Lighting options that won't kill my battery

[fastgbcamaro]

I just discovered this site last week and have been addicted ever since.  I am just itching to get out on the ice already, and I have been building my own permanent shack for this winter.  I have been constatly sifting through old posts trying to get ideas to make my shack comfortable yet functional.  It is going to be 6' x 10' and I have been looking at options for lighting that won't kill a deep cycle battery in a couple hours.  I will probably be powering a radio as well off the same battery.  I was looking at some of the new compact flourescent bulbs, but I have read that they need to run off of ac, but the battery would be dc.  Then I thought LED, but it seems like anything that will give off enough light is really $$.  I noticed the post about the guy that used LED rope lighting to light his shack, but I don't think this would be bright enough to make playing cards very feasible.  What kind of lights would you guys recomend?

[Tainterslayer]

I have seen low voltage (plug into 120 volt but the bulb assembly runs off 12 volt) LED lights at the hardware store for cheap. LED's will last forever on a battery... I don't see why you couldn't just buy them and cut off the tranformer (the part that takes 120 volts and makes it 12 volts).
I don't care too much about maximizing energy usage in my shack and I went and bought a halogen flood light. 20 watts for my 8x8. It's JUST the bulb as I couldn't find a low voltage unit, but they do make them. I really like the output of the halogen light. A lot of LED lights just look like crap if you want my honest opinion...1.6 amps will last forever on my deep cycle boat battery (probably 100 amp hours for mine.) You can get them brighter or dimmer... I have a 5 watt bulb in my apartment, and it gives a really nice subtle light to my 9x9 foot bedroom. I don't want to be blinded at night.

[akjw7]

you can get 12v flourescent lights (think RVs) - try ebay - Leds are nice too, but not as much 'area' covered compared to a flourescent fixture

[CrappieBuster]

Compact fluroscents work very well in a permie.  We have 3 lights in our shack we started by running 60 watt incandescents.  60x3=180 watts that was a bit overkill for the deep cycles.  I put in 3 compact fluroscents and were running 60 watts total now fished in temps as cold as -34f last year they always fired right up took a minute to reach full strength but oh well.  Put em in you wont be dissapointed.

[fastgbcamaro]

Hey CrappieBuster,
Do you run an ac to dc inverter to run those CFL bulbs?  Or did you get specific CFL bulbs that can run on 12 Volts?

[CrappieBuster]

We run an optima deep cycle to a 400 watt black and decker power inverter then plug the inverter into the house.  All the plugins and lights are wired into a breaker box.

[FishingNewEngland]

You can build your own led light fixtures. Probably cost about $200 for bright daylight inside. I'll find you a couple of DIY threads from my aquarium club.

Edit: Here's one. Let me know if you can't read it, I'll copy the info. More to follow....

http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums/showthread.php?t=68942&highlight=light

A good DIY one, lots of info...
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=134394&hl=

[Trooper Bri]

LED's all the way. Very simple, and your options are wide open. From cheaper automotive applications, all the way up to the higher end rigs FNE linked to.

http://www.oznium.com/high-intensity-led-floodlight
Oznium makes some spiffy LED products They're still my favorite until someone points out a bigger dog. This model in particular catches my eye. Along with being a puck spotlight, it's also totally waterproof. Looks ideal for lighting the inside of your shanty, outside, and the water beneath.

You will have to spend a little more to get the whiter, brighter LED's if you are picky, and they draw a hair more current than cheaper "white" LED's but it's worth it.

[CrappieBuster]

Them look like something they use on the space shuttle

Prolly a tad bit pricey

[fastgbcamaro]

Those oznium LED's look pretty sweet.  I doubt if I would use those for lighting my shack, but I might buy a couple just to have.  Im sure I could find something cool to do with them.  I did find some 12 volt specific CFL bulbs that are made for solar panels, which I may add later to keep my battery charged through the winter.  I can get a CFL bulb that puts out 1200 lumens and only uses 12 watts.  They are right around $20.

[jopes]

I am planning on putting a few of these in out flip over.  They are 12 volt and draw such small amount of power.

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&Page2Disp=%2Fspecs%2Fluxart_sbl.htm&cart_id=1259381670-14629

[TIBS]

I ran 2 strings of 12' LED christmas lights off an inverter.  It's not super bright in there, but enough for me to see what I'm doing.

[joejamiejop]

Home cheapo sells a 12 volt fluorescent light. I used one for an 8X8 shack. It was plenty bright and lasted forever on one deep cycle battery. I usually left the battery out there, it had to have been at least a month of four nights a week and all weekend fishing adventures. Lasted forever. Not good to leave a battery out there though. Have to look for a special switch to work on dc though, still looking for mine. I just use alligator clips attached to  the battery to turn it on and off, not a big deal. Hope this helps! I found this site about a week ago, good thing I'm my own boss, I would have been fired after day two!

[Wiener]

Here's a website that has everything that you need :

fishhousesupply.com

You can look into a solar panel or wind setup to charge your deep cycle battery.

Hope this helps,

Wiener