LED spreader lights

[malyea]

I'm replacing my old spreader lights with a new LED fixture/bulb. Anyone upgrade to LED and found a brand/model that you really like? Or, installed one you don't like? Thanks

[geoleo]

Originally Posted by malyea

I'm replacing my old spreader lights with a new LED fixture/bulb. Anyone upgrade to LED and found a brand/model that you really like? Or, installed one you don't like? Thanks

LEDS are ok but do not 'penetrate as far as the old lamps type

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by geoleo

LEDS are ok but do not 'penetrate as far as the old lamps type

Not my experience at all. LED lamps come in a vast variety of outputs and beam patterns. It is easy to spec one that will provide whatever degree of illumination that you require.

We chose a single mast mounted fixture, sourced from the off-road vehicle venue. Lights the foredeck better than the previous 55 watt incandescent model and draws around 300 mA. Don't have immediate access to the model/mfg, but lots of info on the web.

Jim

[SailRedemption]

Check out Rigid Industries, I have the marine Dually with diffused lens and they are pretty awesome.

[Halifax Sailor]

Lumateq Taco LED Spreader Light

got mine from Hopkins Carter about a year ago. Incredible lights, doubled up and you can see me for miles. The admiral loves the deck light and lights up fore and aft deck. Now my boat is only small 27' but low power usage and they look great on the spreaders.

Lumateq Taco LED Spreader Light Mfg#F38-4600WHA-1

[DRS]

Check out your local heavy duty truck dealer's parts department. Will likely have a large selection of lights designed for rugged use and you will not pay the "marine tax" for something that says marine on it
I run 2 rectangular LED lights of my spreaders and they work great
Derick

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Not my experience at all. LED lamps come in a vast variety of outputs and beam patterns. It is easy to spec one that will provide whatever degree of illumination that you require.

We chose a single mast mounted fixture, sourced from the off-road vehicle venue. Lights the foredeck better than the previous 55 watt incandescent model and draws around 300 mA. Don't have immediate access to the model/mfg, but lots of info on the web.

Jim

Thought things felt a little full inside my skull today, & now I know why. Jim's been reading the Cliff Notes version of my thoughts! Specifically, buying offroad lighting for use on boats.

Keep in mind that there a a plethora of beam shapes, as well s brightnesses. Also, some of them can get pretty hot, so that if you're dealing with a recalcitrant spinnaker, the heat can be an issue if the kite lands on them.
But go online to the major manufacturer's websites, & they'll give you the spec's on beam patterns, & brightness, as well as power draw.

A couple of other thoughts are that it's nice to have a red spreader light on a seperate switch, so that you don't fry your night vision too badly. Also, think about mounting a forward facing light, aft, & up high, such as on your radar pole. And again, consider having one of each color, on seperate switches.
Lights mounted this way can sometimes help you to clean up a mess in the cockpit at night. Or to throw enough light onto your sails so that you're easy for commercial shipping to see, if they get too close for comfort.

Start with PIAA, Hella, etc.

[toddster8]

I have a lower-cost version of the "Mr. LED" 5-LED linear package on each spreader. One aimed to the foredeck, one aimed to the cockpit. Lights up the area like standing under a big street lamp. Someone does need to go up there to tighten and re-aim them once a year or so.

[delmag]

i just put new ones up that are made by lunasea. i'm really happy with them and they have one feature that is really nice. each one has a beam that is angled slightly forward and another one angled aft. the light distribution is really even and waaaaay better than the led lights they replaced.

[evm1024]

Originally Posted by toddster8

I have a lower-cost version of the "Mr. LED" 5-LED linear package on each spreader. One aimed to the foredeck, one aimed to the cockpit. Lights up the area like standing under a big street lamp. Someone does need to go up there to tighten and re-aim them once a year or so.

I bought a pair of these direct from china for about $8 each. I was able to compare them side by side with the high priced versions.

I found them to be pretty much the same physically if not exactly the same. Thinking that they might be different electrically I set the cheap one up on a variable bench supply and ran them from about 8 volts to 16 volts. The current draw was the same as the high priced version.

One website suggested that these lights could benefit from sealing the lense with 4200 or the like due to possible leakage but I cannot say if this is needed.

[John Holbrook]

I have two of these on my centre console. Light is basically good but I would recommend sealing the point where the cable enters the housing (one of mine got water inside) and bending up some aluminum replacement brackets as the ones on mine rusted. Mine were $14 so I would probably buy a spare next time.

Originally Posted by toddster8

I have a lower-cost version of the "Mr. LED" 5-LED linear package on each spreader. One aimed to the foredeck, one aimed to the cockpit. Lights up the area like standing under a big street lamp. Someone does need to go up there to tighten and re-aim them once a year or so.