So while I have no work because of Covid-19, now is a great time to catch up on some projects.
This week, I installed LED ribbon in the cargo area of my Ford E350 cargo van. I hate to admit it, but I've had the van for years without good lighting in the cargo area. Often, when working at night, I would stick a 12" Q-Lion light in the van. This works great, but it is not something I want to leave in the van all the time.
The LED ribbon replaces a couple of these poorly designed lights:
Most of the time, the lights didn't work. Worse, the switches are on the lights. I couldn't reach them if the cargo area was full.
Here is the new ribbon installed in the van:
It works great and looks great. The light bouncing off the white roof gives a very soft, even light throughout the back of the van. I'm a gaffer, so it is important to have my gear look professional. These lights look professional.
These lights will be great next time I have to work at night. Something we do all the time in this business.
I used 12 volt ribbon. It was simple to power it directly with the van's electric.
(I had to order the 12 volt LED ribbon especially for my van. I have a LED ribbon kit I use all the time at work, but it is all 24 volt. There are advantages to the 24 volt. For working with car power, I have voltage converters that convert 12 volt to 24 volt power.
I am not knowledgeable about DC power. I believe my 12-to-24 volt converters are simply transformers, but I'm am not 100% sure.)
I installed a recessed switch, just inside the back door, so it will be easy to turn-on anytime.
I carefully kept wiring and the LED ribbon recessed to make it unlikely that cargo can damage the lights:
I just need a shoot to go on now. Hopefully, soon.
PS: Texting with a friend about work:
This week, I installed LED ribbon in the cargo area of my Ford E350 cargo van. I hate to admit it, but I've had the van for years without good lighting in the cargo area. Often, when working at night, I would stick a 12" Q-Lion light in the van. This works great, but it is not something I want to leave in the van all the time.
The LED ribbon replaces a couple of these poorly designed lights:
 |
| I have nothing good to say about this type of light; they are dim, and unreliable. |
Most of the time, the lights didn't work. Worse, the switches are on the lights. I couldn't reach them if the cargo area was full.
Here is the new ribbon installed in the van:
It works great and looks great. The light bouncing off the white roof gives a very soft, even light throughout the back of the van. I'm a gaffer, so it is important to have my gear look professional. These lights look professional.
These lights will be great next time I have to work at night. Something we do all the time in this business.
I used 12 volt ribbon. It was simple to power it directly with the van's electric.
(I had to order the 12 volt LED ribbon especially for my van. I have a LED ribbon kit I use all the time at work, but it is all 24 volt. There are advantages to the 24 volt. For working with car power, I have voltage converters that convert 12 volt to 24 volt power.
I am not knowledgeable about DC power. I believe my 12-to-24 volt converters are simply transformers, but I'm am not 100% sure.)
I installed a recessed switch, just inside the back door, so it will be easy to turn-on anytime.
 |
| Lighted, recessed switch for the LED lights |
I carefully kept wiring and the LED ribbon recessed to make it unlikely that cargo can damage the lights:
I just need a shoot to go on now. Hopefully, soon.
PS: Texting with a friend about work:
