Underwater lighting?

mhar · Apr 3, 2023

Whilst having some building work done we discovered a stone lined well under our new kitchen floor , It is 25' deep and hand dug (through shillet) we think in the 1600s. Water level is about 4' down and the water is crystal clear. It is quite an amazing extraordinarily well built thing which we have to make a feature of and we are going to have walk on glass so it can be seen.

I have lit a well before but was disappointed with the result as the light reflects off the surface of the water, you get to see the stone lining at the top but miss out on the lining going all the way to the bottom., Therefore I was wondering about lighting from under the water. One thought I had is to have three levels of lighting, very bright at the bottom, less bright 1/3rd of the way up and even less at 2/3rds up with the idea that you will get a perspective of depth , don't know if that is one of those ideas that doesn't work though!

Has anyone had any experience of anything like this or can point me in the right direction please?

We are only going to be able to have one go at getting this right as the glass is going to be 1.6m dia and very heavy. I have used ctt tape a few times and been very pleased with the results, is there a reliable submersible version?

nicebutdim · Apr 3, 2023

This video is worth a watch. Lighting could have been better, but it might give you some ideas.

I should add that all lighting will eventually fail, but submerged lighting (no matter how good) increases the risk of premature failure.

Pretty Mouth · Apr 3, 2023

Sounds like an interesting project, but challenging. How deep is the well? I could see pressure being an issue with something like this.

brianmoooore · Apr 3, 2023

Anyone on here, other than mhar and me, know what shillit is? AFAIK, it's a Devon dialect word.
My house is built on the stuff and as absolutely no foundations or need any. There's also supposed to be a capped over well somewhere inside as well, although I haven't found it yet, in spite of renewing several floors over the last few years.

nicebutdim · Apr 3, 2023

brianmoooore said:
Anyone on here, other than mhar and me, know what shillit is? AFAIK, it's a Devon dialect word.
My house is built on the stuff and as absolutely no foundations or need any. There's also supposed to be a capped over well somewhere inside as well, although I haven't found it yet, in spite of renewing several floors over the last few years.

Three foot stone and rubble walls, without foundations. Wooden floors laid on lengths of bog oak and tile/stone floors laid on bare earth is how it was done here. Place I grew up in hasn't moved an inch since the original part was built in the late 1600s.

As for shillit? I had to google the word.

brianmoooore · Apr 3, 2023

nicebutdim said:
As for shillit? I had to google the word.

Actually spent the afternoon digging through the stuff with my JCB, laying a sewer pipe.
I tried Google before my last post, and couldn't find any reference to it, even with the alternative spelling of shellet.

bill01803 · Apr 4, 2023

I have seen this done, it turned the water green and there was plant growth on the walls.

mhar · Apr 4, 2023

nicebutdim said:
This video is worth a watch. Lighting could have been better, but it might give you some ideas.

I should add that all lighting will eventually fail, but submerged lighting (no matter how good) increases the risk of premature failure.

Thanks for this. Our well is a bit different, it is a lot bigger, the lining is amazing craftsmanship (especially as it was built from the top down) and our water level is a lot higher. However the video did illustrate the reflections from the surface of the water hence my thoughts about lighting below the water level

mhar · Apr 4, 2023

brianmoooore said:
Anyone on here, other than mhar and me, know what shillit is? AFAIK, it's a Devon dialect word.
My house is built on the stuff and as absolutely no foundations or need any. There's also supposed to be a capped over well somewhere inside as well, although I haven't found it yet, in spite of renewing several floors over the last few years.

Didn't realise that shillet was a local term, perhaps shale like is a more recognisable description. The water permeates through the shillet on it's journey to the sea (I am coastal) and our well interrupts this journey and acts as a big store. We think we have approx 5-8 tonnes of water

mhar · Apr 4, 2023

bill01803 said:
I have seen this done, it turned the water green and there was plant growth on the walls.

That is something that I hadn't considered and changes my perspective on things. I can see that we are going to have to keep the environment as sterile as possible so my thoughts about ventilating the underside of the glass to stop condensation are out the window.

brianmoooore · Apr 4, 2023

Including UVc lights should help control the green growth.

Midwest · Apr 4, 2023

LED lights from the UK lighting manufacturer | Collingwood Lighting - https://www.collingwoodlighting.com/en/ have some good products, if expensive. They also offer advice on lighting, I believe.

mhar · Apr 4, 2023

Midwest said:
LED lights from the UK lighting manufacturer | Collingwood Lighting - https://www.collingwoodlighting.com/en/ have some good products, if expensive. They also offer advice on lighting, I believe.

Thankyou for that. I have been in touch with Collingwood who are intrigued which is very promising, especially the bit about combining any lighting with UVc light

mhar · Apr 4, 2023

3 pictures which illustrate the reflection issue. What you can see in each is the reflection of a large stone placed across the top which had some very large bits of slate resting on it which was put there presumeably when it was covered over. The lattice work is the reflection of the frame for the roof.. If you look into the shadow of the stone you can see the lining disappearing into the depths

nicebutdim · Apr 4, 2023

That's a sizeable well to find within a house.

Underwater lighting?

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