LED replacement units

benw

benw

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I am intending to replace the whole light unit in the v-berth on Charisma (Sadler 32 Bermudan Sloop). It seems that water or condensation has filled the light fitting causing the whole set up to corrode and knacker up the connections. My children use the cabin and so the lights will need to up to reading and general use.

I am ever conscious that upgrades should be energy saving and LED's fit that remit. I am not sure of the size of the units but would consider blanking with ply if needed. But how easy are the LED units to wire up into the existing loom?
I noticed Jim of FC posted an interesting IKEA unit but wondered if they would be suitable for direct wiring and up to the job?

Re existing fittings, they are of the turn lens type can they be retrofitted with LED bulbs? I seem to recall seeing a post where some fancy wiring was required.

Any thoughts and ideas appreciated.
 
benw said:
I am intending to replace the whole light unit in the v-berth on Charisma (Sadler 32 Bermudan Sloop). It seems that water or condensation has filled the light fitting causing the whole set up to corrode and knacker up the connections. My children use the cabin and so the lights will need to up to reading and general use.

I am ever conscious that upgrades should be energy saving and LED's fit that remit. I am not sure of the size of the units but would consider blanking with ply if needed. But how easy are the LED units to wire up into the existing loom?
I noticed Jim of FC posted an interesting IKEA unit but wondered if they would be suitable for direct wiring and up to the job?

Any thoughts and ideas appreciated.
Click to expand...

what Jim got is a good deal. he cut the wiring loom supplied & binned the transformer, then joined the wires.
the transformer was to drop the voltage from 240v > 12v . the bulbs are for a supply that will be ok on board
 
Thanks for your input Sailorman. By join the wires I assume that in my case to mean a direct join into the wiring that was on the original fitting?
If that is the case are they live and neutral marked?
Sorry for my ignorance, I did complete a boaters electrical course honest. I am petrified of frazzling wires and causing fires etc!
 
benw said:
Thanks for your input Sailorman. By join the wires I assume that in my case to mean a direct join into the wiring that was on the original fitting?
If that is the case are they live and neutral marked?
Sorry for my ignorance, I did complete a boaters electrical course honest. I am petrified of frazzling wires and causing fires etc!
Click to expand...

with incandescent bulbs it really doesnt matter if the wires are crossed over.
with the led it may have a coloured marker.
invest in a cheapo multi meter this will show which is pos & neg. it is normal to feed the switch with the positive wire
 
I can assure you that connecting them the wrong way has done no harm - they just did not work.
The units already have about 10 feet of wire hard attached, just cut the plug off the end and hook it to your normal lighting wiring.

To make this really interesting you could fit an Aquafax Blue Sea dimmer, and get really funky.
 
benw said:
Re existing fittings, they are of the turn lens type can they be retrofitted with LED bulbs? I seem to recall seeing a post where some fancy wiring was required.
Click to expand...
Yes, have a look at, for example
http://www.ultraleds.co.uk/
You can do a simple bulb to LED swap no wiring changes, size etc is also compatible.
Note there have been comments on ybw that telephone customer service at ultraleds can be a little sharp; I've never needed it and the LEDs that I have purchased from them work fine.
 
Karouise said:
Fitting may take 5 minutes but if Ikea is involved getting round the store and out the checkout takes at least 2.5 hours! :D
Click to expand...

Just been today to Ikea nr Lakeside. 2½ hrs seems about right!

Only had one packet of Jim's Leds left - bagged that. They're now awaiting new stock :p .

Popped in to Dauntless Boatyard on the way - what a place - I think I'll have to pay another visit with a proper shopping list :D
 
Talking about LEDs, but for navigation lights rather than domestic. I bought 2 BAY15D bulbs from Hong Kong last year for 99p and about £1.14 delivery. I had to rewire my tricolour so that the negative was in the frame rather than the other terminal. But they worked fine across the Atlantic and back last year. On every night for about 85 nights altogether. Also rewired the one for my anchor light, but it would only have had 3 or 4 nights use, so no real test.

I have previously paid up to £30 for LED tricolour bulbs so I was very pleased with the experiment.

Oh and when I look the starboard sector does show green rather than blue.
 
John,

I'm glad it worked for you.

However, putting a white LED array into a tricolour is not a good solution, although it may be a cheap one, for several reasons. White LEDs are much less efficient than red and green ones and then you lose more light power by filtering to get the colours. Therefore the power consumption is (in principle, anyway) much more than a dedicated LED tricolour of the same brightness. Also, the filament of the bulb for the tricolour is aligned to get the right sectors - if the LED bulb is slightly offset, your sectors may be tens of degrees out. And finally, the filters in the tricolour are selected to tungsten filament white, which does not have the same spectral characteristics as LED white, so the colours (particularly the green) can be terrible!

So in general, if you can afford it, get a proper LED tricolour, rather than putting a white LED into the fitting designed for a filament lamp.

Sorry - I'm all for fudges when they work, but this one offends me as a physicist!
 
Tradewinds said:
Popped in to Dauntless Boatyard on the way - what a place - I think I'll have to pay another visit with a proper shopping list :D
Click to expand...

Even if you make a list you'll see something else that you can't resist. It's my local chandlery (can see it from the house) - hard to beat on prices. What he hasn't got he will get in. I have given my wallet a good thrashing there this year on ropes, AF, aerial etc etc. :) My AF labels are written in Italian :cool: :D Good old Barry.
 
Duh.... typical Physicist... spoiling all the fun..... :D

Next you'll tell me that the power i'm planning to generate from my log impellor to recharge my batteries won't work.

Going back into serious mode.... i'd never thought about that... I guess the lense is so close to the filament that exact placement is very important!
 
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"Next you'll tell me that the power i'm planning to generate from my log impellor to recharge my batteries won't work."

Brilliant idea - you could even use it for propulsion if you could besuade the resident barnicle to live somewhere else

"Going back into serious mode.... i'd never thought about that... I guess the lense is so close to the filament that exact placement is very important! "

Many of the LED lights are arrays, so you'd end up with fuzzy sectors - green showing in the red sector and vice versa. The proper bulbs have straight vertical filaments, so the lenses line up correctly.

We went up a lighthouse in Denmark which had a complicated red/white/green sector pattern (many of them do around there). You could walk around the light (which had a lovely revolving Fresnel lens) inside the filters of coloured glass. It was just like a giant tricolour. Brilliant view, too!
 
AliM said:
"Next you'll tell me that the power i'm planning to generate from my log impellor to recharge my batteries won't work."

Brilliant idea - you could even use it for propulsion if you could besuade the resident barnicle to live somewhere else
Click to expand...
Hee hee..... life at .7E-5 kts (sorry... maths joke for the none geeks out there!)

Edit:... well I say joke.... erm.... oh lordy.... I've just realised how dull I am!!!! :D
 
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