rope lights

[BuddahB]

Put two strings of these in the boat last year. One down each side connected to the existing wiring which was attached to the under gunnel courtesy lights. The lights work fine, but after about ten minutes they go off and I must reset the breaker. I just checked now on E Bay where I buought them and it doesn't say they are LED, although they sure look like it. They draw 50.4 watts per string and I have on string down each side off of the Courtest Light circuit on the panel. Do you think the breaker is too small? If so, can I easily put a larger breaker in there and what is probably in there now, a 15? Pictures below. Thanks in advance...

 

[passingwindII]

dale is most likely to have a more scientific answer. But, if it were me i'd. 1- disconnect one string and see if it still trips the breaker. If it does trip you can just change breakers IF your wire can handle it.(bigger breaker bigger wire). If it doesnt trip you can add another circuit so you would have two individual circuits OR you can just rewire for both using one circuit with bigger breaker bigger wire

 

[Megabyte]

If they draw 50 watts per string, they aren't LED's.

 

[Porkchunker]

Been a while since I did a V=I/R calculation (if that equation is correct), but given the watts and the voltage (12.4 +/-), you should be able to calculate the amps each string draws.

Dave

aka

 

[BuddahB]

Yeah, it says printed in red on the bag in the picture on the top right 50.4 watts per string. So I guess it's safe to say it's the equivelent of running a 100 watt light bulb off of that 10 amp breaker considering the 2 strings, one starboard and one port correct? It's obvious I know little about electricity but is that too much for that breaker?

 

[dcunniff]

I may have missed it, but 10 amp breaker is right on the edge.

If this is a continual issue, then run each side on its own breaker, or upsize to a 15 amp, and check if you have large enough wires to it.

Small wires have higher voltage drop and then the lamp assemblies pull more amps. Smaller wires heat up more too and add to the voltage drop.

Dana

 

[boondoggle]

http://www.platinumlightinginc.com/Rope/12vindx/12vindx.html

Platinum Lighting

I bought the two 12V red LED light ropes from these folks three years ago to install in my duck boat. I've had no problems to date.

 

[UnWired]

Aww, my specialty. (however it's a very simple calc)

P (power in watts) = I (Current) x E (Voltage) -or-
I = P/E

if your voltage is 12.5 nominal, and your power is 50 watts, you can simply divide the power by the voltage to find your ID.

50.4/12.5 = 4.03 amps x 2 = 8.06 total current consumption.

So, if the voltage fluxuates, you will have slightly different numbers, that will slightly deviate, but if it's 10 amp breaker, you might want to go slightly larger in size, maybe a 15.
If the lights flex a little, could be a possible short inside of the cable when it moves. If you are blowing a 15 amp or larger breaker, check the wiring and make sure nothing is shorting out when the boat moves.
The lights inside are "Grain-o-wheat" lamps and are small, but definitely not LEDs as mentioned before. Cool idea though! I have 1/2 billion white LEDs around our shop, I might just build a custom setup for the lighting with dimmer control before the boat is taken out of storage. Some of the pictures I've seen are impressive!

One thing I don't get is it says they will operate from 12VDC, or 12VAC. If they are meant to operate off of a separate transformer for 12 VAC, the power consumption can be quite different. This means that the bulb is rated at a higher overall voltage and the entire calc will change. Do these come with some other transformer or am I missing something? Look at the package where it says it has to use a UL rated outdoor transformer... which leads me to believe that it's a 12VAC rope light.

 

[MaxOut]

Aww, my specialty. (however it's a very simple calc)

P (power in watts) = I (Current) x E (Voltage) -or-
I = P/E

if your voltage is 12.5 nominal, and your power is 50 watts, you can simply divide the power by the voltage to find your ID.

50.4/12.5 = 4.03 amps x 2 = 8.06 total current consumption.

So, if the voltage fluxuates, you will have slightly different numbers, that will slightly deviate, but if it's 10 amp breaker, you might want to go slightly larger in size, maybe a 15.
If the lights flex a little, could be a possible short inside of the cable when it moves. If you are blowing a 15 amp or larger breaker, check the wiring and make sure nothing is shorting out when the boat moves.
The lights inside are "Grain-o-wheat" lamps and are small, but definitely not LEDs as mentioned before. Cool idea though! I have 1/2 billion white LEDs around our shop, I might just build a custom setup for the lighting with dimmer control before the boat is taken out of storage. Some of the pictures I've seen are impressive!

One thing I don't get is it says they will operate from 12VDC, or 12VAC. If they are meant to operate off of a separate transformer for 12 VAC, the power consumption can be quite different. This means that the bulb is rated at a higher overall voltage and the entire calc will change. Do these come with some other transformer or am I missing something? Look at the package where it says it has to use a UL rated outdoor transformer... which leads me to believe that it's a 12VAC rope light.

If you are still using the courtesy lights in conjunction with the two rope lights that will put you over the 10 amp limit @ 12.5 VDC

 

[BuddahB]

Well these 30 foot strings I used are run one down each side, snaked up and around under the gunnel in the front so I also illuminates the anchor locker and I snuck under the stern fish box which illuminates the rear bilge where the pumps and batteries are located. The whole thing looks pretty good at night, just enough light to move around safely. If I can just get them to stay on past ten minutes I'll be OK. In the spring I'll bump that breaker up to 15 and see what happens after I check all the connections. I did not use these in addition to the other courtesy lights, I disconnected them and just ran off the circuits on each side... Thanks everyone for your input...