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LED Bulb Cabin Light Replacements

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OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3440 Posts

Initially Posted - 10/11/2006 : 05:46:23

At the Annapolis Boat Show, there was a manufacturer selling an LED square cluster that has a 2 prong plug or an adapter to fit into the bayonet mounted bulb housings. The light was selling for $39. I had seen it in magazine advertisements and so was tempted to buy one. the manufacturer assured me that either the 2 prongs on the wire or the bayonet adapter would fit into my cabin light bulb housing since almost all cabin lights have one or the other mounts. I passed it up and good thing because....

I checked out my cabin light fixture and it has a similar bulb as my stern light both made by Aqua Signal. It is a festoon type bulb - 10 watts .5 amps and there are two bulbs in each of the main cabin light fixtures.

I noticed that a website believe called SuperBright LEDS sells LED Festoon mount bulb replacements. Also saw them on another website as well. The prices depending on the website and bulb arrangement cost between $3 and $12. Wow ! That sounds like a good deal. I was going to measure the festoon bulb length in my cabin fixture since it appears the festoon bulbs come in a few different size lengths. But before I buy it, I was curious if anyone has gone that route and what were there experiences. They have a 2,4,believe 6 and 9 LED cluster festoon bulb options and so i thought if I replace both bulbs in the cabin light housing with the largest LED cluster festoon type bulb, the light may be bright enough and still only uses a fraction of the amps that the original bulb uses and the cost of these LEDs are fairly reasonable...at least compared to $39. Also...fits exactly into the festoon mount so same fixture can be used.

Any comments ? Anyone go this route ? What were the experiences ?

Larry
'89 Robin's Nest#5820, Potomac River/Quantico, Va
http://catalina25.homestead.com/olarryr.html

Edited by - on

britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 10/11/2006 : 07:00:02

FYI, I purhcased a LED bayonet lamp from Wallymart for about $7.00 but it would not fit the lamp fitting in our C250 (our cabin cross beam has 2 bayonet lamps in swivel mounts.) So struck out there. The width of the glass bulb prevented it going deep enough into the fitting to allow the bayonets to hook in.

I keep looking at PepBoys as they have a very wide selection of LEDs, including festoon lamps .. as long as you like blues and reds! And they do have them in various sizes (lengths).
Paul

Edited by - on

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3440 Posts

Response Posted - 10/11/2006 : 07:17:24

Paul,

This is one of the websites I saw the festoon bulbs:

http://www.superbrightleds.com/1157.htm

Edited by - on

Brian King
1st Mate

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USA
73 Posts

Response Posted - 10/11/2006 : 07:20:50

Larry you can buy that square LED cluster through SuperBright LED for $19.95. Here is the link http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?product=OTHER
I'm thinking of trying one of these for the light in the galley area. The bulb adaptor may not be the right size, but it sure would be easy enough to adapt it to my (or any) configuration. While we are talking about lights, I need a new bulb for my (standard) anchor light - anyone know of a good source? It's the one similar to a bayonet bulb but has a dimple in each end instead of a point.

Edited by - on

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3440 Posts

Response Posted - 10/11/2006 : 08:31:44

Brian,

That cluster you referred to is simialr to the one they were selling at the boat show for 439. Obviously...some differences. Anyway, you are right in that the cluster may be a good substitute for some of the other lights in the cabin that do not use the festoon style bulb. But take a look at the same website for their festoon style bulbs - they have one that has a 9 LED Cluster built into the festoon bulb ! The cost...well don't have the website open right now but believe it was failry inexpensive and a direct replacement for the festoon bulb in those cabin lights above the main cabin seat cushions. It takes two festoon bulbs...so two festoon 9 LED Clusters should throw pretty good light and it is diffused thru the Aqua Signal housing. That is at least the housings installed on my boat.

I think I have a tape measure in my car/boat toolbox. I am going to measure the length of the festoon bulb. The festoons in the SuperBright website come in 31, 36, 39 and 42 mm length. believe the 9 cluster is in the 31 and 42 mm sizes.

I will have to check the galley light and also the VBerth light. i think they may be bayonet style and the link you provided gives a good LED option for those locations.

I think I would change out a few bulbs and see how that works out. I do not need to change all of them since I probably will never use some of them all that much. I definitely would like to change the main cabin ones above the cushions. This is probably more psychological reasons that cost savings because the LEDS cost more. the benefit for me is that I wind up not using the lights because I do not pay for electric at my dock. They charge separately for that at $20/month. Instead, I have a 20 watt solar panel (besides the outboard charging). But I wind up not using all that much electricity since i am concious of draining the batteries. if I go to some LEDs, I then will probably opt for using the lights in the cabin more frequently figuring that my solar panel can easily charge it up the next day or so....and then my Honda charges at 12 amps max anyway.

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 10/11/2006 : 10:03:03

Larry, only the sliders over the settees are the festoons, the old style square white units in the :
Galley
quarterberth
v-berth
are all bayonets.
I think the sliders are very nice but they are difficult to opperate, I have a hard time getting them in the off position, they slide past.

Edited by - on

StSimon
Captain

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USA
298 Posts

Response Posted - 10/11/2006 : 11:07:36

Here's a link to the supplier I used. I'll post some photos later.

http://autolumination.com/1156_1157.htm

Edited by - on

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3440 Posts

Response Posted - 10/11/2006 : 11:11:11

Frank,

Agree the sliders are a bit finicky. Mine are still working. Since the fixture looks good..nice diffuser, etc I will give the LED Festoons are shot. Kind of like the install simplicity - same size, fit, function.

I was looking on the web, etc for details as to the size/length of the installed festoons but was not successful. So, I will measure it later today when I go sailing (which is probably best approach anyway. The millimter dimensions equate to small differences amongst the ordering LED sizes - 1.22", 1.41", 1.54", 1.65" and 1.73". When I removed one the other day, it was definitely larger than an inch but have to measure for the exact size. Would like to get the 9 LED cluster festoon.

Edited by - on

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3440 Posts

Response Posted - 10/11/2006 : 11:18:51

Andy,

Thanks loads !
They also have festoons on that website...
http://autolumination.com/festoon.htm

The above link is to some of the 9 LED cluster festoons they sell @ $8.99 each. I think I can handle that. I copied the link for futher review at home. I'll compare the costs, etc info and hope to order something in the next day or so.

Edited by - on

Stu Jackson C34
Admiral

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844 Posts

Response Posted - 10/11/2006 : 12:00:02

I've been thinking about LEDs also and have the same issues regarding the sockets.

It finally occurred to me that it may be easier to find an inexpensive LED and then simply change the sockets to match the new LED lamps.

Edited by - on

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3440 Posts

Response Posted - 10/11/2006 : 13:35:59

Stu - agree. In my case, the main cabin lights have festoon mounts and so getting a festoon type LED bulb means I do not even have to change the sockets. It would take a bit of work/hanging a bayonet socket to the festoon mounts and the dollar savings from $9 festoon bulbs may not be worth it. The benefit of me staying with the festoon 9 LED Cluster is that all LEDs face downwards. if I were to switch to a bayonet mount, not only would I have to solder on a bayonet style socket but it is likely that the mounting would have only half the LEDs facing downwards. if the housing had a reflective backing, then the bayonet mount may be an okay substitution to consider but the Aqua Signal housing believe does not have a reflective backing and besides then I would have to get a bayonet socket, solder it and depending on how mounted, may not be that secure. The bayonet LEds may be slightly cheaper than the festoon LEDs but the one I am looking at is a 9 LED cluster and it's $8.99. The cheapest bayonet LED which may be less than 9 LEDs and not facing all downwards is perhaps $3.00. So, you are right, they may be chaeper but if all I have to do is slip one festoon out and stick the other one in - that seems to be the KISS approach.

Edited by - on

existentialsailor
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1180 Posts

Response Posted - 10/11/2006 : 14:57:41

I'm completely redoing Swimmer's electrical system this winter and plan to install these lights:
http://www.alpenglowlights.com/
Closest I've seen to "real" lights in an LED.

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 10/11/2006 : 15:23:03

Brian,
The bulbs you're looking for are Aqua Signal Series 25 festoon bulbs, 12vdc 10 watt. I got mine locally at a place called Popeyes for about $7 for a pair. Here's the URL to their lighting section, they told me they ship world wide. http://www.popeyesmarine.com/Lighting.htm I can't find the exact bulb on the site right now, but I can take a look in the spare parts box when I get home and get the number for you. If you can't find them, I can run over there after work for you and get a set & mail them to you. If nothing else, you can give them a call, they were very-very helpful when I stopped by.

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 10/11/2006 : 15:50:08

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by existentialsailor
 I'm completely redoing Swimmer's electrical system this winter and plan to install these lights:
http://www.alpenglowlights.com/
Closest I've seen to "real" lights in an LED.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Many of us are familiar with the Alpenglow products. They are top drawer.

Edited by - on

Tom Potter
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1913 Posts

Response Posted - 10/11/2006 : 21:11:44

Larry,
The 250 has 4 festoon cabin lights. I replaced all my festoons with LED festoons from SuperBright(good to work with company) last year. I bought the largest size he had, I had to spread the contacts on the receptacle just a little to accept the larger size festoon (easy to do with just your fingers, no problems) I tried the amber color first but switched to the white, the amber was to dim for me. My interior lights have 2 whites festoons and 1 red festoon in each light, I also replaced the red festoons with a red LED. The LEDs are not as bright as the regular festoons however plenty light enough. I have gotten use to the difference, it's comforting to know your only using a fraction of the power.

Edited by - Tom Potter on 10/11/2006 21:16:53

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3440 Posts

Response Posted - 10/11/2006 : 22:40:34

Tom,

Your posting is a big help. I figured I would check this forum tonight to see the addl postings before considering ordering from SuperBright and your posting does help because when I took the measurements off the old festoons, I came up with approximately 1.66"-1.68" which falls inbetween the 42mm and 44mm LED Festoons that SuperBright sells. I guess I will go with the 1.73" since I believe the 9 LED Cluster is sold only in the 31mm and 44mm sizes. I'll check again before ordering and also want to check out their spec section which I glanced out earlier and see they have a brightness comparisons.
Thanks

Edited by - on

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3440 Posts

Response Posted - 10/12/2006 : 06:01:28

Well...to start the ball rolling, I ordered 4 LED Festoons from SuperBright. It was the 9 cluster LED Model @ 44mm size. The total order cost including shipping for the 4 festoons was approximately $20.

I did not spend much time comparing the AutoIllumination LED festoons to the SuperBright festoons, so I cannot really say whether they are equal brightness. It seemed hard to compare the specs that both companies list for the super white 9 cluster LED Festoons. They both have the same basic type I wound up ordering. The SuperBright ones were perhaps a $1 cheaper per bulb, so no big deal there.

It is interesting when looking at the websites at just how many varieties of LEDs there are - quite a few ! Also as to how they are constructed. They also sell 12 LED Cluster festoons but they have 6 of the LEDs facing down and 6 facing up. So...they are suitable for housings that have a reflecive back. The 9 cluster LEDs come two ways depending on the festoon size. In the 31mm size, the size limits putting the cluster directly into the festoon body, so they have a square configuration mounted in the middle of the festoon. On the 44mm festoon, the 9 LED cluster is built directly into the festoon body. Both 9 LED clusters all face down. The manufacturer that was selling an LED cluster for $39 at the boat show had what appeared to be some kind of enhancement probably for increased brightness or linking so many LEDs into the cluster. It had what appeared to be a microchip board built into the cluster, so again the brightness comparison and it's applications may explain the high cost. It was most similar to the LED cluster that brian mentioned above in his posting selling for $19.99 from Superbright. Then adding to all of this...I had bought an OGM Anchor light that has just one itty bitty LED in the bottom of it but this LED, along with the microchips, etc is coast guard approved for 2 NM. so there is a world of differences between all these LEDs.

I guess one day I really need to sit down and get more up to speed on the technical aspects/comparisons of all these LEDs. At first glance, it seems that there is a mix of specs used out there and not so easy to compare one against the other and then again to standard bulb brightness/candlepower. Compared to standard bulbs, LEDs have a different intensity, range of beam and etc other different characteristics which make them difficult to get a good feeling as to suitability without experimenting by buying some and seeing for yourself. So...here goes !

Edited by - on

John P
Captain

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USA
324 Posts

Response Posted - 10/12/2006 : 06:48:22

Thanks to everybody for this thread! It's on my to-do list

Edited by - on

britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 10/12/2006 : 07:33:39

IMOH, most of the sites I have visited selling LEDs don't make it easy to make the selection. The sites come across as market stall locations, although a few have technical specs.
Just a matter of preference, I like orderly structures not seemingly caotic layouts that make you wonder if the retailer is just as caotic.. The first impression on visiting a website is really important (at least in my book)

We score pretty high in this regard on this site. It's well laid out, you always know where you are and can easily navigate to any segment of the site.
So kudos to the team that did the redesign when we moved to the new server.

Paul.

Edited by - on

Brian King
1st Mate

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USA
73 Posts

Response Posted - 10/12/2006 : 12:46:56

David, thanks for the offer to pick up the bulbs from Popeye's, but believe it or not, I'll be in Seattle next week and may swing up to the store. I've never been to Seattle so I'm looking forward to it. Again, I appreciate the offer. Going sailing next week? Need some extra ballast?

Edited by - on

Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 10/12/2006 : 15:17:49

Someone above mentioned As long as you like blues and reds - we converted the switch on one of our cabin lights to a toggle A - B - Off and put a red bulb in along with the white - took a bit of work and some spare parts from the back of the west marine catalog, but the red light is great for running down in the cabin at night to grab something or hit the head. It is easy on the eyes when you return topside.

Edited by - on

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3440 Posts

Response Posted - 10/12/2006 : 20:48:49

I was wondering why someone would want a red LED. Thanks for the info.

Edited by - on

britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 10/12/2006 : 21:47:48

There is science behind the red light.
I believe that the eyes use the outer area of the retina for low light conditions (hence why you see more out of the side of your view when using binocs at night). Red light is best used by the inner area of the retina. So using red lights for below decks (and approaches to weather decks) doesn't overload the outer regions of the retina. So going from a red light environment to a dark one results in better 'night' vision. You'll find all Navy ships have red lights in the accessways to weather decks at night.

Paul

Edited by - on

Breezy Cat
1st Mate

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38 Posts

Response Posted - 10/12/2006 : 22:10:53

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by britinusa
 There is science behind the red light.
I believe that the eyes use the outer area of the retina for low light conditions (hence why you see more out of the side of your view when using binocs at night). Red light is best used by the inner area of the retina. So using red lights for below decks (and approaches to weather decks) doesn't overload the outer regions of the retina. So going from a red light environment to a dark one results in better 'night' vision. You'll find all Navy ships have red lights in the accessways to weather decks at night.

Paul

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Before going on the flight deck at night (Navy carriers - Nam) we had to wear red goggles for an half an hour so we had night vision.
Lots of fast moving nasty stuff on deck that you need to see at night.
Red lights below on charts etc. will help keep you seeing on deck at night. Be careful of white flashlights when you come up, they will cut your depth perception down and basically make you blind for a few minutes each time you use them.
BC

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