LED Lights

[shanker]

Hello all,

I'm looking at converting all my existing bulbs to LED's. I need to know the number/type of biulbs that are in my 95 . My problem is that under my canopy, the companionway is frozen solid. I've been heating it but at this rate I'm not going to be able to let Santa know this important info in time for Christmas. Does anyone know where I could look up this info or does anyone actually know what these bulbs numbers are? If anyone has done this coversion I'll listen to any advise. I'll also look into the archives.

Shanker

[Québec 1]

I got mine at a battery expert for 14.95 each. They have 24 leds and came with 5 different adapters. They sales guy said all the rv ers are replacing their regular 12v bulbs with these. They give out a perfectly defused light and a bit more light than the bulb did. I am perfectly satisfied.







Don't forget to connect the neg. to the pos. when attaching the light to the socket thingey.


Q1

[NiceAft]

shanker,

I did a search and came up with a group of post's which you may wish to read.
http://www.macgregorsailors.com/forum/v ... =led+cabin

I replaced all of my cabin lights with LED's awhile back, and they work great. The reduced draw on the batteries is the big wow factor.

Ray

[dennisneal]

Q1,

I like the looks of those LEDS. Are they available on line?

I tried to read the label on the box, but my French is very poor. I could not read a brand name and model number that I could search on the internet.

It seems like a "no brainer" to switch, if they produce a brighter, yet still pleasant, light, and use less power.

[Québec 1]

Just go to your RV dealer with the picture of the packaging. I think its a generic brand and I don't know what the numbers are but as you said for 15 bucks is a no brainer,
Q1

[NiceAft]

Here is a site that was posted in a 2005 discussion on LED's. http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/ ... _bulbs.htm I used the "PCB Series LED Lamps" on Nice Aft. The lights are easy to install, and incredibly efficient.

Be sure to check out their underwater LED light.

Ray

[paj637]

Look on ebay. I got the LED panels for $5 each w/free shipping. The warm white color is almost like incandescent bulbs. Superbrightleds.com has good products. I bought bulbs for my anchor light and still working great.

[bradhill]

Like many of you, I changed out most of my lights to lED's. Steaming light is a festoon LED, added anchor light is a multi-bulb all-round LED, and the two interior 1156 bulbs are now LED.

I went to eBay for the interior lights. I went strictly on low price. Unfortunately, I found the lights, white low amperage, are also low lumen output and inadequate for reading. Now, I am paying attention to the eBay marketing materials better where the sellers are stating that the LED lights give lower light output.

I may now be a little smarter and am reading the ads a little better. Many are listing the lumen outputs. They vary from 40 lumen to 300 lumen. The price , and wattage, changes with the light output. Low lumen bulbs use the least energy. The 300 lumen bulbs use areound 3.6 watts.

Has anyone experimented with bulbs to determine what is too much or the balance of wattage versus lumen output?

Thanks in advance.

[paj637]

The panels I bought off of ebay were bright enough that I wanted to put a dimmer in the circuit. One thing that is important is the light color. I personally like the warm white color. I also used a warm white led bulb for my anchor light because I don't like the blue hue of most led anchor lights you see on the market. I have not used the bright white color. May get some for a side by side comparison.

[shanker]

I'm getting ready to purchase some LED's and like most things there is a lot to learn. There are cheap versions out there but they can cause some heartache if you are not careful. This video shows how a cheaper vearsion can very easily cause some big problems. I wanted to share this because no one wants a fire on board.

http://store.marinebeam.com/videos.html

I'm finding that the best quality LED replacements are priced fairly competively across the board. You get what you pay for. Here is an excellent article with some excellent advise at the end.

http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/yhst-542 ... sGuide.pdf

I haven't been able to find any specs on Q1's post. They look very interesting. Q1 do you have a manufacturer or brand name for those LED's?

Shanker.

[shanker]

For my bow and stern lights I have noticed that the plastic is faded/oxidized. I am going to try to polish them to remove that foggy look similar to how I refurbished my daughter 95' Intrepid's headlights. I will post some pic once done.

While searching some old threads on LED's, I came across one that mentioned that if you replace the bow bulb with a LED, the color will look more like pink than red and green. Does anyone have any experience with that?

Shanker.

[rtrinkle]

I replaced my bow and mast light with LED, and they look good. Got them from ebay and a really good price. Looking also to replace cabin lights with LED, but I'm thinking of replacing the entire fixture with LED red/white/off toggle switch for the night vision. West Marine had circular ones at a good price.

[shanker]

Can someone explain this red light/night vision thing. I've heard it a couple of times and I don't think I understand the concept.

Shanker

[yukonbob]

the red light lets you see things in front of you while still being able to see out at a distance. There is less of a light barrier(think while sitting around a campfire...you see everything in the light but don't know what is lurking beyond) Same goes for green and purple light with purple being better and red being better yet at least I find.

[fishheadbarandgrill]

Red lights preserve your night vision by allowing you to see while not dilating your pupils (without getting into the wavelength of light at different color spectrums). Using Yukon Bob's example. By staring at a campfire your pupils constrict. When you take your eyes off the campfire light, you can't see because it can take up to 20 minutes for your pupils to fully dilate in a darkened environment.

At night aboard naval vessels and I suppose commercial ships, "darken ship" lighting is used in and around areas where personnel enter and exit the bridge (pilothouse) and the weather decks so as not to ruin someone's night vision.

I had a Commanding Officer who once insisted that all bridge watch teams wore these goofy red goggles before taking the bridge watch so everyone had perfect night vision at turnover.

Ahhh, this is all bringing tears to my eyes.... Time to stand around the house for 4 hours with 2 glass coke bottles hung around my neck to snap me out of it.

Bob
CDR USN (Ret)