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Rakkasan187
04-09-2015, 01:13 PM
Just picked up a pair of Abyss mini starfish lights. I am really hoping these things are bright and light up the water. Ill be sure to post pictures when I get them them installed. Does anyone on here have Abyss lights on there boat?

KG's Supra24
04-09-2015, 01:44 PM
I'm sure you will be happy. From what I've read, Abyss is the real deal.

Rakkasan187
04-09-2015, 02:22 PM
I did a lot of research on underwater LEDs. I really wanted to get the Rigid wake flame, but couldn't get my self to spend $1,200 on a pair of lights. I figured that money could go toward other things.

drb59
04-09-2015, 09:23 PM
Has anyone tried these drain plugs?http://i1380.photobucket.com/albums/ah196/drb59photobucket/Drain%20plug%20light_zps1keg6wk5.jpg (http://s1380.photobucket.com/user/drb59photobucket/media/Drain%20plug%20light_zps1keg6wk5.jpg.html)

Beejwest
04-09-2015, 11:56 PM
I've been dying to get one or two underwater lights for a couple years now. Where have you guys mounted yours? There is room and easy acces right between the exhaust, but it looks like if you move outboard getting wires up and throught would be difficult.

bergermaister
04-10-2015, 12:59 AM
There was some buzz around the drain plug lights a while back but it seemed to "fade out" pretty quickly. I'm guessing that means they were no Bueno.

$1200 for underwater leds is absurd unless you have a mini yacht.

Either side or centered between exhaust is most common.

You could get creative though using less common suppliers. These are on the back edge of my fixed wake plate so right at water lever or below. Under $80. Murky River water.

http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k414/grberglund/MoombaMobiusV/20140817_050843077_iOS.jpg

http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k414/grberglund/MoombaMobiusV/20140729_041815121_iOS.jpg

Should ask, what color are you planning to go with?

parrothd
04-10-2015, 11:26 AM
I've used these, $17 each... :)

http://www.oznium.com/marine-led-light

trayson
04-10-2015, 12:31 PM
On my last boat, I made my own.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ZhZnn4z3zdA/U34aE_UCChI/AAAAAAAAQO0/MLLPOukXJV0/s800/20140521_221136.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-sihA_dnV5TI/U4FHQvuJUSI/AAAAAAAAQSA/TXPofTsYWcU/s800/image-4.jpeg

bergermaister
04-10-2015, 12:47 PM
I've used these, $17 each... :)

http://www.oznium.com/marine-led-light

Spots or floods? I started with 2 floods and they just weren't enough. Had to add something else to it.

Rakkasan187
04-10-2015, 12:56 PM
I went with blue.

Beejwest
04-10-2015, 01:02 PM
Berger!!! $80??? What are those?

boater4life
04-10-2015, 02:06 PM
I got this one from Wholesale Marine but as you can see it doesn't fit right now. Still working on a way to get this one to work. Its advertised as 1800 lumens.

21802

trayson
04-10-2015, 02:26 PM
I got this one from Wholesale Marine but as you can see it doesn't fit right now. Still working on a way to get this one to work. Its advertised as 1800 lumens.

21802

You just need an NPT bushing to adapt the thread of the light/plug to the thread of your drain plug hole.

I'm guessing the thread is 1/2 npt and 3/4 npt respectively?? 5 minutes and under $5 at your local plumbing store.

http://thumbs2.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/mZpBRQqKMxU3cHazoMDXb8Q.jpg

parrothd
04-10-2015, 02:27 PM
It was probably the spot lights, I used them in the seating areas as flashers..

Probably depends on the water clarity, my lake was clear so 3-5 spots worked well.

They're cheap enough that you could add more if needed..

boater4life
04-10-2015, 02:51 PM
You just need an NPT bushing to adapt the thread of the light/plug to the thread of your drain plug hole.

I'm guessing the thread is 1/2 npt and 3/4 npt respectively?? 5 minutes and under $5 at your local plumbing store.

http://thumbs2.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/mZpBRQqKMxU3cHazoMDXb8Q.jpg

Actually my problem is the outer diameter of the light. It hits the hinge on the wake plate which does not allow me to screw the light in straight. I have my eye on a 90° coupling from McMaster that might work. The wake plate is in the lowest position right now also, which doesn't help the situation.

viking
04-10-2015, 11:37 PM
I've used these, $17 each... :)

http://www.oznium.com/marine-led-light

ya but wouldn't your transom look like a 17 year old kid with acne to get it bright enough?

parrothd
04-10-2015, 11:44 PM
A kid with $1600 extra... That's a lot of beer and gas..:p

parrothd
04-10-2015, 11:51 PM
I think I spent $200 for this setup..


https://youtu.be/MX1OPtZ1dew

bergermaister
04-12-2015, 12:07 PM
Berger!!! $80??? What are those?

When driving behind my buddy's boat at night with his transom lights on it was totally blinding so I wanted something that would be as low as possible.

Started with two of Parrot's floods but they didn't do a whole lot. Stumbled across some Chip-On-Board led bars advertised at 800-1000 lumens each for about the same price or less. However these are designed to be mounted to a heat sink because these suckers get hot fast! Like on for 10 seconds and you touch one be prepared for a burn. I figured since they are submerged almost 100% of the time or right on the water surface I could get away with it. I sealed the edges and connections with clear silicone although that may not have been necessary. So far so good.


http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k414/grberglund/MoombaMobiusV/7B53054D-BB9A-445B-9767-3A82F6AA583F.jpg

(wish they were black instead of white base)

http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k414/grberglund/MoombaMobiusV/54B7BA73-5411-4022-B7F7-233421410705.jpg

I may ditch the little Oznium pucks or relocate to the bottom of the swim platform shining down and then space these out to add a 3rd middle strip but was debating if it would be worth it since an FAE would essentially block the output of the middle one.

You can see where I snuck the wiring through one of the drain hole screw plugs - no holes drilled in the transom or anywhere.

parrothd
04-12-2015, 12:43 PM
Yeah, 2 oznium lights isn't going to cut it, at least 4-6..

MLA
04-12-2015, 01:29 PM
Who would want to put that many holes in the transom?

viking
04-12-2015, 01:32 PM
Who would want to put that many holes in the transom?

Unless it's for a ballast system :)

parrothd
04-12-2015, 01:34 PM
Or surf system. Lol

MLA
04-12-2015, 02:33 PM
Unless it's for a ballast system :)

amen to that ;)

Beejwest
04-13-2015, 06:07 PM
Berger, were those waterproof to begin with?

bergermaister
04-13-2015, 07:52 PM
They were not advertised as waterproof but they are encased in some sort of silicon covering and mounted to an aluminum strip. The contacts were exposed but once I finished soldering on leads I used some liquid tape to "seal" them. Also ran some clear silicon around the perimeter edge but I don't think that was necessary.

http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k414/grberglund/MoombaMobiusV/IMG_8655.jpg

http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k414/grberglund/MoombaMobiusV/IMG_8656.jpg

Beejwest
04-13-2015, 08:59 PM
I'm trying to come up with a plan to spend money here and potentially wind up with a new hole in the transom, but basically the easiest way possible. Hear me out here, earlier in the thread the drain hole plug didn't fit due to the wake plate, unfortunately. That is by far the easiest and cheapest way to get a really bright light back there below the water line.

I'm looking at a set up from http://www.boatpluglight.com. Specifically the "y knot". This thing is bright! They have some youtube videos if you search them. Three chips for ~$250. Now, here is the part I'm not sure I want to suggest on here. I drill a hole several inches above the existing drain plug. I install one of these: http://www.westmarine.com/buy/perko--garboard-drain-plugs--P006_181_003_503 then I install the boat plug light.

I then use the existing drain plug for it's drain purpose, and then basically permanently leave the boat plug light in the "new" drain plug hole. For ~$300 including sealant and hardware, and a few hours, you have a super bright underwater system set up.

Basically I don't care what you think, I'm going to do it anyways. hahahah just kidding. Unless when I get home from work and climb under there, I don't think the lights would be underwater, or would be able to fit. Then I'll do something else. Or if someone can find a system that is just as bright. Hell, maybe I'm getting too convoluted anyways...

MLA
04-13-2015, 09:25 PM
Anybody else grow up plying a card game called "Water Works" That hit me looking at those lights.

Lumens are so hard to compare. Do you know what their amp draw is?

trayson
04-14-2015, 11:35 AM
I'm trying to come up with a plan to spend money here and potentially wind up with a new hole in the transom, but basically the easiest way possible. Hear me out here, earlier in the thread the drain hole plug didn't fit due to the wake plate, unfortunately. That is by far the easiest and cheapest way to get a really bright light back there below the water line.

I'm looking at a set up from http://www.boatpluglight.com. Specifically the "y knot". This thing is bright! They have some youtube videos if you search them. Three chips for ~$250. Now, here is the part I'm not sure I want to suggest on here. I drill a hole several inches above the existing drain plug. I install one of these: http://www.westmarine.com/buy/perko--garboard-drain-plugs--P006_181_003_503 then I install the boat plug light.

I then use the existing drain plug for it's drain purpose, and then basically permanently leave the boat plug light in the "new" drain plug hole. For ~$300 including sealant and hardware, and a few hours, you have a super bright underwater system set up.

Basically I don't care what you think, I'm going to do it anyways. hahahah just kidding. Unless when I get home from work and climb under there, I don't think the lights would be underwater, or would be able to fit. Then I'll do something else. Or if someone can find a system that is just as bright. Hell, maybe I'm getting too convoluted anyways...

Seems like a lot of money. I paid $30 for three of the 3watt CREE chips in my LED drain plug light. haven't tried installing it yet since I've had a lot of other projects going on and haven't done the wiring for LED's yet...
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTAwMFgxNTAw/z/ls8AAOxyNo9SyqEn/$_57.JPG

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTAwMFgxNTAw/z/xU0AAMXQlgtSyqEq/$_57.JPG

Beejwest
04-14-2015, 02:36 PM
The online reviews from that one aren't real spectacular. Most people are saying they aren't very bright and don't last very long. I'm not sure what the amperage is on the others, I'll see if I can find it.

trayson
04-14-2015, 03:05 PM
The online reviews from that one aren't real spectacular. Most people are saying they aren't very bright and don't last very long. I'm not sure what the amperage is on the others, I'll see if I can find it.

Well, for $30, it certainly wasn't a huge risk. For me, the drain plug LED is going to be a supplement for other LED's.

On my last boat, the ones I made were boards that had 30 of the SMD5050's on each board. They consumed ~4.5 watts each and I had 6 of them total. They did very well.

I think that the watts are going to be a LOT easier figure to find than amp draw on these (and you could obviously back into amp draw if you had watts and volts anyway.)

The LED drain plug that I posted uses three 3watt chips, so that's a 9 watt item. SO it'll be interesting for me to compare it to two of my 4.5 watt lights and see how they measure up.

I had SIX of my 4.5 watt lights on my last boat. the drain plug light in theory would be equivalent to two of my lights. so yeah, I would be underwhelmed with ONLY 9 watts as my only light output. But for $30, people have been quite happy with the output for the money.

I have some ideas in the works to do another iteration of a DIY light like I did before. Once it's complete, I'll of course share. But it's going to be a while as I have a lot of other priorities right now.

Beejwest
04-14-2015, 03:10 PM
Yeah, please do! I love when you do stuff first lol!! I looked at the lights again and their website is saying some of their models are 60 watt, and I believe the 3 light y-knot has 80 watt lights x 3 installed. I would think that would be crazy bright. Without cutting another hole though, I cannot think of a way to make that one work with the wake plate. Especially if it were pointed up at all.

bergermaister
04-18-2015, 11:57 PM
If the wake plate is up all the way is it going to block the output of the transom lights mounted next to the exhaust? Dunno since I don't have a wake plate to play with.

I'm still waiting to see someone mount underwater LEDs on the blade of the flow so they shine back and light up the wave during a night surf.