Wiring/switch box

T

tgentry

Well-known member
Can anyone tell me where to look or post up the pic of the little waterproof switch box they made for one of their boats. It was like a small pelican box with a clear lid and the connections all inside out of the weather. sweet idea and i thought I had saved a pic of it for my needs. Any help is much appreciated.

Trip.
 
Search for the post "and there was light:sneakbox progress" that's the post you are looking by Dave Diefenderfer. It has the pics of the little box. Hope this helps
 
Trip, this one?

30481_1494723654334_7370016_n.jpg


I might have gone smaller, but I have cannon plugs on the back that feed to the light circuits, and a cannon plug on the side that feeds to the battery.
 
Plastic electrical Junction boxes work really well also, lots of sizes available depending on how many circuits you are running. I also used one on the tiller of my home built motor for the kill switch and starter button.
 
Trip, like a noted, I might have gone a little smaller, but this was cheap from Walmart, and I wanted the 12v outlet in addition to the fused switches. I have not yet used the 12V outlet, but I made a pigtail for the charger and charge the battery through it. I put the appropriate fuse for each circuit.... could not find any breaker style panels that were low enough for the LED lights.
 
Dave, what size battery are you using? Are your nav lights LED also? If so, I would think a motorcycle battery would work.

Trip
 
Trip, I think Dave McCann was who suggested it, but i use a sealed battery. 12v. 10aH. It is around 5x4x7 i would guess? Was less than$20 delivered off eBay, and needs a charge 1x per season. I don't remeber what i calculated but the nav lights and interior lights draw so little, and they are kn for maybe an hour or so per hunt?
 
Dave, did you say you nav lights are LED too? Also,what is the fixture that you have on the right where the wiring comes into the box? Thanks again for yur help. You did a good job on your boat.

Trip
 
Yes, the nav lights are LED, and then I also installed 4 LEDs that I got from Brad (forget his last name, builds the boats in NC). I put the nav lights on one fuse, the interior lights on a 2nd fuse, and the 12V on the 3rd fuse. What is on the right? I think you are refering to the cannon plug/wires that go to the battery.

34198_1502567530426_2071354_n.jpg

 
Verrrrrry cool and well thought out. My little sunfish conversions will have something very similar. I'm not sure I know what cannon plug wires are though.

Trip
 
A cannon plug is typically a waterproof bulkhead electrical fitting. In this case I used 4 prong connectors, the male and female portions screw together with a gasket for a secure, watertight connection.

Can't find the exact one I used quickly, but they are like this:

$(KGrHqYOKpcE19KT(zNzBNwp2-Ee(g~~_12.JPG

Mine were plastic...but one is bulkhead mounted in the box, the other is the plug.
I wanted everything in the box, waterproof and contained. And I wanted all the wiring as clean as possible. All 4 interior LEDs are in series, and a seperate circuit from the NAV lights, so that is 4 leads going through the back connector. On the battery side, I just powered the fuse/switch panel, so I only needed 2 of the 4 leads.
 
Thanks Dave. Trip
Click to expand...


Dave's install is sharp with the box, but don't overlook the way he has it nestled in there out of the spray - that is as important as far as I'm concerned. I see far too many panels for my taste mounted where the spray, which can be substantial in a small boat, is going to run right down their face every trip.

T
 
I plan to mount mine up under the deck like Dave did. I have had switches freeze solid before. Want mine out of harms way. Thanks. Trip.
 
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