LED Interior Lights

Jonny_H

Jonny_H

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Just thought I would let you know of a successful plan we hatched whilst away this summer. We bought some of the battery powered LED lights ( Osram LED Dot-It ) - they take 3 AAA batteries which last for around a thousand hours and are self adhesive so can be stuck anywhere.
We also bought some cheap red nail varnish and put 3 coats on the lenses - then stuck them next to our existing cabins lights above the chart table and galley - they are seemed to work very well for use at night and don't draw any power from the main battery bank so will be a good backup in an emergency.

We also installed a couple without painting the lenses in areas where we short on lights (above the pilot berth for instance) and the light from these is quite blue so wouldn't recommend using them throughout the boat as main cabin lighting!

I forgot to take a picture but will do when next on the boat.

Just looking around for some LED bulbs to replace the other cabin blubs now (G4 fittings) and we should be much more battery friendly - anyone any good suggestions for sourcing (we need 6 to begin with)?

Jonny
 
I've been wondering about leds in the cabin - the light is v blue - can you correct it with a coloured shade / lens ie warm it up to yellow light? Our saloon lights are great but draw a fair bit of power so leds would be a great battery saver...

Simon
 
We have been using some flat type LED's with side type connectors in place of the standard 20W tungstens. They certainly use a tiny fraction of the power and give a useful light - but its very 'cold' and in the end we used the one light I had'nt converted (over the saloon table) most often. The light is odd - although its intensely bright to look at the illumination given somehow appears less - explanation please??

I'd think twice about using them in areas where you need to have good light - otherwise they're great.

I think my next move will be to convert the anchor and and running lights with a tower bulb. Anybody done this? The boat anchored near me at the weekend had what was clearly an LED anchor light last weekend and it was VERY bright.
 
Suggest trying Ultraleds - I have bought a few from about £5 to £10 a throw including reds and they seem fine. I dont think the cheaper ones are voltage stabilised so they are in the reading lamps and we will only use them when shore power is not connected or the engine running. They are not always easy to get into the socket - if you need to bend the connections use pliers and be careful I broke a pin off one of the circuit boards. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
 
Well, you could try theatrical lighting gel. Gel colours are identified by numbers. Lee 154(Pale Rose) gives LED light a very warm glow, Lee 013(Straw Tint) gives a bit of a yellowish tint, for that 'oil lamp' effect. For primary red try Lee 106. If there's a theatrical supplier near you, or a friendly theatre, take an LED torch with you and have a play! Stage Electrics have shops in London, Bristol and other places.

Obviously you'll lose quite a bit of light output, even with seemingly mild colours, so you'll need brighter fixtures. Warm LEDs would be a lot more efficient.
 
I swapped all inside lights to LED purely for battery savings, and saved masses by the way.

The light they put out is quite stark but use a couple at once and it's damn good. Still saving masses of battery.

Got 1 each side of companion way which can be switched to white or red. Very nice. Actually they are damn good on red.

Exterior lights changing 3 weeks.
 
On my little yacht I am combining the use of LED for areas that require longer use (saloon and cabin) and normal lighting for areas requiring shorter but brighter illunination such as the galley.

However, to digress, both you and 'Relax' have both mentioned using LED lighting for exterior navigation lights I was considering this but, is there an 'old wives tale' surrounding this use of lighting? which is not 'approved' for such use and therefore may make your insurance null and void in for example a collision?

I have not contacted my insurance company to find out as yet so , perhaps, can any one shed some light on this .... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Not wishing to push our products, but our LED's produce a warm light for interior purposes, which is easy on the eye, and good for reading etc.

They rate at 5 watts, and draw little current from the battery bank.

The outside light (Anchor Light) is a very white light designed to travel the required distances.

LED lights come in many hues, but to see them properly you will need a darkened room.

Good luck.

Mj
 
Mark, perhaps you can correct me if I'm wrong but I understand that there are now approved LED side lights BUT you can't put an LED into a conventional lamp because the colour of the casing is wrong (in fact it looks almost blue in daylight, only turning green when lit by a 'yellow' conventional bulb).

LED anchor lights have really taken off in our part of the world (West Country) this year with, to my eyes, very mixed results. Some are very bright - probably connected to the ships battery - others very dim - probably solar powered garden lights. In both cases the blueness of the light is striking.
 
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