Rather than Continuing to Buy 'Bulbs' ...

[bstreep]

Originally Posted by James S

Any new tech. on this subject...I'm getting ready to buy all new area lighting and wonder if there is any new info on this...Bstreep are you still happy with your choice?
How about you Randy?
Updates?

We are still very happy with our LEDs. We DID have couple of failures.

One was from a bad batch of Philips LEDs that were recalled. The others we're still waiting on, BUT I think that fixture may be my fault. I retrofit them into an old fluorescent fixture, and it does not have any air slots in it. I'm going to re-do it with some holes that can't be seen.

[Thermal]

Although the LEDs are constantly and rapidly improving, prices on that stuff is still pretty high. I like them for reading lights but think they are too directional for area lighting. I've been pretty happy with cold cathode tubes - you can get kits with two tubes and a ballast to drive them for about $7 from online computer supply places like directron.com. Made my own fixtures for them.

[Ti' Punch]

I had just replaced all my cabin lights with Sensibulbs this spring and was very happy with them. Then we had a lightning strike a month or so ago. Every one of the Sensibulbs is shot but the incandescents in the head and the flourescents in the galley made it through. I'm replacing the Sensibulbs with LED's again anyway. I like the low power consumption and the light is good. I replaced my old tri-color with a new LED tri-color/anchor/strobe combo after the strike as well. Hopefully this lightning strike is a once in a lifetime kind of thing.

[nautical62]

My led headlamp cost about US $20. It illuminates where ever I look. It's house draw is zero amps/hour. I change the AA batteries once a month when cruising.

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Hi James,

maybe my eyesight is going but these leds seem to be getting dimmer.

The Festoon bulbs - one in the nav station and one the aft nav light last only about 6 months before the little diody thingies start flashing then die.

I am sure the 9 led ceiling lights are fading.

Also they are much more direct lighting that old style so I am thinking of getting several more to work as indriect lighting to supliment the total ambience of the saloon. Now its like a cave with a torch

But they are great for power consumption!

At least we can run nav lights at night with no power problems! Yippee!

Maybe the USA has better quality LEDs


Mark

Mark,

Which brand did you buy?
I've seen some which I thought were too good to be true...

G4 Bulbs

Steve B.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

Mark,

Which brand did you buy?


Steve B.

All the ones I have bought have been from Whitworths (.com.au).

But they are still overall better because of the power saving

[James S]

The challenge I have is that I need the entire fixture...the cathodes may be the way to go but I haven’t found and low profile fixtures that come with them ………..so would have to buy fixtures then the kits to re-build them....I'm in a bad location for such things and have to do all this over the internet...that means I cant physically check that these will work together.
Do you guys know of a supplier of readymade low profile cathodes?
The LEDs that I've seen don’t seem to be meant for area lights....I have seen some in large wooden boxes but are 2" deep (low).

[James S]

To late for me to delete the previose post...I did find Luna Sea has some slim cathode fixtures.
For LEDs I've been looking at http://www.i2systems.com/products/ma...file_touch.htm

[bstreep]

We light our entire cabin with LEDs. All are home-assembled, and go into the recessed fixtures that previously held fluorescents. I use LEDs from Cree LEDs - Led Driver - Led Fixtures - Led Optics - Luxeon LEDs - LED Supply.com. I have to say, it is my opinion that these are too bright. Our entire salon and galley is lit with a total of 24 LEDs - the 180 lumen LEDS (at 700mA). I then have 3 spot fixtures over the long galley, each with 3 LEDs in them, that were originally small fluorescent fixtures. One of these fixtures failed - I think because of heat buildup - it was not ventilated. I need to pull that one and look it over.

[James S]

Bill
Like most...I want the light but was hoping to have it a bit warm in color.
I'm surprised at the number of fixtures.
Do you by chance have any pics of your salon with the lights on?

[bstreep]

No, but I do have a couple of before/after pix of the galley fixture:

Using fluorescent:



Using 3 x 180 lumen 6500K LEDs:



Remember, our salon is not small. It is lit by 3 fixtures, each with 6 LEDs, and measures about 15 x 12.

As these LEDs became available, I switched to them - they are 4500K - and really much warmer. I have several fixtures with them instead of the 6500Ks:

100 Lumen Neutral-White EndorStar - LED Supply.com (these are 180 lumen at 700mA).

They have a 1000K LED, but lower power and I've not tried them.

[James S]

Thanks Bill....thats pretty impressive.
So if you had it to do over again and money was not a concern....LED's or Cold Cathode?

[bstreep]

I have no experience with Cold Cathode. But, if doing it over, I'd have to at least try it - I didn't even know about them until into this process.

[Roy M]

Cold Cathode, double tube, blow those light levels away. I have one over the stove counter, one over the sink and one over the galley table. The color is warm, the light levels extraordinary. I'll continue to use LEDs as bunk lights, but for powerful general illumination, nothing touches the cold cathode fluorescents made by Taylor and available through West and others. The intensity and fullness of the light produced is truly amazing. Buy one for over your workshop table - it will seal the deal.

[Martinini]

Take a look at these guys Bulb Lookup You can use thier chart to cross ref. bulbs.