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June 14,15 2008
Parade of Lights Yacht Systems
Disclaimer: The advice enclose here is designed to assist a person knowledgeable about electrical devices and their proper installation. It is NOT an all inclusive instruction. Improperly wiring an electrical circuit, even using just 12 volts, can cause fire, serious injury, or even death. The builder assumes all liability for all damage and injury as a result of their particular project. If you have not acquired competent skills for this task, get some help. Sticking to flashlights, chemlights, etc. may be your best choice. Otherwise, read and enjoy. ms
.There are two basic systems"
120 volt (We'll call this "high" voltage)
12 Volt (We'll call this "low" voltage)
Remeber: Be sure to put a fuse in between your light string and your battery. If your are using an inverter, put one between the battery and the inverter and another between the light string and the inverter. You can't have too many fuses... you CAN have too few. The smell of burnt wiring has a distinctive odor. EVERYONE will know that you screwed up!
Since you can't run a 120 volt system directly off of a battery you will need a device called an "inverter" to take care of that chore for you. Inverters can be found at a number of suppliers, I purchased mine at the Sears Auto Center. It was a little more expensive, but this is not the only job for which I use it. They are also available at Wal-Mart, Harbor Freight, and possibly auto parts stores. RV suppliers also carry them, but will probably charge more.
When we are talking about inverters SIZE MATTERS. You will want to buy the cheapest one that will do the job for you, but no more. The higher the WATTAGE rating, the higher the price. What you need will depend upon some things discussed below. BE CAREFUL, there are TWO wattage ratings for each inverter. PEAK refers to a temporary load like a motor at start-up. CONTINUOUS refers to the continuous load placed on the unit, such as the motor after start-up or electric lights. You should probably be able to get by with something in the 170 watt range (Continuous), although with the right lighting system you can get by with something in the 70 watt range (Continuous). Peak ratings for these units are roughly double their Continuous rating. I saw inverters in the thirty dollar range all the way up to the 150 dollar range. There are probably some that go well beyond that, but you should only need something in the 20 to 70 dollar range.
The inverter can be used to run ordinary "Christmas" lights, provided that the total wattage of all the bulbs does not exceed the Continous Wattage rating of the inverter. The old fashioned lights with the screw-in bases probably run somewhere between 3 and 15 watts. It wouldn't take very many of these bulbs to eat up the power delivery from a 70 watt unit. For these kinds of lights you will need a larger inverter (and maybe a lager battery!!). Dividing 300 by 15 gives me a 20 bulb string before I max-out my inverter.
Buying some of the newer type string lighting will allow you to use a larger string. I picked up some recently that ran only 5 or 6 watts for an 18' string with a mini-bulb every inch. I could theoretically run 60 strings of 5 watts each for a toal of 1,080 feet of lights with a bulb every inch. WOW!! I'll need a bigger boat!
I found some "running" amber lights on an 18' string with a speed controller at Home Base for about 15 dollars. Steady burning lamps were also available in 18' strings for about 10 dollars. They are available in red, purple, green, white, and multi. I picked up several strings, so I'll have a few to share with friends. These strings can be connected together (I think three is the maximum), but cannot be connected to the "running" lights.
The ever popular "Icicle" lights should also be fairly low wattage, but I have no data on them. In order to calculate your inverter needs add up all the wattages for all of the lights you intend to run. That number will dictate the size of the inverter you will need. Before you head for the store, read some of the other alternatives, then make your plan.
Remeber: Be sure to put a fuse in between your light string and your battery. If your are using an inverter, put one between the battery and the inverter and another between the light string and the inverter.
If you prefer to run a low voltage system you will be spared the price of the inverter, unfortunately most of the really good festive lights are for 120 volt systems. However, with the advent of the LED (Light Emitting Diode) and the popularity of "Show" cars, we have some options. Picture your landyacht in NEON! Its possible, but not cheap. The advantage of LEDs is that they have very little current draw. They can run for days on a standard automobile battery. In fact, you cand string together 8 "D" cells from your flashlight and run LEDs for several hours. I found some things at Circuit City and took a few samples home. Street Glow offers quite a few items:
LED "Projector" lights that come in ths standard red, blue, green, and maybe clear. They aren't very bright, but they make great accents on a sail. About 11 dollars.
EL Wire comes in 5' sections. They cannot be strung together, but the color is phenominal. Comes in green, blue, and red. Each 5' section is 26 dollars!
TireFlies come in two different packages and I chose Street Glows' product. Three tiny watch batteries power an LED that is housed in a small unit that screws onto your tire's valve stem. The centrifugal force generated by the spinning tire activates the light, giving a circular pattern that illuminates your wheel. About 10 dollars for 2. NOTE: TireFliesonly work if you valve stem is points firectly at the hub of your wheel. "Bent" stems, which point out horizontally will not work.
Electropods are small six-LED blocks used for accents. They are available in red, blue, green, clear, and multii. The multis change colors. About 15 dollars each.
I didn't bother with the short neon tubes. They are colorful, but I was looking to cover more area than a skinny 12 inches.
Most of the kits come with some sort of accessory, like a small transformer, crazy glue, or wire ties. I am sure there ar other low voltage systems out there, but my shopping time has been slim. Try discount stores like Pic 'n Save, or 99 Cent Only stores for other possibilities in either 120 or 12 volt systems.
Ok, you have your lights, now what about battery power?
Like the inverter, SIZE MATTERS. For our purposes I think about an hour of run time should be sufficient. Any car battery will get you by for that long, provided it is a good battery with a good charge. Unfortunately, that isn't your best choice. Because car batteries are lead/acid devices, there is serious potential for chemical injury should your yacht turn over.
Better stay away from this option and go with something like a gel cell battery used in motorcycles and quads. They are designed to prevent leaks in the event of a turn-over. I saw several at Wal-Mart in the 30 to 50 dollar range that will run anything except maybe the old fashioned 15 watt christmas light strings. If you are running strictly LEDs, you can go for the really cheap option and use "D" cells. (It may be all you can afford if you purchased very many LED widgets!) My preference is to use the sealed motorcycle battery and to have extra power if I need it.
You can use Ohm's Law to calculate precisely just how long your lights will burn and your inverter will run... I can't. Its much too complicated and generally unecessary. A few low-watt strings, a 70 watt inverter, and a sealed motorcycle battery will give you a good show and plenty of light for an hour. Bump the load up to 300 or 600 watts of old style lights and you better pick up a couple of sealed motorcycle batteries and hook them up in parallel. An hour might be pushing it.
To make the parallel hookup connect the batteries' negative terminals together, then hook the positive terminals together. DO NOT hook all four together... you'll make your devices into incandescent lights and ruin all of your project material. Connect the red clip from the inverter to the positive terminals and hook the black clip to the negative terminals. You can hook as many batteries this way as you desire. The system will always be 12 volts, but you will be increasing the available amperage of the multiple batteries to extend your time.
NOTE: Hooking the batteries up in SERIES (i.e. from the negative terminal of one battery to the positive terminal of the next) makes a daisy chain out of the batteries and adds the VOLTAGES together. Three batteries will give you 36 volts, four will give you 48, and so on. You can get higher voltages, but the amperage available is equivalent to only one battery. You would NOT want to do this for this kind of a project as you will be calling the fire department to come extinguish your project as soon as you throw the switch!
Remeber: Be sure to put a fuse in between your light string and your battery. If your are using an inverter, put one between the battery and the inverter and another between the light string and the inverter. You can't have too many fuses... you CAN have too few. The smell of burnt wiring has a distinctive odor. EVERYONE will know that you screwed up!
All mounting should be secure from rough handling, so find a box or board to hold your battery. The same device can be used to hold down your inverter. REMEMBER, If you are using an inverter, YOU ARE USING 120 VOLTS!! Be Careful!!
Wiring should be tied down and not allowed to billow, drag, or hang where it might be damaged. Wire ties, *Gaffer's tape, or other fasteners should be used to hold everything in place. Joints should be soldered and well taped with electrical tape or use solderless connectors. Heat shrink tubing can be used to insulate soldered joints. Soldering supplies and heat shrink tubing are available from Radio Shack or other electronic component suppliers.
*Gaffer's tape is similar to duct tape but won't leave a nasty, sticky residue on your boat.
Another alternative for lighting your boat is a chem-light. They can be taped or tied just about anywhere. I picked up 10 at Home Base for $1.98 each.
Oh, by the way, did I mention the part about using fuses? (They are not necessary on Chem-Lite projects)
See you on the lake... in lights!
Michael
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