12V LEDs for mill?

Groundhog

Groundhog

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I put three 120V florescent "under-counter" kitchen lights in my CNC mill enclosure when I built it 5 years ago. They have plastic covers and the bodys are plastic. I think they are water resistant - not waterproof. The coolant (I guess) attacked the plastic of the covers first and is now disintegrating the bodys. One light has the ballast and wiring completely exposed (they do not run a ground wire either).

In short - I need to replace the lighting ASAP!!

From what I can find waterproof 120V AC LED light bars are pretty expensive. From $120 to over $1,000 each. So . . .

Has anyone tried 12V DC off-road light bars similar to these;
(click to enlarge)
light bar.JPG

A compatible 12V power supply would bring the total package to somewhere near $100. Much easier to take that $400 or so for the three 120V equivalent lights if they will work.

Anyone know of a reason not to use them?
 
Well the coolant will go after this plastic too. But you got five years, probably good enough

I have one 120 volt florescent reading light aimed right at the table about five feet above it on the left side of my manual mill. It has lastest many years here, too high up for coolant splash.

On my CNC mill, needed one much closer,in the splash. So, I went with 150 watt rough service bulb in a drop light cover. This bulb has burned out at least 3 times in the 20 years its been there.
 
You could try making your own enclosure and purchasing COB (Chip On Board) LEDs which use 120V. A recent thread to talked about these, also called driverless LED's since they do not require external voltage conversion.

A search on EBay for example will have a number of different sizes of these lights.

LED lights thread
 
I have not used them in a cnc. But most are Aluminum with Lexan lenses. and water proof. So don't see why not. 12v wall wart should work just fine.
 
I'm not complaining about getting 5 years out or the florescent lights. I think they were pretty cheap, so I'm not too worried about the LED lights lasting (they are in an aluminum housing anyway - don't know what the lens is). Just thought I'd change to LED while I am at it.
If I am going to all the trouble of making lights I will just make new housings for the florescent light bars I have. They work plenty good and I have extra tubes. They are just falling apart!

Just wanted to know if anyone has tried the 12V off road lights.
 
I have been using these.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-Super-B...ash=item43ca9831e2:g:SK8AAOSwu4BVvxIG&vxp=mtr

They say waterproof.
So far I have them on the lathe and in my blast cabinets and they have worked perfect since day one.
Been using them about a year now.
They stick them to the front of a car bumper and use them for driving lights.
In my blast cabinets they just stick to the roof. On the lathe I made aluminum pieces to stick them to, One attached where my original halogen that came with the lathe was.
A walwart and switch and your done.
 
Halogen is a better choice for a blast cabinet, as the heat helps keep the media dry.
 
I have two of these HF halogen lights mounted on my CNC enclosure. They give off plenty of light and they're cheap; about $14 each before using the 20% off coupon.

image_27173.jpg
 
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!
 
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