LED Nav Lights

[Talbot]

Looks like Ultra LEDs have now got their aquasignal - fitting bulb in stock (suitable for the 25w bulb in most aquasignal nav lighjts) http://www.ultraleds.co.uk/product_info....4a90a03483327e1

 

[ianabc]

170 ma (millamps) X 12.7 volts nominal for a fully charged 12 volt battery ( to be charitable ) say X 5 for led efficency = less than 25 watt output of original lamp.... ?

 

[charles_reed]

Don't know where U got your figures from, but the generally accepted efficiency factor over tungsten bulbs, for modern LEDs is between x10 and x18.

For elucidation /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
http://members.misty.com/don/ledx.html

 

[gandy]

I estimated that mine was less bright than the 25W, but brighter than 10W. Since 10W would comply with requirements for <12m vessel I was happy with that. The one I have in the all-round-white anchor light is definitely brighter than some other boats's lights.

 

[Swagman]

Thanks Talbot for keeping us all updated - good news.
JOHN

 

[Birdseye]

arent these a bit bling like? how often do you run so low on battery capacity that nav lights are a worry? and how often do they fail that an £18 replace makes sense?

I can only recall ever having to replace one masthead and one sternlight in 15 years

 

[reeac]

I don't understand your factor of 5 for efficiency. 170 mA current consumption times 12.7 volts equals 2.16 watts consumption vs. 25 watts for an incandescent bulb. ie. power consumption is less than a tenth. That's assuming that the light outputs of the two are comparable.

 

[seumask]

How do they work in practice do the very specific wave length light emitted by LEDS really get through the colour filter (green or red) of the mast head lights lens so that other people can see them at a reasonable distance, or have I missed something.

 

[Talbot]

The best systems use a clear lens and red/green/white leds, obviously this is not possible for a replacement. I havent seen the ultraled one in action, but would happily run a trial if others were interested and wanted to take part.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

My trial

 

[AngusMcDoon]

10 to 20 Amp hours of juice that nav lights use over night is significant for small outboard powered boats. If that can be reduced to 1 to 2 Amp hours, the saving is substantial.

My son sails a boat where the electrical supply is outboard and solar panel. Nav lights were the biggest drain. This has been much improved by changing to LED lights.

Not everyone has a Yanmar/Volvo with big alternator attached thumping away down below, so bling, no, significant saving, definitely yes.

 

[Talbot]

VMT - I missed that one.