josefronteira
New Member
I´m looking for a decente quality anchor light with low comsuption and price to be hanged from a halyard or suspended from the boom , something better than € 2 garden leds. Any sugestions?
anchor light
- Thread starter josefronteira
- Start date
VicS
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
something better than € 2 garden leds
[/ QUOTE ] Reckon anything woould be better.
This one from various chandlers http://www.force4.co.uk/ProductDetails/m...fc-2e007f4400ce
This LED one http://www.triton-marine.co.uk/Anchor-jul06.htm
Buy a LED bulb suitable for an anchor light from www.ultraleds.co.uk
or www.doctorled.com and make your own.
An LED camping lantern ~~~~ but check its battery consumption. I bought one from Maplin but its power consumption is ridiculous (.25 amp)
something better than € 2 garden leds
[/ QUOTE ] Reckon anything woould be better.
This one from various chandlers http://www.force4.co.uk/ProductDetails/m...fc-2e007f4400ce
This LED one http://www.triton-marine.co.uk/Anchor-jul06.htm
Buy a LED bulb suitable for an anchor light from www.ultraleds.co.uk
or www.doctorled.com and make your own.
An LED camping lantern ~~~~ but check its battery consumption. I bought one from Maplin but its power consumption is ridiculous (.25 amp)
Lizzie_B
Well-Known Member
I use one of these hoisted in the foretriangle. I have also at times added a second from the boom.
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|65136|295769|320397|853116&id=853095
They meet the USCG 2mile visibility requirement and batteries last a long time if you get the LED version. I believe the similar Perko ones do not have the 2mile vis guarantee, and the one I had initially before the aquasignals was useless by the end of two seasons due to deterioration of the lense material. The Aquasignals are fine after 4 seasons.
I was concerned about battery life at first but left them on for 48hours continuous before using in anger.
Returning to the boat in busy anchorages, mine is usually the most visible. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|65136|295769|320397|853116&id=853095
They meet the USCG 2mile visibility requirement and batteries last a long time if you get the LED version. I believe the similar Perko ones do not have the 2mile vis guarantee, and the one I had initially before the aquasignals was useless by the end of two seasons due to deterioration of the lense material. The Aquasignals are fine after 4 seasons.
I was concerned about battery life at first but left them on for 48hours continuous before using in anger.
Returning to the boat in busy anchorages, mine is usually the most visible. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
BlueChip
Well-Known Member
I've also got one of these automatic lights
The advantage of these is that you can hoist it in the summer evenings before you go to the pub and it will turn on at dusk and then turn itself off early in the morning. Probably saves 4 or 5 hours battery each night over a non auto lamp.
As these have a fresnel lens they are incredibly bright, on summer evenings in Studland bay when there can be hundreds of yachts at anchor its easy to pick it out.
The advantage of these is that you can hoist it in the summer evenings before you go to the pub and it will turn on at dusk and then turn itself off early in the morning. Probably saves 4 or 5 hours battery each night over a non auto lamp.
As these have a fresnel lens they are incredibly bright, on summer evenings in Studland bay when there can be hundreds of yachts at anchor its easy to pick it out.
RobinBirch
Well-Known Member
I would also recommend the Triton Marine offering - plug and go!
Also, they are nice guys.
Also, they are nice guys.
simonfraser
Well-Known Member
my triton is v bright and easy to set up, they replaced a broken one last week with no hassle.
theforeman
Well-Known Member
the force 4 link contains the following -
" With a current draw of less than 3/4 amp hour, they will run all night continuously for 1000 hours before discharging an 80 amp hour battery.......... Consumes only 0.074amps at 12v. "
am i right in thinking these figures do not add up ?
do they mean less than 74/1000ths or .74 of an amp ?
if the former, they seem to be suggesting that you should drain the battery 100%
" With a current draw of less than 3/4 amp hour, they will run all night continuously for 1000 hours before discharging an 80 amp hour battery.......... Consumes only 0.074amps at 12v. "
am i right in thinking these figures do not add up ?
do they mean less than 74/1000ths or .74 of an amp ?
if the former, they seem to be suggesting that you should drain the battery 100%
VicS
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
am i right in thinking these figures do not add up
[/ QUOTE ] Absolutely and they have been churning the same set of figures out for years.
I have no idea which is right 0.74 amps or 0.074 amps.
Since Blue chip has one he will be in a position to tell us exactly what the current consumption is. I'd like to know.
I dont think they mean you SHOULD drain your battery 100% I think they are pointing out how long it WOULD take to do so. But it might be wrong by a factor of 10!
am i right in thinking these figures do not add up
[/ QUOTE ] Absolutely and they have been churning the same set of figures out for years.
I have no idea which is right 0.74 amps or 0.074 amps.
Since Blue chip has one he will be in a position to tell us exactly what the current consumption is. I'd like to know.
I dont think they mean you SHOULD drain your battery 100% I think they are pointing out how long it WOULD take to do so. But it might be wrong by a factor of 10!
earlybird
Well-Known Member
I recently got one of these, A Davis "Mega-Light", from Force 4 IIRC. I've not yet tried it in anger, but I'm a bit dubious. It claims around 0.1 amp current draw and 2mile vis. What it doesn't point out is that it comes with 2 bulbs, the more "powerful" one is ~0.3 amp, ie 3.6w, this one has to be fitted to give the claimed 2 mile vis. Since the bulb replacement cost is quoted as £8, I was expecting something fairly "hi-tech", but they appear to be just ordinary filament bulbs. As such, the power is very, very low compared with conventional nav. lights. The fresnel lens is designed to give an extremely narrow bright band, OK if your line of sight is in this band, not so good if it's not. (alright, it was an Xmas pressie, I can't really send it back! )
VicS
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
A Davis "Mega-Light", from Force 4 IIRC
[/ QUOTE ] I think thats the same unit as the one I linked to, Blue chip linked to and "Foreman" queried the power of.
Interesting what you say about the power and the fact that you get two bulbs of different powers. A bit of a swindle. claiming two things that require different bulbs.
Its has convinced me that what I want is the Triton Led one!
That'll produce a pretty narrow band of light as well but at least a light hanging in the foretriangle can be at something close to everybodie's eye level, provided you dont use the same anchorages as big ships
A Davis "Mega-Light", from Force 4 IIRC
[/ QUOTE ] I think thats the same unit as the one I linked to, Blue chip linked to and "Foreman" queried the power of.
Interesting what you say about the power and the fact that you get two bulbs of different powers. A bit of a swindle. claiming two things that require different bulbs.
Its has convinced me that what I want is the Triton Led one!
That'll produce a pretty narrow band of light as well but at least a light hanging in the foretriangle can be at something close to everybodie's eye level, provided you dont use the same anchorages as big ships
vyv_cox
Well-Known Member
The Triton one is excellent. This is the third anchor light I have bought but the previous two didn't seem to measure up to their advance publicity. One has a daylight switch but unfortunately has a standard bulb which consumes a surprising amount of power. The other is one I've had for years, before LEDs became available, and also had a standard small bulb that was not very visible at distance.
Last year we anchored at Vulcano and went ashore for a meal. There were many anchored boats in the west bay, all of which carried anchor lights of some sort. As we sat in the restaurant we had the opportunity to compare them all. Our Triton was at least twice as bright as anything else. As we rowed back I detoured to a few other boats to see what lights they were carrying. Although some were clearly (!) garden lights, others appeared to be a selection of purpose built marine anchor lights. On the basis of this non-test, the Triton won by miles.
Last year we anchored at Vulcano and went ashore for a meal. There were many anchored boats in the west bay, all of which carried anchor lights of some sort. As we sat in the restaurant we had the opportunity to compare them all. Our Triton was at least twice as bright as anything else. As we rowed back I detoured to a few other boats to see what lights they were carrying. Although some were clearly (!) garden lights, others appeared to be a selection of purpose built marine anchor lights. On the basis of this non-test, the Triton won by miles.
VicS
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
A bit of a swindle. claiming two things that require different bulbs
[/ QUOTE ] However to be honest about it the Davis website does explain thing a little better.
In fact they claim that the lower power bulb gives a 2 mile visible range!
http://www.davisnet.com/marine/products/lighting.asp
http://www.davisnet.com/marine/products/marine_product.asp?pnum=03300
A bit of a swindle. claiming two things that require different bulbs
[/ QUOTE ] However to be honest about it the Davis website does explain thing a little better.
In fact they claim that the lower power bulb gives a 2 mile visible range!
http://www.davisnet.com/marine/products/lighting.asp
http://www.davisnet.com/marine/products/marine_product.asp?pnum=03300
earlybird
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the links.The Davis website regarding visible range doesn't quite accord with my memory of the slip of paper that came with my light, (and which I've now lost!). However, 2 miles or whatever is rather meaningless. It depends on circumstances. Also, "energy efficient" doesn't mean quite the same as low energy consumption. By any standards, a 1.2w or even a 3.6w filament bulb is a pretty meagre light source. Having had several un-nerving experiences with fishing trawlers going past my anchored boat, I like to think that I'm highly visible.