LED light conversions

[CaptJamesCook]

Would like to start converting my lights over to LED.
I have :
forspar bow and foredeck light ML-2
Forspar spreader/deck light Ml-1
Guest Nav light on mast takes a M-35 bulb

Anyone Know the Led conversion for these?
Do I need to change wiring or breakers also?
I was hoping not to have to change whole fixtures.

Any suggestions appreciated.

[goat]

The beauty of LED lights is not just energy saving, it's also the weather proof nature, they can be built sealed and last a long time. That said, I personally wouldn't recommend just putting LED bulbs in outdoor fixtures. The base corrosion will make you buy new bulbs over the years which may cost more than a sealed fixture.

Marinebeam is expensive, good quality but importantly has a good website for converting bulbs.

When I switched over, I used warm white replacement bulbs in the cabin and sealed fixture on deck/mast. Energy saving is impressive.

My 3 cents (CDN$)

goat

[a64pilot]

My experience is that you can argue that LED conversions work, but in my opinion not nearly as well as a fixture meant for the LED from the beginning.
It’s similar to HID conversions for automobiles, most don’t work very well, or not nearly as well as a headlight meant to use an HID bulb from the beginning.
I have many Marine Beam fixtures, and I am well pleased with them. You do pay more, but I think the performance difference is worth it.
Many LED bulbs produce a surprising amount of RF, and especially if you have an HF radio, you don’t need that, but they can interfere with your VHF and AIS as well.
The Marine Beam lights for me seem to produce no noticeable amount of RF.

[Kenomac]

The LED replacement bulbs work great in all of our interior existing fixtures and the anchor light. All running light replacents were big failure. When one went out... it took all the others out at the same moment with a power surge including the tri color. Lost four all at once. LEDs can’t take a power surge like incandescent bulbs can by just glowing brighter for a second.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

The LED replacement bulbs work great in all of our interior existing fixtures and the anchor light. All running light replacents were big failure. When one went out... it took all the others out at the same moment with a power surge including the tri color. Lost four all at once. LEDs can’t take a power surge like incandescent bulbs can by just glowing brighter for a second.

Good ones can take surges higher and longer than an incandescent.
Off the top of my head I think the Marine Beams are happy with voltages from 10to 30 VDC, continuously. I believe it’s because each one has its own power supply and not just a resistor.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Good ones can take surges higher and longer than an incandescent.
Off the top of my head I think the Marine Beams are happy with voltages from 10to 30 VDC, continuously. I believe it’s because each one has its own power supply and not just a resistor.

I've built all my own LED lights so far. (usual caveats about homebrew lights not having USCG approvals, etc etc). LED devices themselves are quite sensitive to reverse voltage, even static from handling. Some of my first set expired in a year due to static and induced voltages from storms. In my current set, I added protection to each fixture from reverse voltage, static and small surges, and they've lasted a few years so far. I am not confident that all the currently available "marine" LED replacement bulbs have such protection, and that's why some fail prematurely.

[a64pilot]

A great many commercially available LED conversions are pretty much junk.
Often you get what you pay for.
For instance I have very inexpensive ribbon strip LED lights, my kids call them Limo lights. They are good for high light output, but don’t last. I have maybe $10 in each 20ft strip, and that includes the dimmer.
They seem to die in three, as three consecutive LEDs will quit working at a time. Spend $5 or so to replace them, they stick on like scotch tape.

[er9]

Another plug for Marine Beam lights. just bought all new fixtures from them. nice quality stuff.

[NorthPacific]

I was am at the budget end of the spectrum. I bought internal and external lrd bulbs from ebay. Cheap chinese ones. I expected them to burn out on a regular basis. So I bought lots of spares. After 5 years on the Rain Coast of BC and now 2 in the sun I have lost 2.

1 internal and 1 external.

[Ding Duck]

I would agree with all the comments made here, particularly the interference caused by 'less expensive' LED's. Generally you can buy a LED Lamp as a direct replacement for a incandescent lamp, but as we know "interchangeable don't always interchange".
When looking for LED Replacement lamp, ignore the wattage, really doesn't mean that much in LED Terms. You will need to look at the Lumen output of the LED, as this is the only true indication of the light produced. (Also beam angle for floods) This chart may help with working out the lumens for each type of lamp etc?
Cheers
http://www.rvledbulbs.com/v/vspfiles...scentbulbs.pdf

[barnakiel]

Actually, a recent LED test/review by French Voiles shows a bulb replacement option as the cheapest AND the one that ticked all the regulatory boxes. The boxes included separation, colour temperatures, heel angle loss and candela/range/intensity. But it was not just any LED tested only a dedicated, purpose built replacement. Not all products did quite so well there, so the test is well worth reading.

Mind a tri-colour fixture takes a tri-colour LED replacement, NOT a white one.

We have a tri-colour LED bulb replacement up there. It gives great output and colour rendition. I am 100% happy.

By now all our boat is LED converted. We get as much light as we want any night at anchor or at sea. Before LED it was not all that happy with only 150W of solar panels as our only charging option.

Go for it.

I bought most bulbs from this manufacturer. I did not buy on line as these are available in our local chandlery shop.

Visually, they are these:

https://www.safety-marine.co.uk/navi...ulb-bay15d.htm

I paid about 50 USD for the tri-colour bulb. 15 to 30 USD for the other options.

Cheers,
b.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Actually, a recent LED test/review by French Voiles shows a bulb replacement option as the cheapest AND the one that ticked all the regulatory boxes. The boxes included separation, colour temperatures, heel angle loss and candela/range/intensity. But it was not just any LED tested only a dedicated, purpose built replacement. Not all products did quite so well there, so the test is well worth reading.

Mind a tri-colour fixture takes a tri-colour LED replacement, NOT a white one.

We have a tri-colour LED bulb replacement up there. It gives great output and colour rendition. I am 100% happy.

By now all our boat is LED converted. We get as much light as we want any night at anchor or at sea. Before LED it was not all that happy with only 150W of solar panels as our only charging option.

Go for it.

I bought most bulbs from this manufacturer. I did not buy on line as these are available in our local chandlery shop.

Visually, they are these:

https://www.safety-marine.co.uk/navi...ulb-bay15d.htm

I paid about 50 USD for the tri-colour bulb. 15 to 30 USD for the other options.

Cheers,
b.

Barney, with the tricolor, how do you get the colors in the bulb to align correctly with the colors in the lens? The bayonet base doesn't allow twisting it around to get them lined up does it?

I'd like to change mine over, but have been concerned about this issue.

Jim

[Viking Sailor]

Jim,


You might want to check out mainebeam as they have an adjustable replacement bulb.

https://store.marinebeam.com/led-tri...bination-bulb/


"The bulb also has a unique rotating feature, which allows the tri-color bulb to be easily aligned with the boat's centerline, regardless of the socket or fixture alignment."

[hellosailor]

Goat-
You can eliminate "base corrosion" by using light bulb grease, aka silicon high dielectric grease, on all bulb contacts and sockets.

Kenomac-
A properly installed LED "light" should (must) have surge and spike protection installed across it. If you're just dropping a 50c LED into an existing lamp housing...you don't get that. But it can always be added, to the bulbs or down in the main lines someplace. Since alternator regulators can fail and throw more than 17v into a system where the electronics are only designed for 14.4, as Stormy Daniels said, some protection for everything really makes sense.

Duck-
LEDs simply do not, cannot, make interference. Interference is a problem caused by associated controller circuits, whether they are dimmers, AC converters, or cheap power controllers. Which is one arguably good reason to not use those "good" designs and to use cruder means that may use more power, but simply can't make noise either.

The only real simple answers are:
1-Get lucky
2-Throw lots of money, hope some will stick
3-Read up on the less obvious technical side of LED lighting

They're not a panacea, but when properly selected and configured, they can make you think grandpa MUST be joking when he says he used to CHANGE light bulbs.

[slowneasy]

I originally replaced the bulbs in my existing fixtures with LEDs. After a few years of use I upgraded to new LED fixtures from Marine Beam and wish I had purchased them in the first place. They look much nicer, are well made, and much brighter (as well as dimmable to suit your needs). I have been very happy with my Marine Beam fixtures and highly recommend them.