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Post by imahic on Apr 9, 2010 13:21:36 GMT -6
I guess the lower wattage would draw less current wouldn't it? Always go back to the basics P=IE..lol
We have just about changed all the bulbs in our house to CFLs. They have them now that will work in cold weather outdoors. All our ceiling fans use 60w bulbs but instead use a 7 watt CFL with just as much light output. I put the daylight bulbs in and those suckers are bright. Much better for older eyes...lol
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Joe Lyddon
WoW Member
Banned.
Sam Maloof & I Dec. 2, 2005
Posts: 2,507
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Post by Joe Lyddon on Apr 9, 2010 18:15:48 GMT -6
What is CFL?  CFL = compact fluorescent light bulb. Yes, those work great! (I also suggested them... but not by CFL ) |
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Post by Ruffnek on Apr 9, 2010 18:59:43 GMT -6
CjR, I don't know a thing about the technical side of lighting but I do want to point out that Dick did this for a living. I know for a fact that he designed the lighting for at least one billion dollar offshore floating facility. He obviously know what he is talking about. I'd pay particular attention to his suggestions and especially to his offer of FREE design work.  |
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Post by CajunRider on Apr 9, 2010 20:52:42 GMT -6
CjR, I don't know a thing about the technical side of lighting but I do want to point out that Dick did this for a living. I know for a fact that he designed the lighting for at least one billion dollar offshore floating facility. He obviously know what he is talking about. I'd pay particular attention to his suggestions and especially to his offer of FREE design work. Oh yes I'm paying close attention to him for sure. That's why I'm putting up all these data. I'm drawing up some thing so I can show a little later on what I'm doing. |
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Post by CajunRider on Apr 9, 2010 21:03:59 GMT -6
And yesterday we didn't have any money,,,,,,,  ::)Sounds like a local contractor will be the winner in this case,not WoW I'm doing most if not all of this so it's mostly material and my time. I talked to LadyRider and she's OK with having light every 30 ft. So I'm running a 1" conduit with a T every 30ft. I'm thinking about putting 2 light at every T and stagger them a few feet apart to stretch the gap closer. As for the switches on both ends, my neighbor's has them on his dock and it's a nice feature. I turn on the light when I walk out there. When I got there, I turn the path light off until I'm ready to come in. |
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Post by dicklaxt on Apr 10, 2010 6:23:32 GMT -6
Cajun,,,,,,,,,,don't listen to Cody to closely ,I'm just willing to help and accept no resposibilities for anything I might say .It's your baby and work safely.
I'm not sure what the suppliers offer in residential dock/pier lighting fixtures but 120 volt AC is the way to go when using LED clusters or CFL's at those distances.The voltage drop on DC circuits would send you into orbit with increased copper size.
Make sure when you pick your fixture that the parabolic beam radiation is both to the left and right of the fixture,be it a beam or butterfly pattern,fixture orientation in this case is critical as you don't want to light up the surface of the water.I would suggest that the light intensity output be a minimum of 30 Lux or 3 footcandles per beam whichever way the photometrics of the fixture are designed for.One fixture every30 feet with left/right beam patterns should be adequate and should be alternated from side to side on the deck.I would run 2 independant circuits and stagger the fixture load every other location rather than put all my eggs in one basket with one circuit.The use of CFL or LED clusters would probably not require any wire for lighting to be larger than #10 and #12 would probably work fine.This of course will be dictated by fixture spec's.
When dealing with electrical circuits over water you need to be aware of the Electrical Datum Line which is a horizontal line parallel to and 2 foot above the normal high tide elevation.It is not permissable to have electrical connections with in the 2 foot area unless they are sealed wire connectors and gasketed fittings approved for outdoor/salt water atmosphere's.The electrical connections above the deck must be at least 1 foot above the deck. These minimums sited above are National Eleectrical Code reccomendations.If you are going to be the insurance provider then throw that out the window if you don't want to inccur the cost of such but I would adhere.All circuits must naturally be protected by a Ground Fault Circuit Interupter and circuits will be limited to 80% of the breaker rating.NEC Article 555 is your Bible in this case.Local Codes may also apply as well as your insurance carrier.
The use of 1200 watt Metal Halide fixtures for fishing floods is fine however series connected Direct Current rail road lights(highly concentrated beams that can be manipulated to pull a school of fish within casting range) are very popular and can be run off of 120 volt AC,the underwater fishing lights should be direct current.I am not aware of any 1200 watt MH's, they are usually 1000 and/or 1500 watt.The residential /commercial products may be different.If you do go with 1200 watt then ballast losses may require that you be limited to two fixtures per circuit using the 80% rule,3 would be close but the forth would have to definitely go onto a 2nd circuit.
All electrical devices should be rated for Marine/Saltwater Atmoshere which drives the price up natuarally.
Have you checked to see if the Macerator pump has enough ooompth to push the sludge 600 feet thru a 2" line,that sure seems small and restrictive.
A note about your main feeder of #1/0 wire to the dock end panelboard,,,,,,,,at 100 % loading you are at 5.9% voltage drop however 60% diversity is 3.5% voltage drop.This is based on a 600 foot run and you could possibly be over that.The industry standard is 3% on a feeder,there is an out on this and that would be to locate your panel board at the midpoint of the run on the walkway.This might push a couple of branch circuits up to #10 or #8 depending on the load,but you would be with in the recommended minmums by doing so.
Thats all I have running around in my head this morning.I'll probably think of more.
dick
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Post by CajunRider on Apr 10, 2010 14:30:07 GMT -6
Thanks for the great info Dick. As for the wire size, I may drop the circuit down to 80Amp. That should still be plenty for what I'm planning to do out there and hopefully that will be enough.
About the macerator pump, I'm doing what my neighbor have done successfully. I'm planning to purchase a unit that is slightly stronger than his just to make sure.
The dock has no insurance whatsoever. No insurance company insure docks nowaday.
All circuits will be at least 4ft higher than normal high tide so I think I'll be OK.
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Post by dicklaxt on Apr 10, 2010 15:03:47 GMT -6
80 amp mains are hard to come by but are available,yes it should be enough,,,,,,You are just under 5% with a full 80 amp load so when applyoing diversity ,you should be fine based on 600 feet and 60%,,,,,,,,,,,,2.8 volts drop
I'm speaking of liability insurance,,,,,,,,,
What are you doing for handrails and are you planning on bracket/wall mount dock lights or pedestal mount,,,,,
dick
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Post by maxwellsmart007 on Apr 10, 2010 15:44:01 GMT -6
LED lights don't attract mosquitos! And they don't use much power either.... Plus, they don't make your dock look like a giant landing strip! |
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Post by CajunRider on Apr 10, 2010 21:51:27 GMT -6
LED lights don't attract mosquitos! And they don't use much power either.... Plus, they don't make your dock look like a giant landing strip! At 500 ft long, no matter what I do, it'll look like a giant landing strip. |
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Post by TDHofstetter on Apr 10, 2010 22:06:59 GMT -6
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Post by brburns on Apr 11, 2010 10:40:31 GMT -6
At 500' that's a pretty long walk. How bout you buy a 4 wheeler to drive down to the end of the dock. It will come with it's own lights, so you don't have to worry about lighting. And no landing strip effect. |
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Joe Lyddon
WoW Member
Banned.
Sam Maloof & I Dec. 2, 2005
Posts: 2,507
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Post by Joe Lyddon on Apr 11, 2010 12:17:13 GMT -6
LED lights don't attract mosquitos! And they don't use much power either.... Plus, they don't make your dock look like a giant landing strip! At 500 ft long, no matter what I do, it'll look like a giant landing strip. Let's just hope the planes come to rest in the lake instead of into your home!  |
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::)Sounds like a local contractor will be the winner in this case,not WoW
