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Interior LED upgrade

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DavidBuoy
Admiral

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USA
707 Posts

Initially Posted - 01/05/2015 : 15:32:46

Been working to upgrade all of the interior lights in David Buoy to LED to help with battery life when out cruising. Wanted to go with new units rather than bulb upgrades for a better beam dispersion and because mine just look like trash. I already wired in a double on the bottom side of the pop top to light the center of the cabin and an adjustable spotlight to the compression post. I just received 6 more single fixtures to replace all the fixtures in the boat. Also have some colored led strips that I plan to use to accent the interior wired to a remote. You can find the fixtures I used on Amazon by a seller "goldstars" for a decent price. Also have Dr.LED festoons for all navigation light. We'll see how they hold up over time. I will update this thread as I complete the work.

Dome fixture: ($15)

6 Single fixtures: ($50)

Edited by - on

dasreboot
Admiral

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803 Posts

Response Posted - 01/06/2015 : 05:42:40

is this the one with the dimmer?

Edited by - on

DavidBuoy
Admiral

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USA
707 Posts

Response Posted - 01/06/2015 : 09:59:55

quote:
Originally posted by dasreboot

is this the one with the dimmer?

No, these are on/off. Can dim by simply reducing the number of fixtures on. The dimmer with RF remote will be on the accent lights to be able to adjust them as necessary.

Edited by - on

DavidBuoy
Admiral

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USA
707 Posts

Response Posted - 01/16/2015 : 10:06:44

Got all of the fixtures swapped out last night and It turned out great! Bright enough to do surgery in there now. I did seal a number of housings to the liner with silicone where there is known water intrusion to prevent the internals from corroding. Still waiting for the accent lighting and remote dimmer to come in the mail.

Edited by - on

redeye
Master Marine Consultant

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3475 Posts

Response Posted - 01/16/2015 : 12:20:17

It sure looks nice .. good even coverage of white light.

Great Project!

It's also interesting that you will kinda have a deck light at night with the pop top up...

Edited by - on

DavidBuoy
Admiral

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USA
707 Posts

Response Posted - 01/16/2015 : 12:39:36

quote:
Originally posted by redeye

It's also interesting that you will kinda have a deck light at night with the pop top up...

That's my favorite part! That plus the new combo navigation and decklight with Dr.LEDs in both to light the foredeck. I am planning something for the cockpit also, still vetting the options though. Installed the new stern light w/Dr.LED the other day and that blew my mind how bright it was. Like a bright floodlight behind the boat. Should keep the drunk powerboaters off my A$$. (no offense, I love'em too, operators just tend to get a little more silly

)

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Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5313 Posts

Response Posted - 01/16/2015 : 22:15:54

WOW! Rob, the photos tell the story - very bright! Good luck with the fixtures.

I was at the local auto parts store the other day and found a set of automotive LED bulb replacements, which are tail-lights or parking lights, that would fit right into the old fixture I have in the V-berth. It's an 1156 white lamp.

The configuration of the lamp is 360 degrees all around, with a light element on the top end as well. It appeared to be just about as bright as a conventional 20W incandescent bulb, but requires about 150 mA, not 2000 mA (2A).

They cost $10 apiece (not too bad) in a 2-pack and I could replace the V-berth and galley fixture with them. Has anybody tried these out yet? Be interested to hear your results.

Edited by - Voyager on 01/16/2015 22:16:59

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 01/17/2015 : 15:20:01

If you have old, yellowed, original fixtures, you will be disappointed. LED light is narrow band and works best with clear or frosted lenses. Any color in the lens will cause a big reduction in output. Otherwise, there should be no problem, but I did have to switch my wiring to match polarity. I ended up going with new faceted glass fixtures with super results.

Edited by - on

bigelowp
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1757 Posts

Response Posted - 01/17/2015 : 16:10:02

Looks great! used some West Marine replacement lights . . . . . butt hey were more akin to the original than the significant upgrade you have made.

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DavidBuoy
Admiral

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USA
707 Posts

Response Posted - 02/11/2015 : 18:21:21

Started getting the party lights installed tonight, about halfway finished. Really dig them. Have an RF remote that you can dim from 1 to 100% and it works great. They look a little spotty in the photos but it's just my crap camera I've been working with.

Captain Rob & Admiral Alyson
"David Buoy"-1985 C25 SK/SR #5053

redeye
Master Marine Consultant

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3475 Posts

Response Posted - 02/12/2015 : 04:55:30

i LOVE IT... You can almost hear the Earth, Wind and Fire playin....

Ray in Atlanta, Ga.
"Lee Key" '84 Catalina 25
Standard Rig / Fin Keel

DavidBuoy
Admiral

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USA
707 Posts

Response Posted - 02/12/2015 : 19:25:03

I know this isn't for everyone on here, but I love it also! Finished the last half of it tonight and cleaned up all the existing wiring finally. Total of 8 LED strips. 6 in the main cabin, 1 in the head and one in the V berth.

Captain Rob & Admiral Alyson
"David Buoy"-1985 C25 SK/SR #5053

DavidBuoy
Admiral

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USA
707 Posts

Response Posted - 02/12/2015 : 19:36:27

BTW this is what it used to look like...

Captain Rob & Admiral Alyson
"David Buoy"-1985 C25 SK/SR #5053

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5313 Posts

Response Posted - 02/13/2015 : 08:20:09

Wow, what a difference! Like I said above, the white light has really been perfected using LEDs, as earlier LEDs were too blue.
While LEDs are great for visibility (as you mentioned about your white aft light), they save a bunch of battery power and you can almost do surgery in the cabin, there's something to be said of the look and feeling of the old amber tungsten color temperature. It may not be a big deal, but maybe someday the designers of LEDs will come up with a simulation of the warmth of that look, maybe not. Till then, I will probably keep some of the old bulbs on Passage for the atmosphere, and use my LEDs when I need to see something up close!

Bruce Ross
Passage ~ SR-FK ~ C25 #5032

Port Captain � Milford, CT

jaydon
Navigator

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USA
156 Posts

Response Posted - 06/17/2015 : 11:27:06

I'd like to add a question here. Bruce, I too picked up a pair of 1156 at the auto store. While the 1156 incandescent works fine, the 1156 LED does not work at all.
Hate to spend the $$ on new fixtures; but looks like that may be the only option to get LED in the cabin.
Unless someone knows of a way to do it.
Rob, you mentioned the stern light. Was it a new LED fixture or new LED festoon bulb.
And one more - Rob, do you have the fixture info at hand? Model #'s and where you got them?
That would be really helpful (maybe take advantage of your vast research - hehe).
Cabin looks great with the blue, love to try that.
Jay

Jay
South County RI
Cat 25 SR/FK/Trad
#5645
Wind Dancer

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 06/17/2015 : 14:20:48

#1. Try switching polarity. I had to reverse wires when I put LEDs in the original fixtures. The light output was pretty poor through the aged fixtures as I mentioned in an earlier post. I ended up spending the bucks for new red/white LED fixtures.

Dave B. aboard Pearl
1982 TR/SK/Trad. #3399
Lake Erie/Florida Panhandle

DavidBuoy
Admiral

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USA
707 Posts

Response Posted - 06/17/2015 : 20:18:00

It was just the standard Aqua signal unit you can find on Catalina direct and a Dr.led festoon bulb.

Captain Rob & Admiral Alyson
"David Buoy"-1985 C25 SK/SR #5053

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