Has anyone installed the Swiveling LED interior lamp from West Marine? Thinking about changing the V berth lamps.
Thanks, Paulus
I added four of these lights in our salon mounted to cabinets for reading lights and maybe they would work in the front? The build is solid and they are all stainless except for the chrome plated base which at least is ferrous enough for a magnet to stick.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Boat-Reading-Light-RV-Fixture-MR16-LED-Bulb-Base-Satin-Chrome-12v-GW21500-/221838108222?hash=item33a694e63e
I simply changed the bulbs in my OEM fixture to led. I did this for every interior light in the boat and I'm very pleased with the results.
Same here- installed LED bulbs. They work great. Bought them at Hamilton Marine in Maine.
Quote from: Dave Spencer on February 03, 2016, 02:28:57 PM
I simply changed the bulbs in my OEM fixture to led. I did this for every interior light in the boat and I'm very pleased with the results.
Plus 3
Paulus : Always include your hull # and production year!!
Do you have any idea how many different interior light fixtures that Catalina installed in over 20 years of production??? I'd guess at about 5 to 7 !!!
A thought
Hi Ron, Cool Change is a 1989 Hull #944. I have none of the original lights in the boat. Replaced main cabin with florescent lights and the aft cabin with LED bulbs about 10 years ago. Not very bright. Hard to read by.
Want to do some upgrading.
Thanks, Paulus
I need a lot of light, bad eyes. I opted to replace all my old fixtures with new ones due to their condition/stlye location, and the fact I was rewiring and upgrading. A good fixture designed for LEDs has proper circuitry, heat sink, etc.) at least in my opinion. I shopped around and tried a bunch and returned some West Marine ones and Aqua Signal ones for poor brightness/color, flimsiness. I use a wide variety of LED fixtures throughout my boat. I have Dr. LED Mars dome lights in V-Berth and head, LunaSea in aft cabin, Hella at chart table, and Alpenglow fixtures in the main salon. I like them all for their various locations, except my wife says the Dr. LED Mars dome light in the head is not bright enough due to its location on the low headliner next to sink...the light is blocked when she stands putting on make-up in the mirror...really?! Tough to find a good location for more light with without having to do a wire raceway/cover. I'll add it to my project list (not high on the list, but lets keep that fact among ourselves).
The Alpenglow are VERY nice (top rated by Practical Sailor) but they are pricey. Two of them on the coachroof light up the entire main salon. All my lights have red and white settings. The Alpenglows also have high/low.Take a look at their website: https://www.alpenglowlights.com/
Thanks Noah, Have the same complaint about the light in the head. I am thinking about putting in a puck type that works off batteries? Will check out the web site.
Paulus
I also installed LED in standard fixtures
hull # 1759
I just recently changed all my bulbs to LED, not so much for more light but for power consumption. All lights now draw approx 20% of what they used to.. I tried a number of different ones, ordered a couple to see what they were like, also tried a couple of different fixtures. I found the following fixture to be good for the galley and Nav station due to the narrow overhead space:
https://www.superbrightleds.com/cat/swivel-led/
The following worked well for the head in place of the previous fixture.
https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/led-dome-light-fixtures-non-waterproof/105-oval-dome-light-led-fixture-with-switch/1490/3465/
I used those from West Marine in our V-berth. They work wonderfully. I also installed a 16' LED Warm White flexible light strip that runs down one side and back up the other. Talk about bright! https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/led-strip-lights-standard-lengths/led-light-strips-led-tape-light-with-18-smdsft-1-chip-smd-led-3528-with-lc2-connector/1464/
In addition to adding light to the boat, a Mark 2, I changed out the swivel bulbs for LEDs on the cheap. Warm white LEDs found on Ebay for a few dollars each. We have two types, a 4 watt that sits flush with the housing like the original bulbs and I believe a 6 watt bulb that protrudes ½" or so. So far the bulbs are holding up to use and have greatly reduced electricity usage.
YMMV
Quote from: dfloeter on February 13, 2016, 08:40:12 AM
I changed out the swivel bulbs for LEDs on the cheap. Warm white LEDs found on Ebay for a few dollars each.
YMMV
Just be aware of what can happen. It gives me angst when I hear owners finding cheapo LEDs that are manufactured who-knows-where, and are not constant-current controlled. They may be ok for autos and RVs and power boats where the voltage swing is more limited more, than on sailboats with deep cycle banks that get depleted. See:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdiAUovJ17w
kk
Good call, Ken.
Excellent alert (and well done video by Marinebeam.com). The question it leaves me with is, how does a sailor tell? Somehow I suspect we can't just trust the vendors of such crappy products to tell us if their bulbs are properly designed to work reliably across the full range of voltage expected on a boat (~10-17v).
In the meantime, perhaps someone (MaineSail listening?) can create a list of quality manufacturers?
Quote from: J_Sail on February 13, 2016, 09:48:05 AM
Excellent alert (and well done video by Marinebeam.com). The question it leaves me with is, how does a sailor tell? Somehow I suspect we can't just trust the vendors of such crappy products to tell us if their bulbs are properly designed to work reliably across the full range of voltage expected on a boat (~10-17v).
In the meantime, perhaps someone (MaineSail listening?) can create a list of quality manufacturers?
If the price seems too good to be true, the product is probably also.
kk
Thanks Ken for the video. I see a little testing is in order. When I return from a three week road trip I will check this out further.
The previous link was for another light I installed. The light I installed in the head was:
https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/led-dome-light-fixtures-non-waterproof/105-oval-dome-light-led-fixture-with-switch/1490/3465/
The light I installed over the galley was:
https://www.superbrightleds.com/cat/swivel-led/
It is mounted to the wooden strip which is orientated 45 deg and facing downward from the front of the front of trim piece. The light still has the ability to rotate but not the full range of movement it had when mounted on a flat surface.
I took a different approach; lighting the galley from the side and above, using an Alpenglow bullhead reading light with dimmer and a separate Dr. LED red/white light over ice box.
Hi,
Like your setup Noah,
I find that all fixtures are to low and don't provide proper lighting.
I have suspended batterie LED lamp from the handrail roof, it helped.
A quick update on my el cheapo leds referenced earlier. I wired the two types (MR-16 4 watt with 60 leds on a flat panel and 6 watt with 3 leds) that I have to an old Radio Shack 12 volt power supply that actually outputs 16.2 volts. Wiring them one at a time, they were let burn for a couple hours each and temperature was monitored occasionally with a Fluke laser thermometer. The temp at the bases never topped 70F and measuring the sides of the reflectors the temp was closer to 80F. I know this is not real scientific but the lights did well at 16 volts and never came close to a melt down. If I can track down a variable power source I would like to check these lights at higher voltages and find the breaking point. Thanks for the concern about less expensive lights but so far I see no reason to stop using these. Am I missing something?
Quote from: dfloeter on March 26, 2016, 08:39:52 AM
A quick update on my el cheapo leds referenced earlier. I wired the two types (MR-16 4 watt with 60 leds on a flat panel and 6 watt with 3 leds) that I have to an old Radio Shack 12 volt power supply that actually outputs 16.2 volts. Wiring them one at a time, they were let burn for a couple hours each and temperature was monitored occasionally with a Fluke laser thermometer. The temp at the bases never topped 70F and measuring the sides of the reflectors the temp was closer to 80F. I know this is not real scientific but the lights did well at 16 volts and never came close to a melt down. If I can track down a variable power source I would like to check these lights at higher voltages and find the breaking point. Thanks for the concern about less expensive lights but so far I see no reason to stop using these. Am I missing something?
Was it still 16v with the load on it?
I have a variable V source that I could USPS to you. The other option would be to invest in some 6v lantern batteries == I guess they would punch out enough amps.
kk
Satisfying my curiosity, I have results. Temps were measured with a Fluke 62 Mini IR Thermometer and voltages with a Blue Seas AC/DC Clamp Meter. Two types of leds were tested, 6w x3 led and a 4w x 60 led. The ancient Radio Shack power supply puts out 15.5 volts with the 3x led and 15.8 volts with the 60x led.
Top temps: 6w x3 90F on the led surface and 85F on the vented side
4w x60 157F on the led surface and 70-110 on the side measuring from trhe base upwards
At no time did anything smell burned or seem unusual. For whatever it's worth, this is the data. Should I continue using the leds?
Replaced my aft cabin lights with West Marine led cabin lights.
Paul
Quote from: dfloeter on February 03, 2016, 02:27:23 PM
I added four of these lights in our salon mounted to cabinets for reading lights and maybe they would work in the front? The build is solid and they are all stainless except for the chrome plated base which at least is ferrous enough for a magnet to stick.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Boat-Reading-Light-RV-Fixture-MR16-LED-Bulb-Base-Satin-Chrome-12v-GW21500-/221838108222?hash=item33a694e63e
I like them and will install as well!
Quote from: Paulus on February 07, 2016, 09:01:46 AM
Thanks Noah, Have the same complaint about the light in the head. I am thinking about putting in a puck type that works off batteries? Will check out the web site.
Paulus
I installed some puck lights in my house. Batteries last about 2-3 hours total. Threw the away! I am sure there are good and bad ones. Not sure how to determine.