Flip over power box

[thewyler]

Idk about you but I go fishing to get away from that mood lighting person of mine.

[FinnHunt3r]

Make certain that your dimmer is for LED Lights. It may be the dimmer and not you.
Check ebay for LED Dimmer Switch. Don't give up. 

The one that says DIMMER on the top is the ticket. Very easy to install.

I bought it along with my LEDs so I am pretty sure its the right one??? It has a remote and everything, I bought a couple of terminals for it today that I think may work, so I will give it another shot. It should be simple as black from leds into box, red from leds into box, red from box to battery and black from box to battery. Right???  I bought a simple toggle switch and I think I am going to run each one seperately. That way too I can have both my light box and my shanty lights on if I wanted/needed them too. That 6 prong switch is a pain in my behind

[thewyler]

Pos battery to fuse, fuse to switch, switch to pos terminal post, terminal post to light wire, back to neg terminal post, and terminal post to negative battery lead

[mattkenzer]

I know were are suppose to determine the mood of the fish for presentation purposes ...but do now need "mood" lighting .

Now that's funny. 

[mattkenzer]

I believe this is what thewyler is saying?



Drawing is a bit deceiving. Just make sure Red to + (power) and Black to - (ground) at the dimmer.

[hardwater diehard]

DIAGRAM TIME !!! I love it ....more of a personal joke in my head 

[JJBat150]

Anybody used these for power supply ?   http://www.amazon.com/6800mAh-Capacity-Rechargeable-Lithium-Battery/dp/B00NDZU8HY/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1411075755&sr=8-6&keywords=12V+6800mAh

I've been using a 12 V 7mAh battery in a game camera pack to run the fish finder on my kayak, but it's DOA, so I just ordered something similar, but haven't received it yet. 

Reading on a kayaking forum, seems like a lot of people are switching to these due to the size and increased capacity.

[mattkenzer]

hardwater diehard,

I am impressed that I got the diagram from pencil to screen. Did not have a clue when i started.

[rgfixit]

I see y'all are still having lots of fun with this idea.    I swear, ice fishers can find more fun projects to tinker with.

Being as I am now a retired electrician, having spent the last 10 years as the service manager for a lighting company, I may be able to help with some of your technical questions.

Some general info;
LEDs May or may not be polarity sensitive. It depends on the manufacturer. Reversing the polarity on an Led strip may or may not destroy the strip. In my experience, it normally does not hurt anything.

ALWAYS use a fuse or circuit breaker with a DC power source................ .....ALWAYS! A short without a fused link will cause a major melt down and perhaps a fire.

I'm not a big fan of the exposed posts some of you are using on your boxes. When live, they are susceptible to shorting. If improperly connected to a fused link, they can also cause a major melt down.

Wire colors on Led lighting may be confusing. They are not always red and black. Make sure you have identified positive and negative correctly.

If you're having difficulty with switching or identifying which terminal does what, I strongly suggest you spend a couple of dollars on a battery operated test light. Remember, with DC wiring, you are only breaking the positive side of the circuit. The negative side always returns to the battery. I like to use a ground bar with DC setups. You can get one at Home Depot in the electrical department for a couple of bucks.

I'll be building one of these contraptions for myself pretty soon. I like to hit the ice well before daylight.

Pm me if you need help.

Rg

[hardwater diehard]

I'm not a big fan of the exposed posts some of you are using on your boxes. When live, they are susceptible to shorting. If improperly connected to a fused link, they can also cause a major melt down
Rg

I will be using a small machine screws as my posts ...but that will surrounded by a 1/2 PVC end cap clear painted red/black for +/- identification.  Your thoughts? . Quick question on the Fuse ...what amp would you recommend and I am assuming it is placed on the positive lead ?

[FinnHunt3r]

I bought it along with my LEDs so I am pretty sure its the right one??? It has a remote and everything, I bought a couple of terminals for it today that I think may work, so I will give it another shot. It should be simple as black from leds into box, red from leds into box, red from box to battery and black from box to battery. Right???  I bought a simple toggle switch and I think I am going to run each one seperately. That way too I can have both my light box and my shanty lights on if I wanted/needed them too. That 6 prong switch is a pain in my behind

Eureka! Fixed the dimmer. Then like the tater that I am f-ed it up. So I think on my fist set of lights I reversed the input and out put on the dimmer and blew something in the lights, cause I got my 2nd set to work on the dimmer until I did the same thing again!! so for now I quit because I am not spending more money on lights to screw it up. Next time I get waterproof lights I will install the dimmer. Still having issues wiring a switch, lots of sparks were flying and I am just trying not to burn the house down. I really should be left no where near these things. I guess I am still confused with the ground. I bought a simple two prong switch, one prong should have neg lights and neg from battery, the other should have pos from lights post from battery? I tried that on a three prong I had lying around and I got sparks, I put the negative on the earth supply load was empty and put positives on the last prong. 

[Cfilbert]

If it's two prong switch one pole should be negative from battery and the other pole should be negative wire from lights.  The positive from lights should be directly tied to battery. 

[mattkenzer]

There should be no ground wires (-) at the switch.
The switch is used to break the positive power (+) only on a DC circuit.
The sketch I did above was deceiving because of were I drew the + and - at the dimmer.
Ground is straight line to the battery.

[hardwater diehard]

Test light Test light TEST LIGHT ...save yourself a lot of grief ..and some appliances

[mattkenzer]

I concure. 

[hardwater diehard]

Still haven't made my power box yet ..haven't committed to the layout just yet ...contemplating switch(s) ..and maybe a small led on the outside...and your guys mods are not helping any  ....and just to think last year I used my ammo box just to take/store my battery on the ice ...no fancy connections or accessories

[Chris Raymond]

I'll be building one of these contraptions for myself pretty soon. I like to hit the ice well before daylight.

RG--If you could put up a post of your efforts, box, materials, etc. when you're done, I would appreciate it.  One of these is in my future at some point and I have always liked your efforts on ice projects in the past. 

[FinnHunt3r]

There should be no ground wires (-) at the switch.
The switch is used to break the positive power (+) only on a DC circuit.
The sketch I did above was deceiving because of were I drew the + and - at the dimmer.
Ground is straight line to the battery.

 :blink:I am done with the switches. I dont think they are really going to help anyhow, since most likely I will be disconnecting them from the battery after every trip so they don't drain it/for charging. So on a two prong switch, one prong should be vacant? Because one is occupied with the pos from lights and pos from the battery, the negative from the lights will be straight on the negative terminal on the battery. 

Thanks guys for all your help, I am sure you feel like your are talking to a wall with me and this electrical stuff.

[hardwater diehard]

on a two prong switch...power on one side then the accessory's +(pos) in wire ...then on your accessory hook up your neg to negative on battery ...test lite test lite test lit ...the switch is on off of current ...think of it like water ...water flows ...then hits the switch(nozzle) ..when off no water flows out the switch(nozzle) ..when switch(hose nozzles) is in the on position water(juice) flows  .

[FinnHunt3r]

on a two prong switch...power on one side then the accessory's +(pos) in wire ...then on your accessory hook up your neg to negative on battery ...test lite test lite test lit ...the switch is on off of current ...think of it like water ...water flows ...then hits the switch(nozzle) ..when off no water flows out the switch(nozzle) ..when switch(hose nozzles) is in the on position water(juice) flows  .

I have a test light! I will be using it for sure! 

[rgfixit]

I will be using a small machine screws as my posts ...but that will surrounded by a 1/2 PVC end cap clear painted red/black for +/- identification.  Your thoughts? . Quick question on the Fuse ...what amp would you recommend and I am assuming it is placed on the positive lead ?

Protecting the posts is a good idea. What will the fuse be powering?

Rg

[rgfixit]

Once again, in a 12V DC circuit only the positive lead is switched. No ground wire should be connected to the switch. The ground wire always goes to,the negative lead on the battery. A ground bar makes this connection easy.

Rg

[hardwater diehard]

Protecting the posts is a good idea. What will the fuse be powering?

Rg

Think the only thing would be Smartphone or an Optronics green light

[rgfixit]

2 amp is plenty.

Rg

[KenInSask]

Here is the schematic for my box, just waiting for all the parts to come in before I start the build

[/URL]

Box is a Zombie ammo box

I am using an LED controller that came with the LED light kit. It also has an IR remote and a dimmer built in. IR receiver will stick out a small hole in the top of the box

Shack LED strip will have an extension cable made of cat6 with male rj45 ethernet plug that will plug into the female rj45 female connector on the box for easy connect/disconnect. You can then use the box outside the shack if needed with a quick unplug of the ethernet plug

Box LED hard wired to the controller

6 foot shack LED strip and the 2 foot box led strip only draw a total of .44 amps on full bright

Switches are a three post switch with a built in led ON/OFF indicators so they need negative connection at the switch but you know 100% what is on and what is not

Binding posts are a safer option than bare posts, are threaded for eye/U connector and also accept 4mm banana plugs in the top

I may change my mind and do a negative bus instead of a bunch of crimp splice connections to a main negative wire, haven't decided for sure

Thanks for all the great ideas

[Corndog]

Here is the schematic for my box, just waiting for all the parts to come in before I start the build

That's pretty cool! Ken, could you post some more pics when you finish and perhaps the cost? I have a Fish Trap flip over and I am thinking about doing a smaller version. I want to have lighting as well as a fan, and maybe a way to charge my phone so I can listen to music if the bite is slow. If anyone else has a similar set up, I would greatly appreciate some info..

[KenInSask]

Here is a breakdown of my costs:

Zombie ammo box                             1 x 14.00             14.00                Cabelas
LED switches                                     6 x     .45               2.70                Ebay
waterproof Fuse box                           1 x   4.44               4.44                Ebay
Waterproof USB socket                       1 x   7.46               7.46                Ebay
Waterproof power socket                    1 x   5.25               5.25                Ebay
Binding posts                                     2 x     .18                .36                Ebay
Digital voltmeter                                1 x   3.88               3.88                Ebay
Panel mount female RJ45 & M plug      1 x    1.99              3.98                Ebay
Waterproof under cabinet LED kit        1 x   28.00            28.00               Left over under cabinet lighting kit (already had)
12v 9mAh batteries                            2 x   18.00            36.00               Battery store (already had)

To buy everything new would be a total of $104.08 plus misc wire, connectors, heat shrink, velcro

[Crappyfishrman]

Nice work ken! Those pictures should help people and the cost break down is nice to have to. I need to pull the trigger on this set up soon! Be so nice to be able to flip a switch and have lights in the flip over!!

[Corndog]

Thanks Ken! I'm hoping to get cracking on mine. I pretty sure on what I will want and your diagram,as well as other who have posted their builds on this thread,will make it much easier.
thanks again for the breakdown!

[Cfilbert]

Here is mine that I finished last night.  I started with a Seahorse hard case from Amazon.









What do you think