Added a couple more flounder lights

Stinky_Hooker

Stinky_Hooker

God
I built these using MR16 low voltage bulbs. There is lots of info out there on building these, I just made them fit my needs. Originally they were going to be in addtion to the 3 27s I have that attach to my trolling motor but after turning them on last night Im going to try them on their own first.

They are 50Watts each and in pvc with a plexie cover siliconed in. I also used silicon to attach the final piece on the front so I can remove if need be.

























 
when you say lo voltage, is that ac or dc.
what are u using for a power source and to seal the cannister.

i need to build something like that for my whaler
 
They are running off my deep cycle batteries phat.


here is a short write up I dont for someone on another board to help out if anyone is interested.




Sure Its pretty self explanitory in this pic:





Then here I just went with a width that I liked, the two outside pieces between the "T" and elbows are 3" and then about 1.5" from elbow to lights (the female side of male adapter)








For the verticals I used 1" pipe. I like 1" because its stiffer and fit PERFECTLY though 1.25" pvc. Use a 3/4 to 1" reducer bushing at the "T" in middle of fixture.


The top cross bar is just 1.25 into 1.25 "T's".

The only thing you cant see in the pic is where I put the yellow lines there is a short 1" nipple of 1.25 slid into the "T" top and bottom and glued. This gives you a snug but sliding fit when you push the 1" pipe through it.






Only other things to add that I dont have pics of is that I solder the wire to the pins on the bulbs. Here are the bulbs I used.






This is also why you use the male adapter threaded into the 2"to3/4" threaded reducer. You can get it apart to replace the bulbs. Also silicone the plexie into the BACK side of the coupling. Let it dry them run a thin bead of silicon around the inside to "glue" it onto the large reducer. This way it seals but can be removed unlike with PVC glue.



You can get many different variations of the MR16 bulbs online for cheaper. These would be a good option:


http://www.ebay.com/itm/AC-DC12V-5W...t=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item1e8a5445b6



The ones I used came from lowes and are nice but they are $17 a piece. I already had 2 from a previous project so I bought 2 more.


Any other questions, let me know and Ill answer as best I can.





PS I cut the plexie on a drill press with the hole saw pilot bit removed (obviously so there wouldnt be a center hole)


Yesterday I ran all 4 plus my navigation lights for just over an hour in the yard. The battery they are running off of went from 99% to 95% in that time period. I should be able to run most of the night easily without switching batteries. I have 3 onboard.
 
thanks stink, i install and service lo-voltage landscaping lighting, the bulbs we use look like exactly like those, but i always assumed they were ac like the txfmr's we use are. did not know they went both ways. i went out and looked in my truck, found a 35 watt. no where does it say ac- dc, just ac rated to 15 volts. i thought wth, so i hooked it up to the truck battery with some small jumpers, worked like a champ.

i went ahead and ordered 6 off of ebay, my "wholesale cost" on a 50 watt from my suppliers is 17-21 bucks apiece.

thanks for the info and the detailed build photos, hope to get some flounderr this summer..
 
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