12v lighting

[Dave Payne]

Hi,

 

Just looking at the 12v lighting available on such sites as Midland Chandlers, 12v LED Downlighters.

 

Is it possible to use these though, but taking the little connector block off and wiring straight into your fuse panel?

 

http://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-fixed-round-low-voltage-downlight-polished-chrome-12v/84046

 

With these type bulbs??

 

http://www.ledhut.co.uk/spot-lights/mr16-led-bulbs/mr16-smd-led-20-pice-best-internet-price.html

 

Thanks

 

 

[dmr]

I would carefully check the spec. of the LEDs. Boat voltage can vary from maybe 11v (with a big inverter load) right up to 15.5v with some charging systems.

The proper boat LEDS have built in regulators to cope with this. Some cheaper LEDS can also make a lot of radio interference.

 

..........Dave

[Theo]

If it fits, I would say yes. Before you buy have a look at Bedazzled. IIRC he has included special circuitry to avoid the dangers of a fault causing overheating.

 

N

I would carefully check the spec. of the LEDs. Boat voltage can vary from maybe 11v (with a big inverter load) right up to 15.5v with some charging systems.

The proper boat LEDS have built in regulators to cope with this. Some cheaper LEDS can also make a lot of radio interference.

 

..........Dave

Ah, yes. Good point.

 

N

[bottle]

It is possible but assuming you are fitting to a boat, not advisable. As mentioned above.

 

50 watts equivalent, what are you lighting a football stadium.

 

http://www.bedazzled.uk.com/

 

http://www.baddiethepirate.co.uk/

 

http://www.atenlighting.co.uk/

[Serenity Malc]

Yello,

 

You can buy and DIY wire a simple regulated power supply which will cope with input voltages of 10V - 15V and sti;; always put out 12V nominal to feed your

[LEO]

Hi,

 

I went to BeDAzzled, very helpful, changed all the lights on the boat to LED's, before if every light was switched on at once - 330 watts, now if all lights used - 36 watts.

 

Good light quality and built in voltage spikes guards. Very pleased - £167 well spent.

 

L.

 

They sell good free range eggs as well.

Edited August 13, 2013 by LEO

[Dave Payne]

Thanks everyone.

 

The reason for asking is a down to a couple of things, price is a factor also with these type of fittings you can change the bulb to different powers and colours. Plus i am not sure how many of the official narrowboat ones you would need in an area due to them being less powerful.

 

Food for thought!

Edited August 14, 2013 by Dave Payne

[bottle]

'Power' has nothing to do with it, it is the number of Lumens that matter.

 

This country has always used the 'wattage' as a measure of brightness and that is incorrect.

 

A 3 watt LED (12v) can give out as much light as 25 watt halogen (12v) but the power used is a lot less.

[Dave Payne]

'Power' has nothing to do with it, it is the number of Lumens that matter.

 

This country has always used the 'wattage' as a measure of brightness and that is incorrect.

 

A 3 watt LED (12v) can give out as much light as 25 watt halogen (12v) but the power used is a lot less.

 

Sorry, when i said power i did mean Lumens, just couldnt remember the word

 

From what i have seen of these narrowboat/campervan/caravan lights they tend to give out about 40 lumen, but a standard home 50w halogen kicks out 400 lumen if i am correct, now i know the space on a narrowboat is less than the average room in a house, but you would need a lot of them to have a bright room.

 

The need for a bright room would not be an everyday need, but i feel it is something you should allow for!

[bizzard]

Perhaps you meant candle power, which is rather nice.

[dmr]

 

Sorry, when i said power i did mean Lumens, just couldnt remember the word

 

From what i have seen of these narrowboat/campervan/caravan lights they tend to give out about 40 lumen, but a standard home 50w halogen kicks out 400 lumen if i am correct, now i know the space on a narrowboat is less than the average room in a house, but you would need a lot of them to have a bright room.

 

The need for a bright room would not be an everyday need, but i feel it is something you should allow for!

 

You must be looking in the wrong place, many of the LEDs sold by people like Bedazzled and Baddie produce a serious number of lumens. I put a big one in a desk lamp last year and it was a big mistake, its like getting interrogated by the SS.

 

..................Dave

[Dave Payne]

 

You must be looking in the wrong place, many of the LEDs sold by people like Bedazzled and Baddie produce a serious number of lumens. I put a big one in a desk lamp last year and it was a big mistake, its like getting interrogated by the SS.

 

..................Dave

 

So i see, 180L on bedazzled, however the cost of those are £19 each, lets say i need 25-30 in total on the boat, £478 - £570.

 

The other option is coming in at £238 - £286 for a 320L.

 

 

 

Also guessing as its stromger you would not need as many, plus it gives you the option to chop and change your bulbs in different areas/rooms!

 

Unless i am totally missing something then ita no brainer?

[dor]

I think you need to examine why you think you need 25 - 30 lamps of that power. My whole boat is now LED-lit. There are a total of about 10 which are equivalent to 15 - 20 watt halogens. Rarely have more than 2 or 3 on at the same time and that is plenty of light.

 

If you have lots of lamps, you probably only need quite low power ones which will be much cheaper than £19.

[ditchcrawler]

Remember your ceiling is only about 2 Mt from your floor unlike a house. Look for wide angle light output. The fittings should be fine if you have the depth to fit them in. I used kitchen cupboard fittings that are designed for capsule lamps which plug in the side.

[dmr]

This is going to sound a bit rude, but here goes anyway...

 

From various posts on this forum it appears to me that many people go a bit over the top when fitting out their boat and try to create the ultimate dream machine. A simple boat that works well should be the goal. 30 lights is a lot, we are 70 foot and don't have that many.

 

I suggest that you identify the five or ten five lights that you really need and fit LEDS of your choice in those. Stick cheapo halogens in the rest.

Over the next year or so you will find which lights you actually do use a lot. Upgrade them to LEDS. Any light that is only used once in a blue moon can remain halogen. During this learning year you will also establish that the LEDS that you have chosen are the correct brightness (bright enough but not too bright) and reliable. I dived in too soon and converted our lights to LED. They were unreliable and interfered with the radio. I had to upgrade them all a year later!

 

..............Dave

[Guest]

This is going to sound a bit rude, but here goes anyway...

 

From various posts on this forum it appears to me that many people go a bit over the top when fitting out their boat and try to create the ultimate dream machine. A simple boat that works well should be the goal. 30 lights is a lot, we are 70 foot and don't have that many.

 

I suggest that you identify the five or ten five lights that you really need and fit LEDS of your choice in those. Stick cheapo halogens in the rest.

Over the next year or so you will find which lights you actually do use a lot. Upgrade them to LEDS. Any light that is only used once in a blue moon can remain halogen. During this learning year you will also establish that the LEDS that you have chosen are the correct brightness (bright enough but not too bright) and reliable. I dived in too soon and converted our lights to LED. They were unreliable and interfered with the radio. I had to upgrade them all a year later!

 

..............Dave

Exactly what we are doing.

[ditchcrawler]

This is going to sound a bit rude, but here goes anyway...

 

From various posts on this forum it appears to me that many people go a bit over the top when fitting out their boat and try to create the ultimate dream machine. A simple boat that works well should be the goal. 30 lights is a lot, we are 70 foot and don't have that many.

 

I suggest that you identify the five or ten five lights that you really need and fit LEDS of your choice in those. Stick cheapo halogens in the rest.

Over the next year or so you will find which lights you actually do use a lot. Upgrade them to LEDS. Any light that is only used once in a blue moon can remain halogen. During this learning year you will also establish that the LEDS that you have chosen are the correct brightness (bright enough but not too bright) and reliable. I dived in too soon and converted our lights to LED. They were unreliable and interfered with the radio. I had to upgrade them all a year later!

 

..............Dave

Good advice. We fitted out before LEDS were available, being 24 volt didnt help. Now most of the Halogens are gone except two in the corridor, I bet they don't get turned on more than 5 times a year and then only for seconds.

[Ex- Member]

Hi,

 

Just looking at the 12v lighting available on such sites as Midland Chandlers, 12v LED Downlighters.

 

Is it possible to use these though, but taking the little connector block off and wiring straight into your fuse panel?

 

http://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-fixed-round-low-voltage-downlight-polished-chrome-12v/84046

 

With these type bulbs??

 

http://www.ledhut.co.uk/spot-lights/mr16-led-bulbs/mr16-smd-led-20-pice-best-internet-price.html

 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

You can use any standard MR16 downlighter if that's the size you want. I bought a box of 100 x Brass bevel edged for less than £50, that was some years ago though similar to these on ebay

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10-x-Polished-Brass-MR16-50W-Tilt-Ceiling-Down-Light-Low-Voltage-Fitting-GX5-3-/320967083826?pt=UK_Light_Fittings&hash=item4abb210732

Cut off the 2 pin bulb connectors including full length of cable and sling the rest of the gummings. We wired the connectors direct to the 12v feeds to lights using heat shrink connectors.

We have 25 MR16 down lighters in total for our 60 x 10/6 W/B ample enough light outlets unless you require laboratory conditions for some reason.

Most of our bulbs originally came from China between 5 and 8 years ago, although their so cheap here it doesn't matter that much either way. The brightest bulbs we use are 48 led warm light same as these around 250 lumins which I find amply bright enough and easy to read under. If you are fitting in tje ceiling use wide angle beam, it disperses the light rather than a spot light effect.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/8-X-MR16-48-5MM-Leds-35-Watt-WARM-WHITE-/150904505412?pt=UK_Light_Bulbs&hash=item23229c0444

If you use this type though you need to regulate your lighting supply, anything over 13 volts and they'll start failing. My very first batch failed due to this. Since regulating I had one failure in 8 years. The SMD type bulbs are much less sensitive to voltage I've been told so a good option if regulating is a problem.

As we have an inverter on board we also have the option of a standard lamp with a nice bright bulb should it be needed.

After a short time living on a boat you tend to use little light, we currently have 2 MR16 led's running tonight 1 x 48 led and 1 x 20 led and their lighting the saloon galley and dining area where collectively there are 12 MR16 down lighters available, we rarely have or need more than 4 on in this open plan area.

[Dave Payne]

thanks for all the tips people, i am a long way off from buying yet, but will keep notes and take into account when the time comes!

[Québec]

Just to say, while I understand the arguments against, we've got several cheapo MR16 LEDs - £10 per pack of 3 - and they've been in for a few months now, and we haven't had any problems.....yet.

[George94]

My cheapo LEDs cost under a quid each 2 years ago and are still going strong. 15 quid well spent. Admittedly 2 failed early on, but none since.