Adding Lights to Kitchen Cabinets

[Lambchop]

We have a rear kitchen in our Mountaineer. Every time we want to get something from the cabinets, you have to turn on the ceiling lights or use a flashlight. I went to Menard's & bought 8 puck lamps. These are the small 2 " lamps that you see mounted under cabinets. Each lamp has a Halogen 12 volt bulb & is rated at 20 watts. They are 12 volt, so you can use them boon docking. I installed 2 lamps per cabinet with separate switch's for each cabinet. For on-off switches, I used the automotive dome lamp switches that turn on your dome lamp when you open the door. These can be purchased at most automotive parts stores. I wired them into the existing 12 volt lamps under the cabinets. I left them all on for about 15 minutes to see if the fuse would hold it.... No problem there. Below are before & after pictures.
Now, my DW is happy!

Roy

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

VERY NICE!!!

[Wifeofdano]

I like it !!

[beakyfudd]

Roy, looks great! Where, in the cabinets did you mount them. It looks like on the sides. Jim

[ole dude]

Good job.

[Lambchop]

quote:Originally posted by beakyfudd

Roy, looks great! Where, in the cabinets did you mount them. It looks like on the sides. Jim

Jim,
I mounted them on sides out of view. They were mounted high so that more light would shine to the back over items in cabinet & not in your eyes.

Roy

[KTManiac]

So, they turn on automatically when you open the cupboard door? That's a nice mod.

[Trailer Trash 2]

A dumb question where did you route the wires?

[Lambchop]

quote:Originally posted by Trailer Trash 2

A dumb question where did you route the wires?

Trailer Trash,

I routed them along the inside of the cabinets & stapled them out of the way. The bottom shelf's are double with about a inch of clearance between them. I ran the power wires through there to the under cabinet lamps. You can cover the wires with some plastic protective tubing if you wish. Available at most hardware stores. I didn't do that since we are dealing with Low voltage, 12 volts. No danger of shock on this setup. Since the power to them is fused with automotive type fuses, I don't see a problem here.

Roy

[Mudchief]

That is really a nice touch. You did good.

[bob n pam]

Very slick!

[Rondo]

Good job Roy! I do have the same lights in our stick but run off of the house power with a transformer(? I think that is what it is called) reducing the power. The only problem we've found is that the halogen bulbs throw off a lot of heat! Since they are mounted under the cabinets that doesn't make any difference. Ours are on a dimmer set up also so we can dim them to just accent the cupboard top and whatever is on it when we want! I like your idea and wonder if they are made with LEDs also?

[jackel1959]

Very nice mod and functional too!!