Spreader Lights! Whatcha think??

[Kettlewell]

Why not just leave them on when you dinghy into town on a moonless night ?

Light pollution--why wreck the night in a beautiful harbor? The same reason I can't stand using a Coleman lamp when I am camping. My LED masthead light is plenty bright to see from a long way off so I can find my boat, and when I am close to the boat provides plenty of light to climb aboard safely. Spreader lights aren't particularly useful for ondeck repairs either because the light is above you and your body inevitably shadows whatever it is you need to see. A small flashlight or a headlamp is much better to work by if you need more light.

[GaryMayo]

I keep thinking I would like to replace all lights with LEDs, but the process is not as simple as all that, looking into it.

[Cruiser2B]

Originally Posted by GaryMayo

I keep thinking I would like to replace all lights with LEDs, but the process is not as simple as all that, looking into it.

Whats not simple about it? Bright or cool white?

[hellosailor]

Graciously accepted. Incredible how that sand gets around these days, isn't it? <G>

2B, not so simple if you want to get teh same color throughout the cabin, and you have to match different fixture types, different LED "bulb" configurations to get the older bulbs/reflectors matched, to try to get regulators on each LED if they aren't built in, to replace dimmers if you have them...

All the little stuff that only takes five minutes, or an hour, per fixture type.

It's the difference between yachting and gigging for frogs.

[SurferShane]

I paid $70 aus each for a couple of u-beaut top of the range 20m suitable led nav bulbs from a reputable Australian chandler a few months back. Not all the leds in the green one worked. Took it back and they had to test a dozen bulbs before they found one that was fully functional.

Then last week I got sick of banging the port fitting to get the red bulb to work. Had a look at the bulb and one of the pins had fallen out. When I took it back some kid pulled the 30 day return policy on me. I was quick to tell him I am a lawyer. "Had I paid $10 for the bulb I might be happy to eat it. However, in consumer law the price you pay for something reflects on the length of the warranty period. This bulb was $70.and I am not happy". I got an exchange, which I only took after they tested the bulb.

Given the bulbs were packaged as the Chandler's own brand I pondered with the senior salesman whether someone in China did not like them?

So sometimes with less you do NOT get what you pay for!

The chandler was NOT Bias Boating.

[Cruiser2B]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

It's the difference between yachting and gigging for frogs.

I see, I sure don't own a yatch....but I do own a functional sailboat, that i try to keep maintained.....I say try because my brightwork is shabby....its about to get a coat of paint as there is no saving it....

oh well........

[GaryMayo]

The Wal-Mart LEDs do have a very liberal return policy, not hard to try them to see if you like them.

[SVTwilight]

I switched all my interior and exterior lights to LEDs several years ago. Went the expensive route with Lopolights on the outside; sensi-bulb on the cabin reading lights and alpenglow red/white combo lights for the galley, head and nav station. Now I have reliable lights throughout, plenty of nice colour and an amazingly low drain on the batteries.

FWIW, Last year I took a chance on a Bebi light, (the folks from Fiji) for use in the cockpit and as a fore triangle anchor light. There is loads of tech info on their website for those of you who want to obsess over the light specs.

Nicely built, inexpensive, waterproof, nice people, great service, shipped to me by us mail, and it shoots out a LOT of light!

Todd

[S/V Alchemy]

I have heard many good things about Bebi LEDs, and this is just another.

The "old" Sensibulbs were supposed to be nicer colour-wise than the later ones. Don't know if this has changed.

I loved the Lopolight gear, but was unpersuaded to pay the vast price for them when they first appeared. There are much cheaper solutions that I believe are as high quality and dependability that don't involve a machined metal hockey puck created by a unionized European.

It's sort of the way I feel about Volvo diesels. They are great until you need a spare!

[tamicatana]

We got a TACO LED light and fabricated our own mounting bracket. Thing's almost sunlike and far cheaper than the official LED decklights for sale

[Cruiser2B]

Originally Posted by GaryMayo

The Wal-Mart LEDs do have a very liberal return policy, not hard to try them to see if you like them.

Good to know, thank you for posting your experience. Seems like a handy piece of knowledge while cruising the coast of US or wherever there is a walmart.....Easy to get parts! at reasonable prices...Thank you GaryMayo

[brianontheroad]

I just ordered a set of spreader lights from the Marine LED Shop in Singapore along with some interior lights, I ordered a few interior lights for testing and was very pleased with the "warm white" color -- I can't handle the normal LED light, I had sensibulbs in the last boat and they didn't suit my liking for color either

the spreader lights are over 1000 lumens and 60 bucks a pop....will give a report once I have the boat put back together

We're in the midst of a major refit

Marine LED Shop - LED Replacement Bulbs and LED Lighting for boats

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by Cruiser2B

I needed to replace my old not working 55w/ea stainless spreader lights while I had my mast down to replace chainplates and standing rigging. I wanted LEDs but did not want to pay the 150-200 or more at least for the ones designated "spreader lights". One day while trolling a local marine store I spotted some underwater LED lights that claimed to be 600lumens for $30 ea, I figured why not. Lets hope they last. They only draw .2 ah, I finally got them wired in and working. Whatcha you think? Got $60 invested

It will be interesting to see how long they last. The underwater LEDs rely on the water for cooling. You may find the life is short.

We replaced our 4-1/2 inch dia sealed beam lights (50 watts & 200 lumens) with Marinebeam Replacement LED bulbs for your existing boat fixtures Marine Beam. solo LED. 10 watts, 800 lumens. It is a single Power LED. very birght and doesn't care what voltage you give it. (PWM control). You can read a phone book at arms length anywhere on deck.

[Hudson Force]

These automotive 12V LED "back-up" lights can still be found on Ebay.


I bought a pair for about $20 and fixed them to my spreaders with a SS hose clamp on a former base. They've suited me well for about two years. I've also used the same lights for my new engine room LEDs

[Nicholson58]

Be aware with automotive LEDs. Most are set up for 14 volts and usually have a choke resistor in line to drop the voltage to the correct level for the LEDs. This means you are turning power to heat. Not a problem in a car/engine with unlimited amps. Marine LED lights usually have PWM circuits to control amps at a wide range of input voltage. Note the Signalmates above work 10 to 30 or 14 t0 60 VDC etc.