DIY green LED fishing light for $30

[Brad in MS]

i built this green LED "tube" light this past weekend. i've been wanting one since i seen some guys at pickwick load the boat with crappie a few weeks ago using one of these.

i left it submerged last night to see if it was water tight and did not not have any leaks this morning.



basically its a clear tube that is used to hold flourescent light bulbs cut to around 20", pvc end caps glued on with waterproof cement, CAT 5 stranded cable for the power lead, and a green LED strip bought at the local auto supply store.

now i just need to figure out how to add some weight to it so that it will sink under the surface of the water 12-18" or so.

[brushnjigs]

Do you have enough room to cut the bottom cap off? If so use a coupling with lead or concrete inside then attach the new cap.

[Brad in MS]

Do you have enough room to cut the bottom cap off? If so use a coupling with lead or concrete inside then attach the new cap.

yes, i left the tube long so that i can modify it if i need to. don't know how fragile that tube is. it is pretty thin.

i am going to try to find some heavier clear tube online.

[AZfisherdude]

You could just add a swivel with a nice lead weight to it also. Looks good man. Better add a fuse to the power though so you don't get a surprise one time.

[bdorman]

What are you using to power it? I hear that LED doesn't take a lot of power to make a lot of light.

[Brad in MS]

What are you using to power it? I hear that LED doesn't take a lot of power to make a lot of light.

I'm using a rechargeable 12V battery that was removed from a small computer UPS/surge protector. i bought one of those $8 black battery boxes and added the wiring, fuses, and battery monitor to it. it will only be used to power my fishing light setup. that way i don't have to draining any power from my trolling motor battery.

the 2 LED strips that i used contain a total of 36 green LEDs. if my math is correct, at 12v the circuit should draw about 180 mA.

also another good thing about LEDs is that they don't generate very much heat.

[Brad in MS]

You could just add a swivel with a nice lead weight to it also. Looks good man. Better add a fuse to the power though so you don't get a surprise one time.

absolutely ! the more fuses the better.

[jiggin4]

yes, i left the tube long so that i can modify it if i need to. don't know how fragile that tube is. it is pretty thin.

i am going to try to find some heavier clear tube online.

Looks great! Hands ClappingHands Clapping

I found a site that has several types and sizes of tube Acrylic Tubes, Round, Square, Clear and Colored
"Green tube and those Super Bright White LED's would probably be the schisnick!!!!!!

[Hitek]

Here you go, pick your size. Will be more expensive than the thin stuff you have but will last. This is what I used to build my lights.

McMaster-Carr

[AZfisherdude]

I bought some homemade lights off of someone and they are the best lights I have used. That clear pvc ain't cheap though. I like do it yourself projects though. Always cool to see things people come up with.