anchor vs masthead light

[William_H]

Something like this bulb costs peanuts and uses very small current can be put in a small glass jar with wires to the ship's battery and hoisted into the rigging.http://www.banggood.com/Wholesale-T10-W5W-194-Car-White-20-SMD-LED-Side-Light-Bulb-12V-p-30090.html
Or even lower power http://www.banggood.com/Wholesale-2...MD-White-5050-LED-Car-Light-Bulb-p-12236.html
Don't be confused by the wedge fitting it just puls off to reveal 2 wires which can be soldered or connected to a piece of chocolate block connector.
Or go very bright higher power http://www.banggood.com/Wholesale-C...Driving-Head-Light-Lamp-Bulb-12V-p-34890.html
good luck olewill NB not suitable for nav lights but OK for stern light in a suitable reflector.

 

[winsbury]

Something like this bulb costs peanuts and uses very small current can be put in a small glass jar with wires to the ship's battery and hoisted into the rigging.http://www.banggood.com/Wholesale-T10-W5W-194-Car-White-20-SMD-LED-Side-Light-Bulb-12V-p-30090.html
Or even lower power http://www.banggood.com/Wholesale-2...MD-White-5050-LED-Car-Light-Bulb-p-12236.html
Don't be confused by the wedge fitting it just puls off to reveal 2 wires which can be soldered or connected to a piece of chocolate block connector.
Or go very bright higher power http://www.banggood.com/Wholesale-C...Driving-Head-Light-Lamp-Bulb-12V-p-34890.html
good luck olewill NB not suitable for nav lights but OK for stern light in a suitable reflector.

I could be wrong (and often am according to swmbo) but they all appear to be unsealed unregulated bulb replacements. Although they look cheap at first glance there are hidden costs.... you would need to add a voltage regulator to ensure and voltage spikes didn't cause premature aging ( LED's are notoriously unreliable with anything other than a smooth power supply .) The unsealed nature is common in cheap bulbs as LED's also suffer if insufficiently cooled but this free air flow comes at a price: even tiny amounts water / condensation / vapour, which is inevitable in an outdoor situation, will also cause the units to fail prematurely.

If you look at the 'proper' marine type LED's they have a metal enclosure which acts as a heat-sink and which covers the waterproofing potting; inside they have regulation electronics too that will typically cope with supply voltages to 30v hence suitable for 12v or 24v electrics. None of this is beyond the wit of man to solve but I personally cant be bothered re-inventing the wheel or using a cheap bulb that will fail probably when I need it most.

 

[Stemar]

LED lights don't have to cost a fortune.

I made my anchor light (masthead, so apologies to the foretriangle purists ) from an inch of plastic drainpipe, a bunch of white LEDs poked through holes in the pipe and wired up in bunches of 3 in series with a ballast resistor, lids top & bottom cut from some scrap aluminium and the whole thing filled with epoxy. It cost me next to nowt and has been the brightest light in the anchorage for the last 4 years. In use, it draws <2 watts and is hard to miss, even from a nearby tender.

 

[William_H]

To Winsbury above. I have a dozen or so around my house and have had for a couple of years (running 4 hrs every night) plus one stern light on boat and an interior light . No concerns about corrosion or moisture. Regarding regulator. Yes these use the simple series resistor current limiting.
Being made for vehicles obviously rated at 14v. Spikes in themselves are not a problem with LED because damage is done by overheating so short duration spikes no problem. All of my LED run off solar power so no concerns about voltage anyway.
However i think most people would run an anchor light at 12v ie battery not on charge. I would not fit an external regulator and just risk premature failure (not a concern at the price.) No failures so far. good luck olewill

 

[winsbury]

No concerns about corrosion or moisture.

Its very interesting to hear your positive experience. I spoke with several LED and light fitting manufacturers at Southampton and London boat shows recently and of course must temper their answers with the commercial desire to sell a more expensive alternate. However all said categorically that in a marine environment their unsealed products would not be guaranteed to have a normal lifetime due to moisture and corrosion if mounted in a conventional nav light fitting and would be very unlikely to meet colregs for colour or dispersion compliance. What was particularly interesting were the light fitting manufacturers who had nothing financial to gain by diverting me from upgrading from conventional to LED bulbs in their fittings - they echoed the same comments.

i think most people would run an anchor light at 12v ie battery not on charge. I would not fit an external regulator and just risk premature failure (not a concern at the price.) No failures so far. good luck olewill

Although an anchor light is arguably less critical than the main nav lights and is less likely to be exposed to higher charging voltages, the potentially dire consequences of it failing while obliviously tucked up in a sleeping bag below leaving someone else to plough into us unseen must surely be worth the extra pennies to minimize as much as possible.

All of my LED run off solar power so no concerns about voltage anyway.

I imagine you mean the solar cells charge a battery which subsequently drives the LEDs so the battery is acting as an unsophisticated buffer/regulator. The open circuit voltage on my 40W solar panel is nearer 28v and while this drops significantly under load would be more than enough to very rapidly kill a low wattage 12v LED if directly connected in good daylight. Even a short 'accidental' exposure to higher voltages will shorten the life of an LED appreciably.

 

[lw395]

LED lights don't have to cost a fortune.

I made my anchor light (masthead, so apologies to the foretriangle purists ) from an inch of plastic drainpipe, a bunch of white LEDs poked through holes in the pipe and wired up in bunches of 3 in series with a ballast resistor, lids top & bottom cut from some scrap aluminium and the whole thing filled with epoxy. It cost me next to nowt and has been the brightest light in the anchorage for the last 4 years. In use, it draws <2 watts and is hard to miss, even from a nearby tender.

I have one on a long lead, it's very similar, apart from being potted in hot melt glue.
It hangs from the anchor ball.
With a couple of LEDs shining down, it's hard not to notice even a dark hull in need of a polish.