12 Volt Wiring for Fish House

[motley man]

I want to put 12 volt lights in house, what size wire is needed from battery to lights? Can I use household extension cord wire or do I need bigger?

[Eelpout08]

Heres what I use as a guide for short-run 12v DC max amps per gauge:

Short-run meaning less that 5 feet.

16ga-10amps

14ga-20amps

12ga-30amps

Not scientific by any means but it seems to be a good rule of thumb. Remember that the longer the wire the heavier the gauge has to be.

an 1156 bulbs use about 2.5 amps each, so multiply that by how many lights are on your circuit.

As far as 4-6 lights on one circuit you would have around 15 amps total, personally i would go with 12ga, 14 would probably work but i like to overdo things.

Dont forget the fuse! (20amp)

[Ed Carlson]

Side note...I highly recommend from the start plan for all LED lighting. Don't use any conventional auto bulbs or resistive auto type fixtures. They draw a lot of juice from a battery.

LED's will require less amp draw and you can fine tune the lighting to the need far better.

12 V marine LED Dome lights ($30 each) are a good start for the ceiling with 6 LED modules ($7 each) at each hole for area lighting.

Put them on separate lines so you can run separate on/off dimmers on them.

The end result will be less power and you get more efficient and flexible lighting that will last 100,000's of hours before needed any replacement.

[Eelpout08]

I agree 100% with Ed, we have 6 double camper lights in ours(not led) and it doesnt take long to drain the batteries even with just two or three of them going. besides, i think we paid around $20 each for what we have, if you can get led's for $10 more its a no-brainer in my book.

[LightningBG]

I would skip the idea of a dimmer for LEDs. They are complex and are only compatable with certain LEDs. An led dimmer is completely different than a house dimmer.

I would just split the lights onto multiple switches, so some or all of the lights can be on at a given time.

This will keep the parts needed reasonable in cost and availability.

[Ed Carlson]

There not that complicated, only two wires. Or that costly, at $16.99 per dimmer switch.

The Rotary Style LED Dimmer controls the brightness of your favorite LED products with the simple twist of a dial. Easy to install and even easier to use LED dimmer is a great addition for your under cabinetry lighting, accent lighting, or any place where you want to have direct control over your 12V LED Products.

Using pulse width modulation the twisting of the rotary dial clockwise will allow you to fine tune the LED's brightness.

Will click into the 'off' position if twisted fully counter-clockwise.

Comes complete with necessary attachments to either hook up to 12V AC Adapter, or directly wire into existing positive/negative

Technical Information

Voltage accepted: 12V DC

Static Power Consumption: less than 1 Watt

Operating Temperature: -40 to 140 Fahrenheit

External Dimension: L2.4"xW1.3"xH1.2"

Maximum Load Input/Output: 2 Amps

OK..a bit more complicated but WAY COOLER, is the 12V LED Dimmer and Strobe Remote Switch.

(This handy Gizmo bumps up the Pimp Factor significantly.)

*These remote switches include a basic On/Off function. But this unit boasts even more capabilities: Wig-wag strobe LED.

*Built-In Auto Dimmer: Automatically cycles through from dim to bright (like a heartbeat) at the touch of a button.

*Choose between 1 to 8 levels of brightness (and pause on that brightness level)

*6 Strobe / Flash modes (get attention)!

*Strobe mode has two output channels for a wig-wag effect.

This slick little unit, while packing a small footprint achieves 30+ meters of radius with no effort at all, so feel free to control your setup and dazzle an audience from across the parking lot, meadow, creek, on the ice, or wherever you're parked! No more running back and forth to control your LEDs. Take your lighting to the next level.

Want to use this unit in a ice shack, or your home? It's easy! Just install one of our AC Adapters to the 12V power inputs, and this unit is ready to be setup anywhere. Create instant serenity in your shack or at home, it also has settings with the ability to dim the lights.

As with many of these new products, the only limit as to where this product can be used is your own imagination.

Technical Information

General Specs

Voltage: 12VDC

Current: Power up to 6 Amps / 36 Watts (that's quite a few LEDs!)

Remote Distance: 30 Meters ~ 94.8 feet (with no obstacles present)

Battery: 27a

Transmitter / Key Usage

Upper left button (Red): Choose between 1 to 8 levels of brightness (press the button to cycle to the next brightness level)

Upper right button (Grey): Turn on Strobe / Flash mode

Lower left button (Grey): Automatically cycles from dim to bright to dim to bright (like a heartbeat)

Lower right button (Grey): OFF

Strobe Stats:

Strobe Modes: Flash 2-7 Times (6 Modes)

Strobe Cycle Duration: 130ms

Strobe Interval: 400ms

Wiring Diagram

White wire: Ground Output

Yellow wire: Power Output

Red Wire: 12VDC Input

Black Wire: Ground (In)

Blue Wire: Antenna

They are only $33...not too shabby. Very Cool!

[trapperdirk]

Yowsa Ed . I'm too much into fishing and rock and roll to get into strobe lighting and disco . LOL .

I do like the idea of low voltage draw that LED's do and will look into it for our latest overnight rental perm . Thanks for the idea and pics .

TD

[Ed Carlson]

They also have remotes that are just On/Off with the dimmer...no strobes or Disco Functions.

But...if you add a Brass Pole to the house....then....well...you can imagine those possibility's.

The remote dimmer is a nice function.

[LightningBG]

Ed, those do look like a decent option.

There technical writing dept could use some work though.

Quote:

Technical Information

General Specs

Voltage: 12VDC

Current: Power up to 6 Amps / 36 Watts (that's quite a few LEDs!)

Remote Distance: 30 Meters ~ 94.8 feet (with no obstacles present)

Battery: 27a

6 amps does not equal 36 watts at 12V

Anyways.

It would be kinda cool to have your outside running lights (amber) on a crank down, hooked up with a strobe feature. Avoid getting blasted in the middle of the night if you're on a high traffic lake.

[Ed Carlson]

They are remarkably cheap really. They have simple 1 line remotes, and up to 4 line remotes.

The slow up light function is a nice feature too for a shack, and the 8 light levels. Being able to trim the light to your needs more easily saves on power consumption as well...plus the obvious convenience of it.

With 2 lines one could be the main ceiling lights, and the other bank the hole lights...tons of user options here to tinker with really. Control of everything from anywhere in the house or outside in close range even, very nice.

I think I'm going to put the simple 1 line remote in my Porty as to eliminate switch's and clean up the wiring to the battery a bit. Hook it on my zipper on my bibs and I'm all set.

[WALLEYEDUDE2001]

Where would one get a dimmer switch similar to the top one. Looks pretty simple. Looking for something to adjust the small computer fans to a lower speed rather than just on. Right now, they plug into a 12v (cigarette lighter) outlet. I want someway to temper the speed so not so loud.

thanks.

[cps420us]

Not to hijack this thread, but as far as the fuse size goes, if you are running multiple LED light strips and fans off one 12V battery, would you need to add up your total amps to figure out what size fuse to put in?

[Eelpout08]

Size the fuse acording to the wire gauge, ex. if the wire max is 35 amps, use a 30 amp fuse