob on.
The real trick is getting them to be bright when operating on the battery but not burn out when you go to charging voltages.
I think the whole thing came to $15.
 
rgranger

rgranger

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Jan 19, 2010
12,553
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
In my boat, I have three strings of Auto-mobile accent lights, the kind the punks put under their cars to make them glow at night. They work great, were cheap, and easy to install.

r
 
Tim R.

Tim R.

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May 27, 2004
3,626
Caliber 40 Long Range Cruiser Portland, Maine
I have been thinking about something similar. I do not like direct lighting like most all boats have. Rreflective is much nicer. That is why home lighting has lamp shades. A sectiion of teak about 3 or 4 inches wide mounted an inch or two off the surface where the cabin top and sides meet, with the LEDs on the back side reflecting off the white laminate. This should throw a nice even light across the ceiling and down the sides of the cabin. Individual reading lights with Sensibulbs would be used when you need to direct a more concentrated light.

A good way to dim them would be by using a Pulse Width Modulator. Resistors simply take the unused current and convert it into heat where a PWM does not waste any current. I know this is a nominal amount but a decent PWM can be had for about $20. And if you have multiple fixtures, the mA could add up quick.
 
kenn

kenn

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Apr 18, 2009
1,271
CL Sandpiper 565 Toronto
arghhh said:
Hey guys,

I have found an interesting idea for cabin lighting. I was thinking of getting some of the new 12VDC flexible strip lights and mounting them inconspicuously in the cabin. They are about 1 amp per 200 inches of light and they are dimmable. I am thinking of getting a few strips to test out, what do you think?

http://www.mouser.com/catalog/specsheets/12 Meter Reel of LED FLEX 12-2-10.pdf
Click to expand

Those strips look very interesting. Good thinking to provide a continuous 12v buss and build the correct series resistors right in. It makes it trivial to connect them directly to 12v. Definitely worth a try.

Only caution I'd have is that they probably wouldn't provide enough light to be the only interior light source at night (cooking, reading, etc), but they'd be great as the courtesy light system or for lighting nooks, inside cupboards and lockers.

The red strips could be great as night-time interior 'vision-saving' lighting.

The best prices I've seen on decent warm-white interior LED fixtures are from the Swedish furniture outlet IKEA. They sell several styles of these, including some very low-profile flush-mount discs. Only caveat is that you have to come up with your own current-limiting circuitry (either resistors or a solid-state current-limiter) to use them in a 12v system, so you have to know your Ohm's law.
 
A

arghhh

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Apr 7, 2010
19
House Boat Seattle
I ended up getting a 12 meter roll of the super bright cool white. It is very flexible white PCB and lights up very brightly. I think it could work as a great general light source at night with spots or task lights for reading or where you need to see very well.

I plan to install a few strips in the back of my truck camper shell to start. It currently has a pathetic incandescent at the rear. I will get some pictures of it all and put them up here.
 
W

windfall44ds

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Jun 9, 2011
2
Hunter 44DS San Diego
We pulled the trigger on LED light stirps and have them running the lenght of the cabin under the rail and along the shelfs with a dimmer. The lighting runs under the shelving in the v-berth and above our headboard in the aft cabin. The cabin looks fantastic at night with the LED lights, we are very pleased. You can't go wrong with strip LED strip lighting.
 
mccauley13

mccauley13

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Feb 7, 2010
76
macgregor 25 Beaver lake, Rogers Arkansas
Too frugal (cheap) picked up red 3 LED trailor lights at autozone. Two in the cabin and two in the cockpit did the job,
 
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