12v engine room LED lights

[Toolsntoys]

I am looking for recommendations for 12v engine room led lights. I purchased scandvik. E500 and says it has 1500 lumens I thought two would be enough for each engine room but I find it’s still feels dark. I thought about using a deck or spreader light but don’t really want to keep buying lights to only be disappointed again. Thoughts ?

 

[Oldlaxer1]

Rusty, aka Seven should chime in. You have to wear sunglasses in his engine rooms.

 

[bigbill]

i replaced the 2 12v screw in bulbs(like household bulbs) with led screw in bulbs that look like corn cobs, led's all the way around, they were very bright but didn't last that long. i did this years ago so maybe technology is better now

 

[SEVEN]

I put 4 24” strips in both engine rooms. Had to install a step down from 32 to 12. Took me two hires per engine room, then took me two weekends to clean each room that I thought was already clean. I installed them in plastic tubes to prevent hitting and braking them. Cost was about 75.00 per room. It’s like day light in there. Have fun.

 

[Toolsntoys]

Rusty do you know the part number or at least the brand.

 

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

I installed 4-4' and 3-2' LED light strips in my ER replacing 5-4' florescent fixtures. It's a single ER. I left the 32V bulb fixtures in place for emergency lighting. All my LED lighting is 120V. Very bright and Rusty was right about showing any dirt.

 

[Pascal]

For non emergency lighting you can get 120v LED fixtures on Amazon. They look like fluorescent fixture but sealed and very bright LEDs

I replaced the original fluorescent fixtures with these on the 84 Lazzara i run. Much brighter
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PDHX6EM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Fs0yCbJ9498KB

I used similar ones on my 53

 

[Scarlett]

I put in 4 foot led shop lights from Home Depot, just one fixture per engine room, they are incredibly bright, in fact next time I see Rusty I will have to see how bright his are. Of course they are 110 volt, but not much draw on the inverter when not plugged in. I think they were about $49.00 each and are the 2 bulb model. I also put the single bulb version in the existing head fixtures. They made me realize what a crappy shaver I am. John

 

[Photolomy]

For non emergency lighting you can get 120v LED fixtures on Amazon. They look like fluorescent fixture but sealed and very bright LEDsI replaced the original fluorescent fixtures with these on the 84 Lazzara i run. Much brighter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PDHX6EM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Fs0yCbJ9498KBI used similar ones on my 53

What kind of switches did you use with these? Do they have to be vapor proof?

 

[Pascal]

What kind of switches did you use with these? Do they have to be vapor proof?

You can use any switchbyou wamt. I kept the original switches. On a diesel boat they don’t have to be vapor proof

 

[SEVEN]

I kept the same pull down switch in each engine room. I tapped into the 32v light in the ceiling and added the 32v to 12v step down there. When I pull the switch the 32v lights come on first for about 2 seconds then the LED kick in. I looked for my records and could not find the exact numbers, however my installation was three years ago and the technology is far better today than it was when I installed mine. Below please find the information where to buy the LED lights. I will try to find the step down information for you and send it

 

[SEVEN]

Found them. You can pick which you like best.

 

[brico]

i replaced the 2 12v screw in bulbs(like household bulbs) with led screw in bulbs that look like corn cobs, led's all the way around, they were very bright but didn't last that long. i did this years ago so maybe technology is better now

I have three of these in my engine room with excellent result. Ordinary 12V bulbs were busting way too often. These provide sufficient light and have lasted a year so far and none have busted so far.

 

[rustybucket]

I went a slightly different route in my ER. In past boats I only had 12v lighting in the ER, which is great and all until the battery is dead or you need to disconnect the battery to do some work. So in this boat I already had a 'reasonable' amount of 32v ER incadescent lights. So I added 110v 24" and 36" led strip lights. I think I added 5 and want to add about 4 more (need to add lights forward of engines and outboard of engines).

Absolutely amazing how much it lit up the ER and I now have a redundant engine room light system with both AC and DC lights. So if the gen goes out, I have lights, if the batteries die, but the gen or shorepower is still working I have lights.

 

[jrbrein]

Great point about using both AC and DC power sources for your engine room lighting as a back up.

Regarding 12 volt DC LED bulbs. I try to find the LED bulbs that are rated at 9 - 15 volts DC not just 12 volts due to multi step charging of my batteries. I worry about the longevity of constant 12 volt rated LED bulbs that are receiving 13 - 14.8 volts during charging while the bulbs are in use. Voltage drops below 12 volts while in use may affect them as well.

Here is an example of what I am talking about. These are 12 Volt DC LED bulbs I am using on my boat. They are rated 10 - 20 Volts DC.

https://wattalight.com/collections/12v-dc-led-bulbs/products/7-watt-12v-led-light-bulb


Jon

 

[Toolsntoys]

After reading some of the comments here I think I’m going to use the 12v lights that I bought and add 110 volt lights that will run off the inverter. I did see a few small led 12v lights on the site rusty recommended that I like. I also saw that the voltage range is from 9-60 volts on many of their products. Might be an option for you 32v guys.