12V LEDs for mill?

Lots of good information here (too much actually - my brain hurts).

But back to my original question; Has anyone tried 12V DC off-road light bars?

Just a yes or no. If anyone has tried them I will have a few more questions.
Thank you
 
Groundhog said:
kd... Might work for a blast cabinet but I'm working on a CNC mill enclosure.

TomS, I have one of those halogen lights I use where needed but the under-cabinet lights I am currently using fit just perfect over the doors and are small enough (about 1 1/2" in diameter for entire light housing x 24" long) not to get in the way. Besides, I'd be burning myself all the time with halogen anywhere in a 10' radius!

I'll take a picture later today. Not wanting to go out in the -13F wind chill to get to the shop!
Click to expand...

My lights are mounted to the top of the enclosure on each end. No chance of me getting burned unless I get a ladder. I understand you wanting to use LED's. Just offering up an alternative. Good luck with your lighting project.
 
I have those lights that you have posted to light up the back of my boat on early morning runs. They are made from aluminum, and are sealed. They give off an incredible amount of light for the size.. I added a couple Kant twist clamps by making an adapter to go around the canvas pipe framing. You can run these from 110 by getting one of those Radio Shack 110-12v adapters that are always on ebay for cheap.
 
Tom, the lights need to be inside my mill enclosure and the top isn't too high. I doubt that I would get burned (although I'm a clutz . . .) but they would be close enough that the heat would probably bother me.

4ssss, That is the way I am looking to go right now. That could change in a hurry though.
I need to use the mill soon and one of the florescent light bodies has actually broken completely away so that all of the 110V electronics are exposed (a printed circuit board that runs the length of the light with all sorts of little smoke containers on it). I'm not too comfortable using it like that. I can do some temporary things but would rather just fix it right and be done with it.
Walmart has several of the off-road type in stock. I just need to find a transformer (locally) tomorrow. No Radio Shack here anymore so I'll have to try electric suppliers. I bet they will be expensive though.
It just reached +1 degree F (10:30 am) so I'm not going out to the shop today. Tomorrow. Maybe.
 
I purchased THESE and mounted on the ROPS of my Kubota tractor. Stinkin' amazing at how much light they give off. Sealed unit made out of aluminum. You could use something as simple as THIS for a power source. Heck, if you have a small wall charger it might have enough power. 2 amps according to my rough calc is what you would need.
I wouldn't waste my time with florescent any more.
 
4ssss & 7milesup
Those look like the lights they have in stock at Wallyworld (at least according to their web site). My calcs. show I need .75 amps for the single row 6" bar and 1.5 amps for the dual row 9" bar. I just dove into a box of old computer junk and found a couple 1 amp and one 1.5 amp little black box transformers. Guess I ought to get my lazy a** moving and go shopping. After all, is has warmed up to 8 above!
(I spent over 30 years working ski areas. You'd think the cold wouldn't bother me. Kansas cold is bitter cold, mountain cold is fun cold I guess!!)

I'll post results and a pic or two whenever I get them working.
 
I found a 14 amp transformer at the local computer geek's shop (old XBox power supply - $5) so I tried the lights from Wallyworld.
They do not work as we hoped. They are spot lights and at this close range (compared to a vehicle's use) are entirely too focused. There is a very bright dot about 6" in diameter and no light anywhere else.

I found a pair of square flood lights at Napa I thought about, but they are $80 for the pair and can not be returned (no return on electrical parts).

So I bought two 24" single row LED strip lights (like ceiling florescent replacements) for $35 at Lowes. They are 120V which I was hoping to avoid but are metal housings, bright white and 900 lumens each. I hope that is bright enough. If not I can add them to a dark corner of the shop. I haven't tried them yet.
 
I have used rectangular sealed LED garden lights in the past on my mill, with about 12" between the table and the flood light. Nice because they are sealed aluminum housings with glass face. Newer ones are even slimmer and the flood lights are 120 degrees. You can find them in 12V versions and 120VAC with a plug. I just modified the brackets. The 50W light has an output of 3500 lumen, might need some sunglasses. I prefered the cooler color temp. LEDs, the warm white is usually too yellow. Just another option if you need more light.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/10W-20W-30...d-light-Waterproof-Outdoor-Lamp-/272147776124
LED-Flood-light-Waterproof-Outdoor-Lamp.jpg
Mill LED lights.jpg
 
Many plastics suppliers sell clear acrylic tube in a variety of sizes, could you us your old working LED lamp guts in new acrylic enclosures?
 
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