Saloon lighting guidelines??

[Anchorite]

My saloon area is usual openplan arrangement (includes galley and chart table).
Area about 10' x 10'. I have two 20watt dome lights over the main bit, a neon over the galley and a bendy thing over the chart table. Net result is like a gloomy evening in Dracula's bedsitter. Is 4 amps too miserly? Would halogen bulbs make a (biggish) difference and do they fit standard bulbholders?? What about extrabright leds: are they available (and adaptable to standard light fittings).
And is there a basic formula for what lighting should be installed...

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[sailorman]

halogen will give greater light
( bright white& harsh compaired with incandescent mellow- yellowish).
if u have the old dome thingies (festoon) bulb u wont find another lamp to fit these.
i have bulkhd fittings that originally had incandescent bulbs (now in spares locker) the previous owner changed these for halogen & they r very good but expensive to replace & only available in Holland
suggest u change fittings & add one over chart table as well as "bendy thing"

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[pvb]

If you're concerned about current consumption, in terms of light output per amp, it's difficult to beat fluorescents. They are cheap enough to buy in caravan shops. Not the most "homely" effect, but certainly bright.

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[longjohnsilver]

Yes I put fluorescents on my boat, bright harsh blueish light. Main bugbear is that they interfere with my radio.

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[andyball]

You can buy round & square cased " 2D" fluorescents now....

asap supplies do some quite nice looking ones & they are bright- they claim the 16W one compares to a 75W bulb-I wouldn't go that far, but easily the equal of two 20W halogens & a good spread of light.

I soon got used to the colour cast, found them warmer than the 12V "caravan" strip lights.

Quality not great though, had to rework the circuit board where the bulb holder fits as the weight of bulb had pulled out the solder joints - maybe they're better now?



Halogens are better & available for many std fittings, but you do get the same spread/pattern of light only brighter, not much better for dark corners. After £3 ,£4 or even £5 shocks in chandlers I tried found them very very cheap in furneaux riddall (portsmouth), doubtless other suppliers similar.



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[tonykerry]

I used Screwfix halogen downlighters part no. D14246 which are 20w, white surface mounted and cost £4.52 ea. or £19.90 for qty 5. I added a switch to each from Maplin so that I can have as many or as few as I want on at a time. They are simple to fix, and being low current connected to the existing lighting circuit. They do brass and chrome finishes but I found that the brass coating came away when I was drilling into the side plastic to fit a toggle switch. Once fitted they give an excellent level of lighting without drawing too much current. Tony

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[Stemar]

Halogen downlighters are very good in terms of colour and quantity of light, but they can get very hot. I've spoken to people who should know, and they say even 20w lights can get hot enough to damage kitchen cabinets over time.

I've put some ultrabright LED lights in my kitchen at home. They aren't the answer to every maiden's prayer, but they're certianly worth a look.

Minuses are: They're not cheap (about £10 each), the light is very cold and they aren't quite bright enough unless you use a lot (every 8-10 inches to light a kitchen worktop).

Pluses are: 1 watt per light and 25year "bulb" life.

I installed mine in B & Q holes drilled in stick-on electrical trunking under cabinets, and and it looks really neat. By the way, you wire them in SERIES, not parallel as you would for any other type of light.

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[Keith]

One serious problem with halogen lights is the standard bulbs are rated for twelve volts, if you have a smart regulator fitted to charge your batteries at 13.8 to 14.2 or so bulb life is drastically shortened, and as the previous postee said they do get very hot, great in the winter, but a real bummer in the summer, personally i use flourescents as they seem to be a good compromise between light output and amps burned, there are some very good,and relatively inexpensive lights available through west marine in the US that unfortunately leave UK lights in the dark!!!! I have fitted in my thirty foot cat a single 8" circular flourescent in the saloon, and its probably the best mod i have ever done (apart from change to yanmar from volvo)..............keith

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