Can you convert a 110 volt outdoor fixture to a 12 volt low voltage light fixture?

Answer 1

You need a transformer to change the voltage. The transformer will have a " high side" which will be 120 volt. The "low side" will be your low voltage side and that will depend on your system requirements. Low voltage systems vary in voltage, I have some that are 4 watt, and sometht are 8 watt.

Your lighting will have a certain voltage and the bulbs will have a certain watt output. These are the variables that you need to define before prchasing the transformer.

Answer 2

In essence, all a lighting fixture does is provide a path for electricity to reach the bulb. The fixture itself doesn't care what type of electricity runs through it any more than a simple wire would. That said, just because a 110v fixture CAN work with a 12v D/C supply and matching 12v bulb doesn't necessarily mean it'll work particularly well for whatever you want to use it for. For starters, if this is going into an RV you'll want the fixture to have stranded wire rather than solid so it'll be up to handling all the vibrations associated with driving down the highway at 60 mph, also the thicker the wire the better. For a DC system the thinner and longer the wire the more resistance it has, the more resistance it has the hotter the wire will get and the less electricity can flow to the light. Finally, if this fixture is to be used in a boat it not only needs to have stranded, relatively heavy wiring, but also to be tough enough to handle the environment of a boat, meaning something more heavy duty and stainless steel rather than chrome. Aboard a salt water boat you'll also want to replace the original fasteners with stainless, and thoroughly soldier all wires, using liquid tape to make the wiring as watertight as possible. Its also worth mentioning that most proper boat electrical systems use tinned wires that will last MUCH longer that regular stranded wire. If you want the fixture to really last aboard a boat you're best off spending the extra 5$ at a marine store and replacing the original wiring with stranded and tinned wire of at least 12 gauge. At most you'll need three feet of wire to replace the old stuff and in taking apart the fixture you'll be able to see for yourself how the guts of it are put together and how to make it at least mostly rustproof.

And thats my SHORT answer!