Engine Compartment Light Suggestion

[S/V Alchemy]

Well, I suppose I can recycle the flourescents I already have in the engine room, then. Problem solved!

[Extemporaneous]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

Extemp, the white papers I've read from LED makers regarding longevity and heat sinking said something like 160F is the critical point for LEDs. Above that they age out real fast.

So yes there is a scientific and measurable basis, and the only questions are:
1) How hot does the top of your engine bay get? Engines run at 140F (salt cooled) to 210F (fresh cooled high performance), and heat rises.
2) How "hot" have you used your LEDs in comparison to that?
3) Starting with prime quality LEDs at a lifetime of 55,000 hours...how far are you willing to derate that for acceptable life in the engine bay? <VBG>

I still like the widespread and diffuse light of an inexpensive fluorescent stick in the engine bay. Preferably one to each side, not one dead center over the top. Anything dead center over the top, just seems to create pools of shadow everyplace you need light.

No troubles, nothing wrong with fluorescent lights. And I don't have the personal 40 or 50 thousand hours with the led's so can't say much more. But to say "Above that they age out real fast." is "scientific" is a bit of a stretch.
Also in my case, I went to fair lengths to find an engine room exhaust fan that was 100% duty rated (most are 20% duty rated) so I could run it full time. Haven't actually taken the temperature but know it does not get that hot. But I really didn't put it in with leds in mind.

Cheers,
Extemp.

[SV Demeter]

Comments were made earlier about wanting light where you need it when working on the engine. I use something light this:

Bright 30 LED Rechargeable Work Light from UnbeatableSale.com at SHOP.COM

Although since I installed the light in the engine compartment i pretty much never need this thing. I have found it to be a great work light as it has no cord and the bulb doesnt break when I drop it. Mine is not this specific brand but it puts out a ton of great light and stays charged for a long time. No genset on my boat but we do have an inverter. HAve not tried recharging the light off the inverter yet but everything else I own that is rechargeable works.

Glad to see this thread has stayed focused (pun intended) on Engine Room lighting and not degenerated into a discussion on the merits of LEDs...

[S/V Alchemy]

Well, about the only place the heat factor is going to be an issue is in the engine room, although I've never seen data or even speculation on how leaving an LED anchor or trilight "bulb" under a magnifying plastic lens as is typically found in such fixtures might heat up the entire unit in conditions of tropical sun. Or any summer sun, really. I can't imagine a sealed fixture on the mast top is going to be particularly cool.

[mrm]

That is why I was suggesting that engine room might be the least favourable environment for LED lighting. As for mast top light, it is actually much easier to deal with the heat, as there is plenty of opportunity to heatsink to metal mounts, mast head and the like. Fixture may be sealed, but if it has a metal base connected to metal parts on the outside and with a good thermal path to the LED inside, chances to manage LED temps are good.

[S/V Alchemy]

Yes, I suppose that's true. You could rig it up like a processor heat sink with thermal paste.