12v Lights

WestWittering

WestWittering

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I would like to make the lighting in the cabin more modern. Is it possible to convert standard 240v lights & lamps to 12v LED? I'm a bit fed up with the 'its a boat therefore it has to be 'brass' look'. Has anyone done this or can recommend a good lighting shop?

Di
 
Try Calibra Marine in Bursledon, they have some nice LED lights and I swapped a load over this winter from the old flourescents. Bit pricey mind so you may want to look at other sources as well. Plenty out there!
 
Mmm, some quite nice lights there - always a bit suspicious if they don't put the price on the website though! That is why I was hoping I could convert a standard BHS 240v light to a 12v. The interior is just a lamp holder after all - where would l get the parts & wiring from or should I get an electrician to do it?

Di
 
WestWittering said:
Mmm, some quite nice lights there - always a bit suspicious if they don't put the price on the website though! That is why I was hoping I could convert a standard BHS 240v light to a 12v. The interior is just a lamp holder after all - where would l get the parts & wiring from or should I get an electrician to do it?

Di
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You can get adaptors for the (22D) mains fittings, to take 12 volt leds, try index marine or Aten lighting or Searolf.
I have four or five aboard, to convert just like you.
Plus you can get 12 volt bulbs in 22D to fit.
They are usually called "coach bulbs"
 
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I sourced from caravan supplier
just do a search in ebay for 12v LED caravan lights plenty of choice at reasonable prices
 
lw395 said:
There are more and more 12V LED fittings being made for domestic use.
Try Ikea?
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Whilst at face value it might look attractive to use light fixtures designed for domestic installations on our boats. There are some serious issues that can arise.

It is very important to understand that domestic LED lights rely on an electronic transformer to produce pretty much exactly the fixed design voltage of the specific LED lamp used in the fixture, often over a nominal range of mains voltage. Consequently, these LED lamps will not be designed to be connected to a DC supply that can vary. They do actually require a fixed voltage to operate within their design rating.

On our boats voltage a supply voltage can range from less than 12v if a battery is running low to say 13.8v when engine is running or connected via a simple charger. A boats supply voltage can also occasionally rise to over 16v when a modern battery charger is used in equalisation mode. Why does this matter?

An LED lamp that is designed for a fixed voltage supply will normally have its current limited by simple resistors. Consequently the lamp will be seen to be less bright at 11v and very much brighter at 13.8v. The light output of the lamp and it's load current will vary with the applied voltage. Consequently at 16v it will be extremely bright!

Practical tests, I have carried out, on a number of domestic fixtures including items from IKEA indicate that at 13.8v, a typical LED lamp draws around 50% more than its current demand at 12v. At 16v the current flowing through the lamp increases to around 200%. Clearly at 13.8v and particularly at any higher voltages LED damage will result. At best, a lamp will have a much reduced service life and at worst you risk a fire. I have also seen bespoke supply transformers for domestic LED luminaires produce an output voltage of only 8v.

I strongly suggest that you resist using LED lamps for purposes and in circumstances they were not designed for. By all means use the fixtures, but do ensure that you use LED lamps designed for the range of voltages likely to appear on your boat.

Constant-current, controlled lamps are readily availiable for use in the marine environment, they are designed for the purpose. These lamps are often described as being rated at 10-30v. Such lamps will have the same light output at 10v as they do at 30v. Electronics within the lamp ensure that the lamp's working current is exactly right independent of the applied supply voltage.
 
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LED on 12v

Adrian I quite correct however he does sell LED lighting for boats which uses the more expensive electronic current control which gives the LED correct current over a huge input voltage. This is of more concern for those using mains type battery chargers or smart regulators on engine alternator where battery voltage can rise to 15v. They are in fact the Rolls Royce of LEDs
In practice there is no problem using cheap LED with resistive current limiting if your battery voltage is around the 12v when the lights are in use. Any cheap LED made for 12v will be OK on usual voltage up to 13.75 because they are designed for cars. Using a soldering iron and a piece of heavy copper you can solder almost any LED into a 240v fitting and of course connect it to the ships 12v battery. Look on ebay for LED lights. You may find also the 12v down light replacements for household used with a 240v to 12v transformer which have diodes to rectify the AC. These are fine on 12v DC and in fact can be connected either way around. Not polarity sensitive because of the diodes. Not sure about voltage tolerance on these especially the higher powered ones. The fittings you put them into should be safe with overheat anyway.
good luck olewill
 
You can now buy 12 volt LED "bus bulbs" http://www.baddiethepirate.co.uk/baddiepages/busbulbs.htm These have the bayonet cap like a standard 240 volt BC bulb and can thus be used in domestic light fittings and should satisfy the OP's requirements. They incorporate electronic controllers and work on supplies from 10 to 30 volts. I read a favourable review of the bulbs in an inland waterways magazine. They are called bus bulbs because apparently buses are lit internally by low voltage bulbs with a BC cap.
 
Thank you for all your replies - there is certainly some food for thought there & I will certainly check out bus bulbs. It is such a shame that no one manufactures stylish replacements at a reasonable price. All I am after is some decent reading lights and/or perhaps some 'picture' lights.

Thanks again :)

Di
 
WestWittering said:
I would like to make the lighting in the cabin more modern. Is it possible to convert standard 240v lights & lamps to 12v LED? I'm a bit fed up with the 'its a boat therefore it has to be 'brass' look'. Has anyone done this or can recommend a good lighting shop?

Di
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Led's to fit standard domestic fittings plus a lot more = Searolf.

Bits to convert/build any domestic lamp/light = Lampsandlights.co.uk

Used both suppliers and no problems so far.
 
Hi,

I bought these which are under counter kitchen ones designed for 12v. They came with halogen lights which i replaced with a set of LEDS from someone who has already posted in this thread.

IMG_6690.jpg


I added the small toggle switch to each which were less than a £1. I got three lights for £10 (new), how long they will last i don't know but they look better than anything i could find at a reasonable price.
 
I did something very similar bought some halogen lights then cut out the fittings bought a toggle switch and some LEDs from www.phenoptix.com Then fitted them all into the light fitting, they have a red or white option. I built them to be controlled by resistors only setting the max voltage as 15V so at 12V they are a little dimmer but not noticably.

You can spend vast amounts of money on controllers for LEDs but in practice using a resistor and accepting that your LED fitting will have slightly reduced life is much cheaper. I could build my lights and replace them 5 or 6 times for the cost of a controller.

View attachment 19028

The opaque glass lense covers this up and makes it looks much neater.:)

Ross
 
I converted good quality brass light fittings 30+ yrs old, by completely removing the bayonet fitting and replacing with a length of LED lights on a strip which cost a few quid each on Ebay.
Easy to do, as the strip have self adhesive backing, and the LEDs produce more light than the old 21 watt bulb, do not get hot and use about 20% of the power of the old bulb. Marginally slightly more blue white light, but not markedly so
 
VicMallows said:
Fitted 4 of these inside my 2x8w ceiling fluorescent fitting. (It is recessed in headlining and replacing would be messy)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/G4-24-SMD...7576418?pt=UK_Light_Bulbs&hash=item4aafd55fe2

Far superior light to the fluorescent. Yes, they're the cheap resistive sort which Adrian hates, but I NEVER have any form of charging when the cabin lights are on.
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Ha is it that obvious that I'm not a fan of resistor controlled LEDs!

Vic, how can I knock them at a quid each. As long as you and anyone else who uses them understands their limitations, I'm sure they are fine but....

Another post mentioned that these lamps are designed for motor vehicles so are fine at 13.8v. That's not necessarily the case, as a video I have posted before demonstrates. In that instance soldered joints in the lamp melted at 14.5v due to the use of inadequately rated resistors, they were fine at 12v.

Boat owners will simply not know if the lamps are safe, they buy without any meaningful warranty and will have no comeback on the seller if something goes badly wrong. It just seems extraordinary to me that people spend thousands of pounds, some hundreds of thousands purchasing their boats and then take a gamble and light them with lamps from the pound shop!
 
hi, i found the led lights from diy places expensive, i just looked on ebay, mr16`s about £2.50 each, connected straight to my 12v system no problem at all. I understand what others say about voltage fluctuations, but mine are fine at anytime, and have been used for quite along time whilst i lived aboard. was a cheap set up, good luck!
 
elioti said:
hi, i found the led lights from diy places expensive, i just looked on ebay, mr16`s about £2.50 each, connected straight to my 12v system no problem at all. I understand what others say about voltage fluctuations, but mine are fine at anytime, and have been used for quite along time whilst i lived aboard. was a cheap set up, good luck!
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Same here mine have been trouble free, and just replaced some more G4 halgen with led capsules £3.50 each inc postage with cool white for bedside reading. Already had x12 G4's warm whites and one red in cabin. Light quality is different but overall better than halos. x10 flat G4's £19.00 inc postage against one bought from swindery at £18.00. Draw on battery next to nothing.
 
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