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Christian Van H · 21-06-2011, 20:53

OK, where are all the good, cheap (<$50.00) flush mounted LED cabin lights I thought we would see by now??? Imtra's start at around $80, and up... Serious money when you need at least 10 in your boat... I think we have waited long enough...

MABell · 21-06-2011, 20:56

I converted the existing fixtures.
Superbrightleds.com

Christian Van H · 22-06-2011, 06:38

Nice website, with lots of options. Can't convert because there are no originals...

**sneuman** · 22-06-2011, 07:06

Bacon Sails sells two-pronged bulbs that fit into that type of existing feature (with the two straight barbs) that are about $17 each. For some reason, they don't show up on Bacon's website. I have had mine for several months now and think the quality and intensity of the light is surprisingly comparable to halogen.

Let me know if you're interested and I'll get the details next time I stop by there!

**Cotemar** · 22-06-2011, 07:30

Christian Van H,

Just buy a few of these Reading/Chart Lights $21

Reading Light

Replace the 10 watt halogen bulbs with these 1 watt LED's

Caravan Led G4 12v 5x 3-Chip 5050 SMD 1w=10W (Back Pin) - Min. 10pcs [C12BG45S] - $4.85 : Led Strips Hero-ledstore.com

Mark

Christian Van H · 26-06-2011, 20:46

Well, I didn't have any previous fixtures to refit, so I went to superbrightleds.com as recommended above, and found several different LED fixtures for my overhead which may work. I've ordered several different samples, and I'll report back shortly. Every one of the units I'm trying are at least 1/4 the price of other "marine" units I've found. We'll see how this goes... But so far I'm impressed with their service. I got a shipping confirmation two hours after I place my order, and everything was in stock! Stay tuned...

VirtualVagabond · 26-06-2011, 21:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Christian Van H

Well, I didn't have any previous fixtures to refit, so I went to superbrightleds.com as recommended above, and found several different LED fixtures for my overhead which may work. I've ordered several different samples, and I'll report back shortly. Every one of the units I'm trying are at least 1/4 the price of other "marine" units I've found. We'll see how this goes... But so far I'm impressed with their service. I got a shipping confirmation two hours after I place my order, and everything was in stock! Stay tuned...

Looking forward to your feedback

surfmachine · 26-06-2011, 22:54

Mate, my german built boat all had fixtures with the quartz halogen 2 prong globes in them, bought a heap of those yellow led's on a disk with the same pin set up, some coming out the side, some from the back, and bingo, beautiful yellow light, like an oil lamp, but strong! About 12 usd each?

They fit in perfectly into the fixtures, side or rear mount.

Also, bought the the best mast head leds, set in an aluminium base, super bright, in all my navigation lights, have mast head and deck level, they consume hardly any power and are super bright!!About 65 usd each.

Batteries last heaps longer now, all I need is a led powered fridge??!!!
Keith.

forsailbyowner · 27-06-2011, 01:27

leds on ebay are rediculous cheap. I just bought these

Light Panel 48 LED SMD + Interior Bulb+T10 Base Adapter | eBay

they are very bright, have double back tape to mount inside existing fixttures and adapters to fit some bulbs

mbianka · 27-06-2011, 04:33

Be aware you really want LED lights on board that have built in regulator chips on them otherwise you may find the LED's fail rather frequently. The light emitting junction of LED's is very sensitive to current/voltage changes and these on board regulators smooth the voltage and current variations out. House voltages on a boat do vary quite a bit and alternator output can be spikey which is not good for unregulated LED's.

One LED light I found very useful on board is a BEBI Beka light:
THE BIANKA LOG BLOG: WHAT WORKS: THE BEBI LED BEKA LIGHT
It's about fifty bucks but, I use it in the cockpit and cabin as needed. I can also use it as an anchor light if the mast LED light fails. If I tape some red and green gels around the outside I could also use it as an emergency running light or stern light (without the gels). It's pretty bullet proof. I had a friend who lost his mast and the light was shining away 30 feet under water up until he cut the mast away.

DotDun · 27-06-2011, 05:01

I'm curious is anyone has noticed 'noise' from the LED replacement bulbs. I've held off buying any worried about inducing interference with electronics. My basis comes from the Dr. LED bulb I put in the anchor light on the masthead which is 6 inches from my VHF antenna. The bad news, bunches of noise in the VHF radio when the anchor light is on, the good news, I turn the VHF off and use the handheld VHF at night in an anchorage. Oh, yes the current draw of the LED anchor light is very low.

I would hate to have to use the SSB radio in the dark because of noise induced by interior LED bulbs.

Have they got the noise under control in the newer LED replacements?

Christian Van H · 27-06-2011, 05:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by DotDun

Have they got the noise under control in the newer LED replacements?

I am almost certain that the "Owl" anchor light from Bebi does not create noise and gets wonderful reviews on the SSCA forum. The version with a light sensing switch is only around $37.00! you would have to remove your current anchor light though, and not sure how that works if you have a combination tri-color...

Unicorn Dreams · 27-06-2011, 07:22

On my old boat the fixtures all used automotive type bulbs (1156) style. Had a couple of them burnt out, went to my spare parts box from truck driving days and got a couple of white LED's to replace the incandescent bulbs. Have worked great so far..

Honey Ryder · 27-06-2011, 07:36

Home Page

might be worth reading this article as apparently you need some circuit protection with leds on boats because the voltage can vary big time...this company sells the bulbs with a little electronic gizmo attached which means they will have the long life they are supposed to have and won't be damaged by voltage fluctuations.