Best LED light ropes?

[Bigjim]

I’m upgrading my cabin to LED lights everywhere and wasted to install LED light ropes or strips under the lip of the settees to light up the cabin sole at night. I did a quick search of products and was overwhelmed by the choice and options.

A year ago I bought a strip of white LEDs but I was thinking that it would be better to use a multicolor strip of at least red and white for use at sea to protect night vision.

The strips would be on either side of the cabin separated by more than 5 feet. I may want another set in the fore cabin. The controllers i’ve Seen consolidate all the strips to one power source that operates with a remote. So, my requirements include:

• Two or more strips

• Separately controllable (fore and aft)

• At least two colors (white/red)

• Dimmable

I don’t plan on operating a disco, so I don’t need any strobing or other unusual features. Anyone have knowledge of these products to give some recommendations?

[SVTatia]

Originally Posted by Bigjim

I’m upgrading my cabin to LED lights everywhere and wasted to install LED light ropes or strips under the lip of the settees to light up the cabin sole at night. I did a quick search of products and was overwhelmed by the choice and options.

A year ago I bought a strip of white LEDs but I was thinking that it would be better to use a multicolor strip of at least red and white for use at sea to protect night vision.

The strips would be on either side of the cabin separated by more than 5 feet. I may want another set in the fore cabin. The controllers i’ve Seen consolidate all the strips to one power source that operates with a remote. So, my requirements include:

• Two or more strips

• Separately controllable (fore and aft)

• At least two colors (white/red)

• Dimmable

I don’t plan on operating a disco, so I don’t need any strobing or other unusual features. Anyone have knowledge of these products to give some recommendations?

I'm watching with interest, as I have bought one reel and have the same plan. I find the controllers and dimmers to be very flimsy, not sure how long they would last in a boat.
One more item I would suggest is the casing. I did not get one and I am now looking for something to encase the strip in, to save it from the moist air. Also, I don't want to rely on the adhesive to attach the strip, with the casing, you can screw it down - sample below.

https://www.alibaba.com/product-deta...241b28ffshRcvQ

[svspirited]

Watching as well, all lights are LED except for the courtesy lights along the floor. Nearly all brands I have looked at seem flimsy at best and none appear weather resistant, something else I want for some nice lighting in the cockpit.

[Navicula]

try using a glue gun to stick it .....no holes....no screws

[deltaten]

Couple years back, I picked up some post-holiday, on sale exterior LED rope lites for $10/string. 12v w/a wall wart, flat (3/8x3/16") clear vinyl cover, 200 warm while per 15' string. The only glue that would stick to the cover was 4200. Run up under the turn of the cabin top
p/side deck turn, provides a warm glow to the salon as background lighting . Should work well for your purposes. I have seen them in multi color; but not sure if solid selectable color available.
HTH with decision

[bcboomer]

We've had a number of strips in various places around the boat for 6 years.
I got them at Lee Valley and they are available in various intensities of white plus coloured strips for the disco nights. The coloured strips can be dimmed right down in pretty much any colour you like. They also have a variety of switches and dimmers.
If you mount them in their aluminium track with a cover they should be ok in the cockpit.
The only problem I've had is with the pinch shut connectors. i recommend soldering the connections.

[SVTatia]

Originally Posted by bcboomer

...
If you mount them in their aluminium track with a cover they should be ok in the cockpit....

Where do I get those tracks and cover? My "rope" came in a spool.

[ahumbug1]

I bought the Type S multicolored strip lights. Easy to install and you can run 4 zones. They are sold at Auto Zone and at the Walmart automotive department. They are made for outdoor installation on cars. Easy sync to a free app. Will see how they hold up.

[jmschmidt]

The subject of red light and night vision recently came up on this forum. I commented that it was proven over forty years ago that red light has no effect on preserving night vision. The aviation industry, both airline and military, started doing away with red cockpit lighting in the mid-1970's. In all the airplanes I flew from 1985 on (MD-80, DC-10, B-767) we used subdued white cockpit and instrument lighting during night takeoffs, landings and climbing to altitude, and switched to full bright fluorescents at altitude in cruise. The last red lights I saw were in the only Boeing 707's.

[n5ama]

I wouldn’t be very concerned about moist air exposure other than mounting. The electronics on most of the ones I’ve seen are soldered. As bc mentioned, the connection point between the strips and the dc power connections should be soldered.

Be careful how you solder these because the connection points are somewhat fragile and if you use too much heat you will possible lift the foil connection from the strips tape.

[Mplight]

We used a company located in Nevada, called Ecolocity- they have a wide variety of 12 & 24 v systems- drivers as well if powering off 120v system.
They have IP66, multiple CCT and colors-
Excellent quality- we replaced all the old T5 Fluorescent strips with 2700k, On our 1982 Bristol 38.8 looks incredible, dimmable too.

[bcboomer]

Originally Posted by SVTatia

Where do I get those tracks and cover? My "rope" came in a spool.

The tracks are for the self sticking tape strips. They are too small for any ropes I've seen. I bought mine from Amazon but Lee Valley carries them now.

[sailcrazy]

Our under-cabinet LED lights are held in place with a small electric wire clamp-the kind that look like a circle and use 1 small screw to hold it in place......so I can easily remove it if/when I need to. In our cockpit I slipped the rope light into a length of clear thin tubing to help protect it from the wx. It's held in place to the bimini support with zip-ties, and had been in operation now for 4 years-all in the Caribb. We just bought from EBay, from China, and seems to work very well.

[Ivanvet]

Hi,
I installed these lights 2 years ago and they are still working well. I've started to see a few LEDs that are dimmer than the other ones, but overall they are as bright as before. They come with a 3M tape and I didn't want to screw anything because I didn't know how durable the strips were going to be.
Everything connects to Alexa, and since I've installed them, we rarely use the 'normal' lights anymore.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

These are the controllers
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I also got these motion sensor LEDs lights for the fridge and the cabinets in the galley. Great addition. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Good luck,

I.