Engine Room Lighting Ideas

Maybe A Dancer

Maybe A Dancer

Became a Dancer 12/23/21
GOLD Sponsor
Aug 20, 2021
1,312
Florida West Coast
Boat Info
Started out as MAYBE A DANCER
Became a Dancer - 12/23/21
Engines
450 DA Sundancer running CAT 3126
Already replaced the 4 factory incandescent bulbs in the ER with super bright LED's.

Recently added some LED's to brighten up the dark nether regions of the fwd & aft bilge areas and wow, what a difference down there.

I had planned on adding a few more LED fixtures to the engine room but perhaps I'll get a better result and an easier install with a roll of LED rope lights.

Anyone done this ?

Results?

Long term issues?

BEST !

RWS
 
Pictures, please! I need to to something similar in mine, and will probably go the LED rope route. Just as with the long fluorescent tubes, spreading the light out over a distance greatly reduces shadowing.
 
I used "tube" LED lighting. Basically the same idea as what you are thinking about, just that the rope lighting was encassed in a clear tube. I guess it just seemed a little more durable to me that way. But, yes, it was well worth it. It came with little clips that I glued to the bilge ceiling in key areas and then the tubes clipped into the clips.

I tapped into the existing bilge light circuit - I wasn't worried about amp draw on the circuit since I changed the incadescent to LED just like you did - the draw of the 5 or 6 LED sets that I used was less than the single inc bulb that I replaced.

I daisy chained them all together and used stick-on cable tie mounts along the way to keep the wiring secure to the ceiling. Lightly sand the area where you will stick/glue anything.
 
Can anyone link to the lights they used?
 


I've been placing these in strategic spots, like the compartment behind the helm in the Cat, the storage cuddy in the Yamaha jet boat, and the bilge of Beach House. Instead of being on the side walls, I have been mounting them where I can on the ceiling, but tying into the existing 12v incandescent (also becoming LEDs) lights. For instance, in the center of the bilge at the aft end for good visibility of the thru hulls, and surrounding stuff.

I mounted to the underneath of the upper swim platform. I have a bunch of the LEDs on a reel, but can't find a real reliable way to mount those in a hot, wet environment. Rope probably better. I'm using the reels for under counter, and accent lighting in the cabin.


galley lighting.JPG
LED on a reel.JPG
salon sofa lighting.JPG
salon sofa2 lighthing.JPG
 
While I'm adding these lights, I'll also add a set BEHIND both Racors - thus an easy way to see the bowls, as mine are mounted in a very dark part of the ER.

BEST !

RWS
 
Papabrer said:
Yes please, Lazy Daze, link to the tube lighting. I have already swapped the four fixed inc lights and it greatly improved the bilge.
Click to expand...
It was probably 10 years ago that I did this. There was nothing special about them, though.
 
Thanks Skybolt, I used the exact same units to replace the lights in my ER. Work great and put off a lot of light for their size.
 
I changed out the bulbs in the existing fixtures and that alone made an improvement. I've seen the rope/tube lights and love it. Just for the benefit of all...What's the thoughts on bilge safe replacements. I know on a diesel its not or not so much of an issue but just so the GAS guys know. I thought about that even just changing the bulbs.
 
In addition to replacing the existing e26 bulbs with LED's: (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MCGH7N4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1)

I added 6-8 of these throughout the engine room. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08GG18HVW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

I mounted some on 1in aluminimun angle (to get downlight) and others were mounted directly to bulks/grids. I wired them up with leads ahead of time and tied everything in with to the existing fixtures. Don't have too many finished pics but it's lit up very well in there now, especially in hard to reach areas.

1.jpg2.jpg3.jpg
 
Skuza said:
I changed out the bulbs in the existing fixtures and that alone made an improvement. I've seen the rope/tube lights and love it. Just for the benefit of all...What's the thoughts on bilge safe replacements. I know on a diesel its not or not so much of an issue but just so the GAS guys know. I thought about that even just changing the bulbs.
Click to expand...
Good point - it's ALWAYS a good idea to think about that in a gas engine bilge. Come to think of it, that might have been part of the reason I went with the encased/tube lighting.

Truth is, though, there's nothing special about the incandescent light bulbs used in most (all?) of the bilge lighting fixtures. They're typically the same thing that you might have as a trailer light bulb or some car taillights.
 
I replaced the existing four lights with the modern LED version of them and then added another two at the aft of the ER. I don’t often find myself in my ER at night and am still trying to figure out how to illuminate the tops of the engines with something that is aesthetically pleasing and functional that will mount to the bottom of the hatch.
Thinking of the weather resistant version of the strip lighting that 370Dancer used in his cabin.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_9013.jpeg
    IMG_9013.jpeg
    2.6 MB · Views: 77
Lazy Daze said:
Good point - it's ALWAYS a good idea to think about that in a gas engine bilge. Come to think of it, that might have been part of the reason I went with the encased/tube lighting.

Truth is, though, there's nothing special about the incandescent light bulbs used in most (all?) of the bilge lighting fixtures. They're typically the same thing that you might have as a trailer light bulb or some car taillights.
Click to expand...

And when you think of an incandescent bulb everyone has had one pop at one point in life!
 
Think I will consider some good LED battery operated lights for my ER.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,186
Messages
1,428,174
Members
61,097
Latest member
Mdeluca407
Back
Top