Lopolight - don't know what to do

O

oldvarnish

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 Jul 2005
Messages
1,895
Visit site
I've got a problem.

My Lopolight failed many Ks of miles ago and I have only just been able to have it retrieved from the masthead. I sent it back to Lopolight and a brand new one was sent by return - pretty good service. No complaints about that.

But this is the second one that has failed on me over the years and my rigger reports 'problems with them', and the cost of getting blokes up and down the mast is growing.

So do I fit the new Lopolight and hope third time lucky, or do I put it on eBay (it's tricolour with anchor so approx price is £420) and buy an AquaSignal instead (about £230) and go with that?

Anyone got experience of the AquaSignal?
 
oldvarnish said:
I've got a problem.

My Lopolight failed many Ks of miles ago and I have only just been able to have it retrieved from the masthead. I sent it back to Lopolight and a brand new one was sent by return - pretty good service. No complaints about that.

But this is the second one that has failed on me over the years and my rigger reports 'problems with them', and the cost of getting blokes up and down the mast is growing.

So do I fit the new Lopolight and hope third time lucky, or do I put it on eBay (it's tricolour with anchor so approx price is £420) and buy an AquaSignal instead (about £230) and go with that?

Anyone got experience of the AquaSignal?
Click to expand...

My Aquasignal is yrs old & still works with a incandescent lamp
 
I've had the earlier Lopolights fail but no issues with the later ones.
You can tell the difference because the later ones have a wire already attached instead of taking the cover off to attach your own wire.
Personally I would fit your new Lopolight.
 
I can't really advise except that I have folding mast steps and fitted a three-sets-of coloured-leds bulb (£40) to my existing, original Aquasignal a couple of years ago at anchor, straightforward.

Some kind soul may take the Lopo as a exchange on here?
 
Talulah said:
I've had the earlier Lopolights fail but no issues with the later ones.
You can tell the difference because the later ones have a wire already attached instead of taking the cover off to attach your own wire.
Personally I would fit your new Lopolight.
Click to expand...

I think the problem is quite recent. I fitted new bow, stern and anchor with tri lopolights on my boat in 2009. They all had the wires built in.

The two bow and the stern light failed within the first two years. The tri with anchor failed this year. All replaced by lopolight and no problems since.
 
You're not alone. I've had all my oriiginal deck level lights fail and be replaced and I'm on my third masthead/anchor light. As Talulah mentioned, the later models have flying leads as opposed to the internal connections of the earlier types, which I'd originally had fitted. Presumably there was a problem with preventing moisture ingress. I would still fit Lopolights by choice because the warranty backup has been excellant and I feel that as a company, they really are striving to produce a seaworthy product and have not walked away from their problems. That's what product improvement is all about. Initially expensive, yes, but only time will tell if I've made the right choice. Before posting this response I have just checked that my lights are still working. Phew! Yes they are.
Incidentally, although my supply voltage is well within the prescribed limits, I have taken the precaution of feeding the Lopolights through a voltage regulator. Has it made a difference? Dunno, but I'm not about to remove it to find out.

Mike

Mike
 
Aquasignal combined tricolour/anchor worked fine on my HR31 for minimum 15 years, boat sold. Same on HR34 now 10 years old no problems. Lopolight seem to have reliability problems since inception and still have it would seem. Nice looking and in theory should be bullet proof but ?????
 
Stork_III said:
Aquasignal combined tricolour/anchor worked fine on my HR31 for minimum 15 years, boat sold. Same on HR34 now 10 years old no problems. Lopolight seem to have reliability problems since inception and still have it would seem. Nice looking and in theory should be bullet proof but ?????
Click to expand...

Also my perception. Gorgeous, expensive, but . . . .?

When PBO tested LED nav lights and concluded that the Aqua Signal ones were optically far superior to all the other ones, including Lopo, that was enough for me. I replaced my totally reliable incandescent Aqua Signal Model 40 anchor/tricolour with an Aqua Signal LED anchor/tricolour. While the mast was down over the winter.
 
oldvarnish said:
...
So do I fit the new Lopolight and hope third time lucky, or do I put it on eBay (it's tricolour with anchor so approx price is £420) and buy an AquaSignal instead (about £230) and go with that?

Anyone got experience of the AquaSignal?
Click to expand...

Faced with much the same question, I chose the AquaSignal route and put a couple of LED lamps in it. The nav lamp is a red/green/white combo to improve the range per various reports. You should be able to buy both fitting and lamps for the price you give? (I did last winter) I now have a Lopo spare should the Aqua fail.

Edit: I found it relatively easy to modify the new Lopo mounting to take the Aqua base and kept the original, so fitting the Lopo should be easy if required.
 
Last edited:
I don't have an answer for the OP re his Lopolight, but you might consider some alternatives.

For a fraction of the price, get a NASA Supernova. That would let you get a spare or two. Run some wiring to the pulpit, seal it up so it is ready to go for you to mount a backup unit when the masthead fails. Or rig up the pulpit version permanently.

Buy a REAL "emergency" light system, not the carp D-Cell versions that are for sale in most chandlers. The real deal for emergency nav lighting is Navisafe. Navisafe Not cheap but if you really need emergency nav lighting they will be brighter and last longer than the D-Cell filament versions.
 
You could replace it with an aquasignal series 25 for about 25 quid. Should be good for 25 years or so.

oldvarnish said:
I've got a problem.

My Lopolight failed many Ks of miles ago and I have only just been able to have it retrieved from the masthead. I sent it back to Lopolight and a brand new one was sent by return - pretty good service. No complaints about that.

But this is the second one that has failed on me over the years and my rigger reports 'problems with them', and the cost of getting blokes up and down the mast is growing.

So do I fit the new Lopolight and hope third time lucky, or do I put it on eBay (it's tricolour with anchor so approx price is £420) and buy an AquaSignal instead (about £230) and go with that?

Anyone got experience of the AquaSignal?
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
I can't help with Lopo lights but I replaced my bow lights with Hella LED units because the lights on my bow take waves and sealing them was a challenge. The Hella LED light are brilliant and I have no hesitation recommending them.

http://www.hellamarine.com/en/produ...naviled-pro-3nm-port-led-navigation-lamp.html

I think Hella have a good range of traditional looking lights they do an led tri-light but it is only 2nm. I don't know why they are not offering a 3nm version.

http://www.hellamarine.com/en/produ...iled-trio-tri-colour-led-navigation-lamp.html
 
Many people seem to think LED replacement "bulbs" in traditional (incandescent) housings are fine, but I think this is worth some consideration:
http://www.aquasignal.com.au/aftermarket-led-replacement-bulbs/
I also tried a LED bulb for a season or two i my tricolour (green sector turned blue), but then decided to get the real thing despite the cost: Aquasignal series 32 tricolour (no anchor light in my case, but a combo is also available). It has given good service for four years now, worth the money IMO.
 
oldvarnish said:
Anyone got experience of the AquaSignal?
Click to expand...

Can't help you there, sorry. I'm one of the lucky ones with a lopo which just seems to keep on going.
But this winter before heading offshore again I'll look at building an additional all round white with some high power leds and a regulater. Having a light up there is just too important to rely on just one for weeks at a time on a long passage.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top