Saving your batteries - anyone have experience of using LED lamps in t

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SimonJ

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Using a tricolour nav light for 12 hours each night in the tropics (25w at 12v) takes a big whack out of your batteries. I understand LED lamps are just becoming available and they use milliamps and are said to last longer. I have found one US source, has anyone had experience using/obtaining them in UK?
 
a suggestion: the previous owner of my boat came up with a scheme to conserve electricity while anchored (might be adaptable to your requirement). He took a 12 volt bulb from a car (brakelight, turn signal etc.) and put the bulb (with socket..etc) in a salt shaker (one of those salt shakers with serrated sides, this acts as a fresnal lens and amplifies the light). Sounds different but when I tried it, I was really surprised at the amount of light it puts out and being a small bulb, it didn't draw that much current.
 
Re: Saving your batteries - anyone have experience of using LED lamps

A brake lamp in the UK is 12V 21W, so really no saving in power. LEDs are definately the way to go. Problem is they are highly directional (narrow beam). There is a lot of development in this field at present, so you shouldn't have to wait much longer for a solution.

Meanwhile, I've heard that the solar powered lights that are used to light up the garden can be used to good effect as anchor lights, and they can be had for less than 5 GBP now. Having an independant power supply means that they won't flatten your house batteries either.
 
Hi SimonJ

Here's another option: I made the decision to go all-LED when I overhauled the electrics on my boat last year. I used white truck reversing lights, available as an add-on fitting. There are four LEDs in this fitting, which is already sealed water proof, is fitted with 12v circuitry, and has the light diffused by a lense. I found three of these fitted into my existing masthead red/green/white lense, three fitted into the masthead all round white, and one was used as the steaming light. They were about AU$30 each, making it $210 for the mast lights alone. This is more expensive than 'normal' lights but I hope not to have to replace them over the next 10 years, they draw hardly any current, and they are by far the brightest lights in the anchorage.
 
Highly relevant + frustrating post on optolamp - bit like having a bottle of Burgundy but no corkscrew.
Nowhere on the site does it mention price or distributors.
I've emailed them + will post any answers - unless I've managed to miss something on the website.
 
Re: Saving your batteries - anyone have experience of using LED lamps

This must be about the third time I've read threads like this.

This would suggest that there is definitely an interest in the subject and it really is time that one of the yachting magazines actually researched a definitive article on the subject.

There would appear to be some rather expensive masthead lights from the USA with various coloured LEDs and a rather nice solar cell driven LED anchor light.

IMHO there is a gap in the market for a straight forward replacement 'bulb' consisting of a cluster of LEDs.

The latter would seem to be fulfilled by http://www.firststarled.com/ which will set you back about £50. This still begs the question why is someone in the UK not knocking these out at a fraction of the price and why are they not for sale at every swindlery in the UK.

My son keeps on saying that there is nothing to soldering LEDs onto a bulb base etc (he's doing Physics at Imperial so presumably is not talking b******s) but never quite gets round to coming up with the goods. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
Re: Saving your batteries - anyone have experience of using LED lamps

how about a solar tri colour for mast top,no wireing how cool would that be?
 
Sorry Drowning,

The distributor for Europe is:

FRANCE: SARL ATTITUDE
5 RUE FERREOL PREZELIN
44 560 PAIMBOEUF
Tel: 33(0)240 276 079
Fax: 33(0)240 277 435
E-mail: sarl.attitude@wanadoo.fr

I have been using Led lamps from them but not the Tri mast one.. so I have no experience of it.. but at least I'm fully satisfied from the lamps I have..
 
Re: Saving your batteries - anyone have experience of using LED lamps

Hi Bob

The type of replacement LED bulb you describe has been available in Australia for at least the last 18 months at around $22 each. It consists of 9 white LEDs fitted onto the normal bayonet fitting (either straight pin or staggered pin). You simply unclick the old incandescent bulb and replace with the LED bulb. I've hunted for a picture of it on the Internet but can't find one. However, it is listed at:

http://www.glascraftmarine.com.au/ProdSearch.aspx?Search=LED%20bulb
 
Re: Saving your batteries - anyone have experience of using LED lamps

Thanks Lahara

By my estimation that is under £10 (which is better than the c.£50 from the USA).

So why are UK chandlers not full of them? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
Re: Saving your batteries - anyone have experience of using LED lamps

Those are not replacements for nav light bulbs though are they?

John.
 
Re: Saving your batteries - anyone have experience of using LED lamps

Hello Ships Cat

No, they are suitable mostly for reading or spot lights. I have used LEDs for area lighting in the galley but that is a mostly white area so I get lots of light bounce.

(It's rather a convoluted process but for a pic of the lights in my galley, do the following :

1. Go to: http://www.hisse-et-oh.com/forum/index.php?action=detail&id_message=40258&tab=48h
[My boat is French-built and this is a French site]

2. Find 'Lahara' written in bolded blue ( <font color="blue"> </font> ) and double click this word to display my account.

3. Select 'Album' and go to the ninth photo down. You can see two of the flush-fitted LEDs lamps underneath the overhang. There are another two on the other side, out of view).


As I mentioned in my earlier posting in this thread, for navigation lights, I used truck reversing lights, which are very bright though the light they emit has a different quality to it. Because they don't have the yellow of normal incandescents, they seem colder. If you can get to any of those places selling spares and accessories for trucks (i.e. lorries), it may be worth while having a look to see what they have.

Regards Stuart Hawthorne
 
Thanks for the info on optolamp distributors.
There are some LED based boaty lights appearing in the swindlers in St Martin but no masthead lights.
Apart from the low consumption the chance to say goodbye to shimmying up the mast to change bulbs is a good thing for us old crocks.
 
Re: Saving your batteries - anyone have experience of using LED lamps

No, he's not talking bol****ks but show him the spec of the light output and all round viz of a tricolour. LEDs can give very intense beams but the total power output is still fairly small compared with tungstens. The other problem is that intensity varies enormously between LEDs from the same batch so a lot of testing of individual LEDs is required to get the best of them. Very expensive for a manufacturer who has to sell off the 80% that don't meet his spec.!
 
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