Rather than Continuing to Buy 'Bulbs' ...

[Just a Tinch]

It seems that fluorescent tubes and bulbs for 12V fixtures are getting more and more expensive.....and then there are the issues with having to worry about ballasts and such going bad..... SO...I decided to start converting all of the light fixtures on the boat....a Gulfstar 44' MC ....into LED lit fixtures.

I have been purchasing my LED's from SUPER BRIGHT LEDS home and have gotten super good service, good prices and the LED's have worked very well in the different ways that I have used them......

[Cheechako]

boy, you gotta want them pretty bad at those prices! The incandescents seem to last a long time on a boat..... the fluorescents are another story....

[tackdriver]

LED's are fantastic in terms of power usage. They last about 10,000 hours if the voltage is stable - if you get allot of fluctuation in voltage it will kill them much more quickly. I've converted one of the rooms in my house to use LED downlights, admittedly they were $50 a bulb, but now that room is lit using about 20 watts.

I read some interesting info online about using them as mast head lights, the type of light they put out is visible at greater distance than the equivalent candlepower incandescent light.

cheers
James

[David M]

How is this light different? The only variations between different types of light is frequency, intensity and polarization. Not to be a doubting Thomas, but I think the manufacturer may not be playing it straight with us if we are supposed to believe there is something magic about this light. Sure, LED's are more efficient.

[tackdriver]

Here's the web page I was reading - it was a while ago and I haven't re-read it so I won't paraphrase, but these guys seem to be pretty into the science behind the product.
Bebi Electronics-What Our Marine RV & Off Grid LED Specifications Mean
cheers
James

[s/v 'Faith']

I have a Bebi electronics LED 'Owl' anchor light. I can tell you that you can see that thing much farther away then a regular bulb.. no comparison.

[rtbates]

I've replaced all of Seraph's lamps with LEDs, including the running lights from various sources. I then found these LED lighting, soundproof, Sailor's Solutions Inc.. I like them. They are dimmable and the amount of light is staggering

[bstreep]

I've replaced all but 1 of our fluorescents with LEDs. I use the Endorl Stars from LED supply, along with a buck puck for a power source. Here's the thread I started:

LED Lighting Project Update

It ain't cheap. It runs about $60 a fixture, just for the parts. But, I get an incredible 870 lumens out of each fixture. They are REALLY bright, and use 40% of the power of the fluorescents.

[Roy M]

I've been using Taylor cold cathode fluorescents for some time and have had no problems, and fabulous general area lighting. Has anyone else had experience, over time with them?

[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?

[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

[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

[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.