Engine and Maint Bay Lighting-gctid363920

[Guest]

Well I got really sick and tired of trying to locate my flashlight or plugging the florecent light in. This year I decided to go ahead and install LED light bars to help illuminate the area. I picked up 5 of these completely sealed light strips, they each have about 30 LED's in them and are 1/2 a meter long. I put 5 of them in the engine bay in various areas, and 1 in the maint bay. I ordered these from superbright led's.com along with some new arch lights and a few other assortment of lights for my own pleasure.



Close up



Shrink wrapped and taped for extra comfort (ignore that air tube, perfectly safe)



Installed in engine bay



Maint locker installed and working



Let there be light



I still have to finish the wiring in the engine bay, but I think its going to be great when its all done. More to come...

[JimMc]

You will really like having the LED lighting.

I installed LED light bars in my engine bay and they worked out very nice.



I even installed one short LED strip high above the back side of my main battery switch electrical panel if I need to make a quick repair.

We added lighting inside the forward storage under the berth. It's a deep storage area and stuff dissapeared in the back without lighting.

In fact I plan to add two more LED strips to fix a couple of dark corners. I need to add that to my list of stuff to order.

Virtually all of my compartment lighting is controlled with magnetic switches like those used in alarm systems. The magnet on the door and the switch on the frame. That way when you open the door the light is on automatically.

[Guest]

Alright I finished the "ROUGH" wiring yesterday to get the system on so I could see how well it did. The results are great, the camera doesnt justifiy how much light is really given off. I could see everything in the engine bay, it was very nice







the engine looks dark, but thats just my camera having a hard time. Literally I could easily see everything in the engine bay as if it were daytime.

[Guest]

biohazard wrote:
Maint locker installed and working

This all looks very nice.

My assumption is that the maintenance locker is outside the ignition protected envelope or that the switch is ignition protected.

An Adel clamp near the light fixture onto the wiring harness would provide additional protection from future faults.

[Guest]

wingless wrote:
This all looks very nice.

My assumption is that the maintenance locker is outside the ignition protected envelope or that the switch is ignition protected.

An Adel clamp near the light fixture onto the wiring harness would provide additional protection from future faults.

Yes it is outside the engine bay.

[JimMc]

I knew you would like the lights in the engine bay once you were done.

------

Regarding the light and switch in the mechanical space. Did your wife leave you 50 cents short on the wire budget? :kidding

You had to know some smart as would mention it. Right?

Actually I assume that is the mechanical space at the foot of the aft berth. If you mount the switch under the LED on the aft wall it will give you some slack to play with and make the switch more obvious if someone unfamiliar was helping you.

[JimMc]

Ryan

I will suggest you better secure your batteries. In the photo below you can see how I secured by spares box. This is also how I now have my batteries secured. I am sorry I don't have a photo of the current battery setup.

The white stock is just scraps of 1/2" Starboard I cut into 3/4" wide strips 6 to 8" long.

[Guest]

JimMc wrote:
Ryan

I will suggest you better secure your batteries. In the photo below you can see how I secured by spares box. This is also how I now have my batteries secured. I am sorry I don't have a photo of the current battery setup.

The white stock is just scraps of 1/2" Starboard I cut into 3/4" wide strips 6 to 8" long.

They are secured, its on the hard atm and I just plugged them in thats all. Off to the sides you can see the tops of the boxes and the straps laying next to them. I have not gotten to summarizing or preparing for launch yet, still upgrades.

[JimMc]

Ryan

Please don't take offense. I should have been more specific.

I saw your straps.

The starboard strips I used keep the batteries and that tool box from shifting side to side when lateral G forces try to push on them. Also I feel more comfortable having the straps held in place with beefier stock.

This is to try and comply with ABYC requirements for securing batteries and limiting their movement.

It also helps my own piece of mind.

[Guest]

JimMc wrote:
The starboard strips I used keep the batteries and that tool box from shifting side to side when lateral G forces try to push on them. Also I feel more comfortable having the straps held in place with beefier stock.

This is to try and comply with ABYC requirements for securing batteries and limiting their movement.

The batteries must be secure and must also be secured in a manner that permits the exterior case dimensions to grow during the charging / discharge cycles, to avoid unacceptable stresses on the battery case.

[Guest]

its all good. I have used these straps for at least 5 years this way, The boat came with 2 installed like this, has been fine for over a decade. Remmeber I boat on a river, we dont get waves like you do. Never had a problem, thanks for the concern though.

[Guest]

I have a friends that's been playing with some colored LED strip and rope lighting in his Sear Ray open bow. Looks good so far, and I'll probably take a crack at this later this year or early next. Only one light in my engine area, and it's a 2 inch Perko....not good for much.

[Guest]

Great idea ! Now I have yet another project to do before splash day :sorrow:

[Guest]

Love the lights - that is my next mod for sure!