What all-weather/low maint interior lights?

[PriceTR24speed]

Thanks @thill, I appreciate that.
Boat is nothing fancy—I have a “fancy” much bigger boat, this is just a 16’ “rowboat” I use for fishing, camping and hunting out of. Purpose is specifically to be all-weather, mud-proof, deer blood proof, capable of being dragged up on beaches, over beaver dams, etc. l’m using it a lot for pre-dawn or after dark access to/from hunting, which is the main reason for the lights, to aid in getting loaded up and off in the dark.

Im thinking I might be able to mount lights under the seats facing the floor, they are filled with flotation foam but I have access to about a 1” flange of aluminum folded up horizontally along each bottom edge of the seat that holds the foam block in place. Those flat side marker lights should fit onto that flange without protruding where they'd get caught on something, and I imagine I'd get enough light reflected off the floor to suit me (?). Thoughts?

Q--you linked the TMH brand lights. I also see the Nilight brand that looks similar. Have you used those and are they of more or less equal quality? Link to nilight version of side marker lights

View attachment 113916View attachment 113917

I was looking at the marker lights too and was trying to decipher which brand to get. The reviews are all about the same with majority good but all had a good number of 1 star all for the same reasons. I have about decided there are some things on Amazon with multiple brands but they are all made and sold by the same company. On these lights. They are all the same, have the exact same shipping time options, and almost identical descriptions, with the same bad English translation. At the very least I would bet every one of the round 3/4” marker lights come out of the exact same factory in China. Once a listing gets too many bad reviews just start a new one with a different alphabet soup name??…

 

[thill]

That is exactly what I was referring to in an earlier post. Mount them bottom center, and they will work well. In fact, they make enough light that you could surface mount them in the bottom corner on the right or left side, facing forward, and you would still have more than enough light.

I just sold a 12' boat like that yesterday:


I like Nilight brand a lot, more than many other brands. Post a link to the lights you are talking about. The thing you want is a SOLID light, not something hollow that will break.

I think that many brands use the same lights and put their names on them. One thing that matters to me is that the wire pigtails are TINNED wire, not bare copper or worse, copper clad aluminum (JUNK!) So, if I order lights and strip back the ends and see copper, I'm using my Prime membership for a free return and will order a different brand. I ONLY use tinned wire in marine application.

Nilight has been a very good brand for me. I use their stuff on my personal boats, pontoons, ATV's and tractors. Good quality control.

Post the link, if you have it.

 

[thill]

I was looking at the marker lights too and was trying to decipher which brand to get. The reviews are all about the same with majority good but all had a good number of 1 star all for the same reasons. I have about decided there are some things on Amazon with multiple brands but they are all made and sold by the same company. On these lights. They are all the same, have the exact same shipping time options, and almost identical descriptions, with the same bad English translation. At the very least I would bet every one of the round 3/4” marker lights come out of the exact same factory in China. Once a listing gets too many bad reviews just start a new one with a different alphabet soup name??…

I think you are right. The only difference I see in most of them is the material the pigtails are made of.

For what it's worth, out of maybe 100 of the round insert lights I've installed, exactly two of them have failed/gone dim. Easy to swap out, obviously. But zero of the flat plastic ones has ever failed

It's a crap shoot on Amazon, but the shipping is so fast, prices are good, and returns are free, so worth taking a shot at.

Just make sure to leave a little slack in your wires so that if you ever have to replace one, it won't be a pain to do.

 

[Macintosh]

I like Nilight brand a lot, more than many other brands. Post a link to the lights you are talking about. The thing you want is a SOLID light, not something hollow that will break.

I think that many brands use the same lights and put their names on them. One thing that matters to me is that the wire pigtails are TINNED wire, not bare copper or worse, copper clad aluminum (JUNK!) So, if I order lights and strip back the ends and see copper, I'm using my Prime membership for a free return and will order a different brand. I ONLY use tinned wire in marine application.

Nilight has been a very good brand for me. I use their stuff on my personal boats, pontoons, ATV's and tractors. Good quality control.

Post the link, if you have it.

Link is here: Link to nilight side marker lights
Not expensive, but still less than half the price and I dont need anywhere close to 20 lights, which is what the other pack came in.

Incidentally, this was the first link to those lights you posted--one of the answered questions says these use aluminum wires. I'm not in salt at all, and its an aluminum boat, so not sure if that matters, but given the emphasis thought I would mention.

 

[PriceTR24speed]

Thank you all for the info

 

[thill]

It's possible that they changed the wire, but I think the guy who answered saw tinned wire and thought it was aluminum because it was silver.
I'm not married to any one brand. I've returned ones with bad wire, thanks to Prime. My guess is that Nilight will have good wire.

I'm low on lights, I think I'll order a 20 pack and see what kind of wire they currently have. I'll let you know in a few days.

 

[TheGrandestPoobah]

It's possible that they changed the wire, but I think the guy who answered saw tinned wire and thought it was aluminum because it was silver.
I'm not married to any one brand. I've returned ones with bad wire, thanks to Prime. My guess is that Nilight will have good wire.

I'm low on lights, I think I'll order a 20 pack and see what kind of wire they currently have. I'll let you know in a few days.

I read through the details on the nilight round marker style lights and thought I saw "tinned" somewhere. I was planning on grabbing a few in different colors for my build based off your recommendation. I like the small round marker style as well, small, tough, and easy to find a spot for them.

 

[thill]

My 3/4" step drill bit gets a lot of use because of those round lights, ha ha.

 

[thill]

I just received a 20-pack of the lights I linked above, and they DO have tinned copper wire leads. After the comment above, I was wondering, but when I cut the wire and looked at it carefully, it's copper inside.

But the lights themselves have changed a little. Still, a good deal for less than $1 each, and they are nice and bright.

 

[Macintosh]

@thill , I have some of these nilight lights I am planning to put up under the bench seats on the boat I pictured above. I was going to try using the tape you suggested, but am questioning that now. How have you have best luck securing them with the tape? The lights have the wires protruding from the flat bottom-surface of the light, which prevents them from laying flat. They come with a foam adhesive strip that appears to be designed so the bolts dont crack the plastic, and maybe also to help them lay flat, but I question if the 3m tape will stick to the foam strip? Do you use the included foam strip, or do you substitute the 3m tape to accomplish the same? The 3m tape I have doesnt appear thick enough for these to lay flat since I am not drilling a wiring hole onto the surface these will stick to. Any tips for dealing with mounting these without a wiring hole?