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

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

Lemain,
I think you're wrong. The lumens per watt of LEDs is at least an order of magnitude (nearer two orders) more than incandescent lighting. The directionality (what a horrible word) of the output is entirely dependent on the package. The chip itself is essentially a point source and can be diffused as much as required by the application.
 
Re: Saving your batteries - anyone have experience of using LED lamps

I didn't mean the lumens per Watt - LEDs are high efficiency (i.e. high lumens per Watt) which is why we are so interested in using them in low power applications. I meant that LEDs are still very low mean output devices. To make a bright omnidirectional light requires a large number of high output LEDs - and they are not cheap. Furthermore, as I was saying, you have to select the best of a batch to mount in such an array and the cost of selection and rejection of out of spec devices is expensive. That's why an LED tricolour will, today, still be expensive. No doubt prices will fall in the future but it doesn't follow that expensive LED arrays are necessarily a rip-off.
 
Re: Saving your batteries - anyone have experience of using LED lamps

The output power of LEDs has increased dramatically. there is a Japanese car manufacturer who is presently prototyping an array of 11 LEDS as 'main headlights'
These are I believe 5 Watt devices. The advantage of course is the efficiency. LEDs produce very little heat output, the majority of the energy is converted to light.
The problem with high power LEDs is dissipating the heat at the LED die itself. If you connect a 5W LED direct to a source supply of 700mA, the LED will only last a couple of seconds. The heatsinking is critical.

There is at least one UK company working on the product for the marine industry and I am told that the product will be going on the market in the near future.
 
Re: Saving your batteries - anyone have experience of using LED lamps

The chandlers have not worked out a way in which they can charge £200 each for them yet
 
Re: Saving your batteries - anyone have experience of using LED lamps

The use of a salt- or peppershaker with a bulb inside functions OK, but just a small bulb of 2 or 3 watt is already sufficient. A bigger bulb may cause too much heat to be developed in too small a volume and causing problems of over-heating.
As far as anchor-lights are concerned I recall having read that one experienced long-distance sailor preferred a paraffin-lamp. He mentioned that a paraffin-lamp flickers a bit and that causes it to be better noticed than an electric-light. In my own experience this is most certainly true for a masthead anchor-light. It is often difficult to differentiate it from lights on shore.
 
Re: Saving your batteries - anyone have experience of using LED lamps

No worries drowning... that leaves 4 spares. I would prefer to place the lot before ordering, but will do so if we can find a taker for the other 4?!?!? Anybody?
 
Re: Saving your batteries - anyone have experience of using LED lamps

I'll take a third if you're stuck but guess most folk will want pairs.
They look like they're bayonet not ES ??
 
Re: Saving your batteries - anyone have experience of using LED lamps

Suspect that you will find that this is fine for an anchor light, but unsuitable for a tri-colour as-

the colours will not be correct (you can probably live with that)
At an angle of heel over 15 degrees will mean that your lights will not be visible - these would appear to be standard 30 degree bulbs - anything wider will not give the brilliance required.

Should be good for a multihulll anyway!

would be happy to have a couple!
 
Thanks everyone for all the help and advice. Hopefully Dexter is helping out with first supply. Meanwhile I have 10 websites to work through.
Hope one of the host magazines will take up the idea of looking further into this or maybe they are relying on us to do the work and submit the input.
 
Re: Saving your batteries - anyone have experience of using LED lamps

I converted the four cabin lights with festoons bought from Ultraled. They had standard bayonet car-type incandecent bulbs. I made up holders using the fuse carriages out of old 13am plugs to hold the festoon led's and put them in switched series adjacent to the incandescents.
When the cabin lights master switch is on, all four LED's come on. Each lamp has its own switch for the incandescents, which are only used now for reading or over the galley.
 
Surely the purpose of an anchor light is to stop other boats running into you, and secondarily, so that you can find your boat when rowing back from the pub? I have found that a paraffin light suits these purposes ideally. The only disadvantage is that you have to get up at dawn to take it in (I agree with Hiscock that a riding light left burning looks slovenly). I also have an electric light made from a Colman's mustard jar and a torch bulb, about 2 or 3 watts, that gives the same output as the paraffin light, but you can switch it off without getting out of bed. I dislike the tendency to show a masthead anchor light, in my view it should be hung from the forestay to show the aspect of the boat.
The info on LED's is very useful, as I think they have a great future as interior lights and nav lights, but they are "too much technology" for anchor lights. Remember the KISS principle - "keep it simple stupid!"
 
[ QUOTE ]

LED's have a great future as interior lights and nav lights, but they are "too much technology" for anchor lights. Remember the KISS principle - "keep it simple stupid!"

[/ QUOTE ]

Except that they can be switched On (and Off)automatically.. which is a very interesting feature when you meet a very old friend and that you spend too much time at the bar.. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Try to do the same with a paraffin lamp?? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top