[bamabowfisher]

First post, please harass me if I'm doing this wrong.

I want to run 8 20w cheapo ebay LEDs. Each pulls 1.2amps (20w / 12v =1.2 right?). I want to run all 8 to a fuse block, and run 10 guage wire all the way from the fuse block to the battery in the back. My question is should i even invest money in these lights? I hear 50w LEDs are what you should get if you want to run an LED system, but i figure 8 of them should get the job done. Secondly, if I do purchase these lights, how do I run a switch off the 10guage? I imagine I could use a 30a relay but finding a 10guage female push connector might be a challenge. Someone said put a 'push-pull switch on the battery box' and I dont even know what that means honestly. Any help is appreciated, thanks in advance.

Nathan

 

[BlackBeard]

Buy the 50w warm white SMD lights from ebay. You can get 10 for $100 or so. Get the 110v. You can get an inverter genny from Harbor Freight for $400 or they have a cheap 900w non inverter for $100. I hated fishing with batteries. Always seemed like as soon as the shooting got good, the lights started to get dim.

 

[GaryBriggs]

20w isn't going to cut it, you'd be happier with 50w minimum. I also agree that batteries suck and a genny is a better option, I just wouldn't choose a Harbor Freight genny.

 

[BlackBeard]

20w isn't going to cut it, you'd be happier with 50w minimum. I also agree that batteries suck and a genny is a better option, I just wouldn't choose a Harbor Freight genny.

I wouldn't want one either but he said he wanted it cheap and they don't get much cheaper than that.

 

[GaryBriggs]

Sure, but the Champion or Ryobi are also inexpensive and wee reviewed.

 

[ctbreitwieser]

I use custom fitz 30w and theyre brighter than ebay 50w. At $39 a piece theyre hard to beat for a budget light.

 

[augnmike]

Just curious as to why batteries suck. I was getting 7 hours on two group 31's last season on 6 50w LED's and not a bit of dimming. I stopped at 7 hours because of being tired of shooting fish or just plain tired.

 

[GaryBriggs]

Just curious as to why batteries suck. I was getting 7 hours on two group 31's last season on 6 50w LED's and not a bit of dimming. I stopped at 7 hours because of being tired of shooting fish or just plain tired.

They don't suck, you just have a time limit.

I can only assume you also have another battery or 2 to run the trolling motor. So 3 to 4 batteries, what's that about 250lbs or so?

My Yamaha 2000w weighs less than a single battery. The amount of time I can stay on the water is only limited by the amount of gas I bring with me.

If I wanted to camp at the lake for a week I'd never have to leave to charge my batteries.

 

[augnmike]

You are correct starter batt, two 31 troller batts and two 31 light batts. I fish two guys on a ProTeam 175 with raised deck.

 

[bamabowfisher]

Thanks for all the replies. My main question was if 20w leds would cut it and the majority seems to think not. My only reason for wanting to run a 12v system instead of a 110v is simply due to price. I cant find any 12v 50w leds on ebay, they seem to all be 110v. If i decide to run a genny then this wont be a problem but does anyone have a link to 12v 50w leds?

 

[GaryBriggs]

Thanks for all the replies. My main question was if 20w leds would cut it and the majority seems to think not. My only reason for wanting to run a 12v system instead of a 110v is simply due to price. I cant find any 12v 50w leds on ebay, they seem to all be 110v. If i decide to run a genny then this wont be a problem but does anyone have a link to 12v 50w leds?

Boy you ain't lying, 12v stuff is hard to find.
http://amzn.to/2mVYPCo

 

[bamabowfisher]

Boy you ain't lying, 12v stuff is hard to find.
http://amzn.to/2mVYPCo

I appreciate the help.

 

[20prima10]

Boy you ain't lying, 12v stuff is hard to find.
http://amzn.to/2mVYPCo

12v stuff is easy to find, just not in the rite color lol. i used led light bars for a few years but there not the rite color for bowfishing. they worked great in clear water. but sucked in the murk

 

[Magnolia Outdoors Guy]

About 80% of what's out there is over rated in both watts and lumens. High wattage LEDs can really short you because of poor manufacturing processes in some factories. I wouldn't worry so much about what wattage each light is as I would getting the best quality lights for the money in the total wattage desired. Two 20W lights should illuminate as well as a single 40W light so if you can get 2 good 20W lights cheaper than the 40W light, then go for it. It's just a little more installation and wiring work. If no one has said it yet, expect to have to waterproof inexpensive lights or they won't last.

 

[bamabowfisher]

Seems like a whole lot of work for not a lot of light output. Probably better off saving up and doing it right the first time.

 

[Magnolia Outdoors Guy]

12v stuff is easy to find, just not in the rite color lol. i used led light bars for a few years but there not the rite color for bowfishing. they worked great in clear water. but sucked in the murk

A guy that supplies a lot of LED lights to flounder giggers got tired of me whining about 2000K lights so he had his supplier make him up a batch. I was the first guy to put them on my boat. I sent him video of them in use. He and a couple of his dealers made up some wading wands and tried them out. Their customers are excited about the new offering. They expect to sell a pile of them. I have 8-40W chips spaced across my bow and 1-40W chip on each side near the bow for a total of 400W of light. They are thru-hull mounted above the waterline. I may add an additional chip to each side. Keep in mind, these are oriented downward for flounder gigging rather than straight out for bowfishing.

 

[GaryBriggs]

Cool setup dude

 

[bt93]

I run 24-20 watt 12v led on my deck. I can see well enough to shoot anything in my shot range. I run 2-31 group batteries on them wired at 24v and get around 6-7 hours out of them. They were bought on ebay all of them were less than $100 shipped and they are warm white in color.