LED interior lighting.

[lifeofreilly57]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

Please read my posts. Automotive LEDs have dropping resistors. They are made to operate in an environment where energy conservation is not prime. They are made to run at alternator charging voltage (13.8 volts) and will be dim when running on partly discharged batteries. They are cheap because they are made cheaply. If you hook up to shore power every night - OK. If you care about your amp-hours these are not what you want.

Thanks for the heads up, the ones I've used have worked well so far and are still more efficient than the traditional bulbs in those fixtures.
At this point they're the lesser of two evils, I'm pulling the boat next year for a refit, at which time the lighting will be updated to more modern marine fixtures with the correct set up.
All the running lights have marine LED's, I didn't want to chance it with those.

[Southern Star]

We purchased all new interior light fixtures plus deck lights and replacement LED bulbs for our running lights from Marinebeam and, while I am pleased with the overall quality, was disappointed that many of their fixtures (including reading lights and chart lights) have an exposed wiring run, rather than the wire entering from behind the fixture. Installation ends up looking very makeshift. The images of these fixtures does not show the exposed wire tails on their site, so be careful when ordering! (The replacement fixtures for flourescent tube lights, howver, do have hidden wiring).

Brad

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by Southern Star

We purchased all new interior light fixtures plus deck lights and replacement LED bulbs for our running lights from Marinebeam and, while I am pleased with the overall quality, was disappointed that many of their fixtures (including reading lights and chart lights) have an exposed wiring run, rather than the wire entering from behind the fixture. Installation ends up looking very makeshift. The images of these fixtures does not show the exposed wire tails on their site, so be careful when ordering! (The replacement fixtures for flourescent tube lights, howver, do have hidden wiring).

Brad

I have only ever bought the Marine Beam replacement PWM bulbs. No rewiring required. In total, we have over 60 interior LEDs and all mast and deck lights are LED.

We recently completed a 7.5 day passage Hampton, Va to Virgin Gorda. The Marine Beam replacement for my Aqua Signal tower failed. They have promised to replace free. I suspect that the mechanical hammering in 25 to 35 with frequent slapping of the main may be the cause.

[chouliha]

Originally Posted by RainDog

I have tried a ton of lights to find something I like. Here is my hall of fame:

- Alpenglow overhead lights. Love these lights.
- LED strip lights and accessories by LEDwholesalers.com (also sold on Amazon)

And things I would not buy again:

- Alpenglow reading/berth lights (have not been very durable and are very expensive)
- Aqua Signal Gaborone led chart light. Love this light, but the switch is soldered to the unit and is very fragile. We have not had one last us more than a year yet (they sent us 2 more for free). If they have fixed this defect, which they may have by now, then I would strongly recommend this light.
- Any drop in led bulb replacement for general purpose lighting. They are fine for a cheap upgrade of a task light you don't use that often. Poor light quality and distribution.

Sorry to hear you are unhappy with some of your Alpen Glow lights. We on the other hand have had excellent results for the past 15 years with Alpen Glow. We even converted our old style AG lights to their LED version. There customer service is over the top.

We also changed out many of our exterior lights to Bebi led lights but many of them failed after a couple of years. About 3 years ago we started using Marine Beam and have excellent results.

BTW we are full time cruisers since 2005

Just our thoughts........

Safe Sailing

Chuck
Jacaranda
Tahiti

[sailjumanji]

Jacaranda, yeah we are with you RE the Alpenglow lights. Excellent quality and service, although expensive.