Summary
(please click on any of the pictures for a larger one - use the BACK button to come back)
This is part of the electrical system, and is a list of a few different kind of LED lighting I used around the boat. The LEDs were not only used to save power, but used due to their size (unobtrusive daytime locations) and their ruggedness (generally inaccessible areas required for placement).
There are four "groups" of lighting, cockpit lights, cabin night lights, tank lighting, and "locker" lights..
COCKPIT LIGHTS
I like having some low-level lighting in the cockpit at night. For these, I used regular white LED's. I drilled holes only big enough for the tip of the LED to fit into, and then sealed them off completely for protection.
Electrically, these only have a series resistor in line with the LED. While a bit less robust (the LED's life is shortened by wide voltage swings of the boat 10V to 14.5V), it is VERY inexpensive and takes minimal space.
Here are the LEDs with the resistors soldered in line and all sealed and heat shrunk, ready for installation
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I put four LEDs in the cockpit. Two are down at the sole, and two others are hidden in the coaming boxes, one each.
This is one of the ones down at the cockpit sole - you hardly notice it is there (excuse the dirt - I was "between washings"!). |
Here is one of the other two that are up high on the narrow side of the coaming boxes.
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Very little notice during the day, VERY minimal current consumption, and minimal wire sizes needed.
For a neat effect like this (it looks better in person)!!
ALL FOUR of the lights use only 80mA COMBINED! |
NIGHT LIGHTS
Next were some night lights for inside the cabin. These are nice for those trips "in the night"
For these, I used a brass finishing washer and epoxied it onto the end of the LED. Kind of looks like fish eyes!
Again, I used a simple series resister for these to save space and cost.
Here they are all sealed up and ready for installation
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I drilled hole for each right down at the sole and glued them in.
Again, they really are unobtrusive and don't interfere with the look much. It's right down there at the bottom right of the cabinet in the sole trim. |
Here they are lit up!
In addition to the practicality, it has a nice effect.
Again, only 80mA. Run them for 12 hours straight and you've used less than ONE amp-hour!
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TANK and LOCKER LIGHTS
Next were some lights requiring some more intense illumination.
All of my tanks are the clear polyethelene type.
I remembered the adage of holding a flashlight behind them to see the level. I needed a "strip" of sorts that could light up enough of the height of the tanks to see the liquid level inside.
I also wanted some rugged lights to light up some of the more inaccessable areas that I might want to see inside of either in the dark, or during the day when the area might be closed off. I needed another type of strip light for these.
For these two types of strip lights, I cut some teak pieces with the right number of holes in them for the LEDs (a long bar for the tanks, and a short bar for the locker lights).
I wanted these to be a little bit more efficient since there were so many LEDs (4 LEDs times 3 tanks, and 4 LEDs times 5 locker locations). I also wanted some voltage regulation since I didn't want to have to replace them ---- EVER.
Since they would have a bit more electronics involved, I routed out the back of each teak block to hold the parts.
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I found some "cones" on ebay made for these sized LEDs that would help intensify the light given off by each.
Here are some of the parts, and the LED's test-fit into the holes of one of the blocks.
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Next was the wiring up of the regulator circuit. This is just one of the PLETHORA of LED regulator circuits available on the internet. It uses a low-dropout 7805 and a resistor set up as a current source.
The circuit allows you to adjust the current "seen" by the LEDs and also protects them from the varying voltages found on the boat.
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I then "potted" the whole thing, sealing everything up. |
So I ended up with a whole "mess" of light bars ready for installation.
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Tested and lit up, I had three long bars for the tanks and five short bars for the "lockers".
Each bank of four lights was drawing about 53mA. |
I installed two sets of bars in the engine compartment.
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One near a dark area where the holding tank and thruhull is. I have a clear deck plate there so you can look inside and check on things without removing anything.
Another one above where I did remove a panel showing the normally-dark water heater area and some auxiliary engine coolant lines. There is another clear deck-plate in the removable panel.
The last light bar is out in the cockpit on the inside of the lazarette to see inside there at night.
All of these "locker lights" are wired to a single switch turning them all on at once. I did this since it made the wiring less complex and they would only be used for very short periods intermittently. |
This is the slot I cut in the panel in front of the freshwater tank to see the light through when I turn them on. The tank is mostly in a pitch black area under a vberth. You can easily see with the LEDs that the tank is about 1/4 full with freshwater.
I don't have any pictures of the other tank lights "in action" as there was no liquid in them to see ( the fuel tank which had a full tank and there was no light to be seen through the fuel, and the holding tank was completely empty).
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And lastly , I bought an LED anchor light replacement bulb on ebay.
Nice light - I had to "modify" the direct replacement bulb, however, to make it work in the fixture I had.
[Yes, I know there are no stays on my mast - it was up temporarily held only by the tabernacle so I could test all the electrical connections.] |
Lessons Learned
That ol' 'lectricity stuff ain't too bad - the internet is a GREAT resource.
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