Replacing old bulbs with LED "bulbs"

[MJWB]

I've been trawling through threads on LED "bulbs" and checking other sources which raise concerns about voltage spikes on 12v boat systems. Can I just whip out the existing conventional bulbs in my saloon lights (both reading type lamps and small round bulkhead lights)?
Same question about the nav lights too, although I realise that the choice of colours and warm white or cold white is also relevant here, so I'll get to those after the interior ones. I ask as some sources said the voltage can vary and cause LED malfunction. Just like to be clear before shopping and I don't know much at all about electrics. Many thanks.

 

[VicS]

I am sure you must have come across it but Boatlamps - Marine LED bulbs and replacement lamps for all boats is a good source of suitable and good quality LED replacements

 

[ashtead]

I bought one bulb in LED as a replacement by way of trial and no noticeable difference in brightness etc and did as you suggest when conventional bulb failed. It’s just the high price which puts me off a total replacement though.

 

[pandos]

All of my cabin lights are ba15 with twin connectors with level pins... I just ordered a pack of 10 on amazon for my saloon lights fir about 15 euros.

Last year I replaced a few bulbs with randoms ones I picked up in aldi and ikea as well as all of the nav lights from Boatlamps.

It is amazing to look at the battery monitor an see such low consumption, alarming also to see several amps when you leave the jax light on (heads)

One of my flourescent fittings I gutted and replaced the strip lights with a foot or so of leds on a roll from bang good or some chinese supplier, not very nice light but effective over the galley sink..

some leds require correct polarity so if you cannot rotate the bulb you may need to rewire the fitting. ( i think that is an advantage of the twin connectors with level pins)

 

[William_H]

LED lighting systems come in 2 styles of current limiting fro the LED diode. One form uses a simple series resistor which is very cheap however it does present a problem with varying supply voltage. So if you select the resistor value for max voltage expected 14+ then light out put and current is low on 12volts. Some cheap LED bulbs will use a resistor which we hope is ok on 14v. The loss of brightness does not seem to matter at 12v. Other bulbs may be set for a supply of 12v and may be over powered at 14v. Unfortunately it is hard to get data on optimum supply voltage as they simply rate them at 12v. I think if you buy bulbs for car use or strips for day running lights you might expect they are ok at 14v. On the other hand if they are designed for indoor use you might find they are designed for 12v from a regulated transformer.
The more sophisticated LED bulb will have a switch mode regulator built in to provide constant current to the diode regardless of input voltage. Hence no concerns re higher voltage however they can generate radio interference from the rapid switching of the power supply.
I would go for the cheapest LED bulb and be prepared to replace if it dies from high voltage. Probably OK or if you are concerned you can add another resistor in series from the formular R=E/I for voltage drop desired or add a silicon diode to lose .7volt. (but I am a cheap skate)
As for nav lights it is not just the LED color through the colored lens. Most incandescent bulbs have a fine filament vertical in the fitting so that in plan view the light emits from a point source so is clearly defined by the lens to give accurate light beam direction. LED bulb generally have multiple emitters so emit over a large area which then makes the color beam indistinct. So go for purpose built LED for nav lights not just a generic white bulb. ol'will

 

[Boathook]

I replaced all my incandescent bulbs with led's from boatlamps. None have failed so far after quite a few years. I also stripped out the tube lights interiors and replaced with led strip as casings were in good condition. The whole boat is now LED apart from a couple of torches that don't get used much .......

 

[duncan99210]

I’ve replaced all the light bulbs in the boat with LEDs, mainly sourced from eBay. The voltage question hasn't troubled them at all. Some of the early ones from about 9 years ago were of questionable quality and only lasted a few months but the latest ones, purchased about 5 years ago, are all still working fine. Nor do I get any noticeable radio interference from them.
Having had cold white LEDs, the light they give is excellent for working in, so I have them in the galley area. They’re not nice for general,lighting, so the rest of the LEDs are warm white, which gives a “nicer” light.
Navigation lights. My stern and anchor lights are cold white bulbs in standard fittings. My port and starboard lights are integrated units with LEDs embedded in them. I think they’re made by Hella. Steaming light and deck light as both still incandescent must get round to replacing them.

 

[Gin]

Quote>Having had cold white LEDs, the light they give is excellent for working in, so I have them in the galley area. They’re not nice for general,lighting, so the rest of the LEDs are warm white, which gives a “nicer” light.<Quote

When I rewired my boat I upgraded all bulbs to LED and found as ‘Duncan’ says above that cold white was great for reading or delving in the darker recesses but I had to change the saloon lights to warm white for a more relaxing and cheerful ambience .

Also, I dithered over the choice of polarity sensitive bulbs (festoons) over ‘no-sensitivity ‘ ( immaterial which way ,end to end, installed). The latter was my choice and worked well

 

[davidej]

I bought a pack from Banggood.
Cheap as chips and still working fine.

 

[scruff]

I re-did our cabin lights last winter with these ones; LED Bulbs.

Works perfectly well - nice ambient light, seems to be fine up to 14v battery as shown on solar power MPPT charger when in use and no noticeable VHF interference.

Plan this winter is to re-do all navigation lights with LED units too.

 

[rotrax]

I bought one bulb in LED as a replacement by way of trial and no noticeable difference in brightness etc and did as you suggest when conventional bulb failed. It’s just the high price which puts me off a total replacement though.

Ebay is your friend here.

Our boat has over 27 internal lamps.

22 are now LED at a modest cost from ebay. 10 for the price of one in the chandlers. I bought 10 spares, in 4 seasons changed 3.

Current consumption dropped dramaticaly.

Well pleased.

 

[Little Dorrit]

My cheap LED cabin lights from China are still good after 3 years but I have been unable to find a good replacement for the red chart table light (BA9s) the LED ones I bought are too dim to be any use and I have been unable to find a red filament bulb. I would be interested if anyone has solved this problem with an LED or has a source of red filament bulbs.

 

[Graham376]

My cheap LED cabin lights from China are still good after 3 years but I have been unable to find a good replacement for the red chart table light (BA9s) the LED ones I bought are too dim to be any use and I have been unable to find a red filament bulb. I would be interested if anyone has solved this problem with an LED or has a source of red filament bulbs.

Red glass paint works on filament bulbs but will need re-coating occasionally. We have some Hella internal red led lights for night lighting, still fine after 15/16 years. They also now do dual white/red but not cheap.

 

[Stemar]

If you're concerned, go to BoatLEDs, many, if not all of their bulbs are 12-30v, so obviously switch mode regulated, There are other good suppliers too; the voltage range is the thing to look for. Yes, they're a good bit more expensive than the Ebay Chinese specials, but how much more compared to the running costs of even a small boat? I had some cheapies in my forepeak and they lasted a few years before they started pulsating. The decent ones I replaced them with are still going strong after twice as long.

 

[dunedin]

I am sure you must have come across it but Boatlamps - Marine LED bulbs and replacement lamps for all boats is a good source of suitable and good quality LED replacements

I would second this recommendation. Replaced our our bulbs (except nav lights which were already LED) with bulbs from boat lamps 4 or more years ago. 100 % success and 0 % failures so far - which is way better than our house LED experience.
Good investment

 

[mlines]

We had to fit clamp on ferrite rings to stop interference on the broadcast radio. Cheap as chips with a bag of 10 from Maplins when they existed

 

[MJWB]

I am sure you must have come across it but Boatlamps - Marine LED bulbs and replacement lamps for all boats is a good source of suitable and good quality LED replacements

Thanks, on it now.

 

[MJWB]

I bought one bulb in LED as a replacement by way of trial and no noticeable difference in brightness etc and did as you suggest when conventional bulb failed. It’s just the high price which puts me off a total replacement though.

Thanks

 

[MJWB]

All of my cabin lights are ba15 with twin connectors with level pins... I just ordered a pack of 10 on amazon for my saloon lights fir about 15 euros.

Last year I replaced a few bulbs with randoms ones I picked up in aldi and ikea as well as all of the nav lights from Boatlamps.

It is amazing to look at the battery monitor an see such low consumption, alarming also to see several amps when you leave the jax light on (heads)

One of my flourescent fittings I gutted and replaced the strip lights with a foot or so of leds on a roll from bang good or some chinese supplier, not very nice light but effective over the galley sink..

some leds require correct polarity so if you cannot rotate the bulb you may need to rewire the fitting. ( i think that is an advantage of the twin connectors with level pins)

Thanks. I like the rewire for the galley light idea too.

 

[sfellows]

Also try Bedazzled Protected LED Lights 10-30v ideal for 12V 24v environments - supply 12-30v bulbs. Very good service.