Tri-Colour Bulb Wattage

[AngusMcDoon]

Re: About Aqua-Signal bulbs

The LED bulb shown by the link in the original post is suitable for use on a 12V system with charging. It has its own voltage regulator mounted on the bulb. Light output does not vary with changing supply voltage. Safe for voltages upto 16V.

I'm not saying these are suitable or legal as replacement bulbs in nav lights, but charging voltage variation is coped with.

 

[Guest]

Who says I\'m arguing ....

I would normally fit the bulbs that are designed for a light .... but it happens that when a bulb fails and I have a choice - trip to find proper one or a walk to nearest Car Acc's shop / garage and pick up another.
Festoon bulbs may not have a place on your boat ... but unfortunately many lights have just that style of lamp ... and have done for years ... and will for years to come.

It is also posted by some that the lighst are absolute ... not true ... Col Regs advise on small craft - which majority of our boats come under ... I agree if you are going to fit lights 0 then do it reasonably and in "keeping" with the Col Regs ...

The mention of thin nose pliers was in fact a "bit of humour" in reply to Charle's post ...

As to corrosion / condensation - having also been on boats for umpteen years - I've seen near all types of fitting suffer.

Sorry but the masthead light and all the other "issues" of failing lights don't agree with my experience .... the dropping of a bulb in the water when changing does - but apart from that ... nope - can't say I can recall a festoon in a festoon fitting failing because I bought a different bulb ?????

I accept that my steaming and masthead anchor lights don't work - but thats because they never worked in all the 10 yrs I've had the boat - last owner said clearly that they were not working when I bought it .... and I can't be bothered to lower the mast to find out why. I'm too portly to shin up there - so can't comment further. I have metered the cable at lower end and I believe that either bulbs (unknown as I've never seen them) or the cable is shot. The lights appear from what can be seen from deck level to be std Hellamarine type - so probably your dreaded festoon type.

Oh well maybe I'll find a way to get at 'em this time back or so ....

I reckon there must be countless others out there in the boating world that have similar attitude as I ... if it fits and works - what's the beef. I don't say fit an unsafe article / item in a real safety item and risk life and limb .... it's a bl***y bulb for *^%& sake ....

I did just replace the old deck level nav lights .... bought a nice pack of lights from Marine Super Store ... Port, Stbd, Stern and Mast .... funny enough all Festoon fitting ....

I know that 99.9999999% of people out there understand what is meant by festoon bulb - we are talking the straight filament "in-line" style bulb that is fitted to car interior lights ... ie contact at each end of the glass bulb.

 

[Guest]

No problem ...

I have seen and used 25w festoons ... but thats beside the point.

The filament is not so much brightness but cut off and arc of light.
A commercial ship has a "Squirrel cage" filament ... designed to make sure the light strikes the glass at correct angle. This then assists the black cut-off board to make the light "shut-off" dead ahead.
I'm not sure about brightness - maybe the light striking the glass at a different nagle of not exactly as the lens requires may cause a degradation ... simply put I do not know.

I too am not loking for a "tussle" over this - but others seem to think of Legal and Illegal ....

The tri-colour light IMHO - and I know this will go against many here ... I think is a light that has limited appeal and value. It look great when close by sailing out of the marina or against a black backdrop ... but its value when with land behind or other lighting is in my experience pitiful. It gets lost so easily. The side and deck level lights though are better as they are often seen against the water or boat backing ...
Others will disagree I know ... but IMHO.

I would in answer to the original - fit the highest wattage possible to give best possible chance of it being seen. Bulb type - or make .... best you can get.

As to Festoon .... soi many boats do have these light types ... and I for one am reasonably happy with them ... easy to fit, easy to change bulb, easy to repair ... and I still am of the opinion that a festoon bulb of "easy" source is difficult to measure differently to a "proper" one ... as most boats lights are not exact fitted .... as I said - who measured 22.5 degrees when they bolted the light on ... who has the back plate exactly parrelel to the boat fore and aft ...

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

Re: No problem ...

Nigel,

I agree with you..... don't have a tricolour, and don't want one.....

 

[john_morris_uk]

Re: No problem ...

[ QUOTE ]
The tri-colour light IMHO - and I know this will go against many here ... I think is a light that has limited appeal and value. It look great when close by sailing out of the marina or against a black backdrop ... but its value when with land behind or other lighting is in my experience pitiful. It gets lost so easily. The side and deck level lights though are better as they are often seen against the water or boat backing ...
Others will disagree I know ... but IMHO.


[/ QUOTE ]Perhaps it depends how far offshore you sail? Out on the open sea, tricolours are very visible, and save electricity. Close inshore, they can get lost in the lights as you say. We have both sidelights with sternlight and a tricolour and if I remember, I swap the lights over when sailing round the harbour.

 

[gandy]

Re: No problem ...

[ QUOTE ]
...
Out on the open sea, tricolours are very visible, and save electricity.
...

[/ QUOTE ] Which comes nicely back to my original thoughts. I'd thought that the point of the tricolour was power saving, but on our boat it will draw more power than the two low-level lamps (10W bi and 10W stern)

 

[VicS]

Re: No problem ...

[ QUOTE ]
on our boat it will draw more power than the two low-level lamps

[/ QUOTE ]

But for a small increase in power drain you will be visible at a much greater distance. If power economy is the overiding concern replace the tricolour bulb with a 10 watt one

 

[Guest]

Agree absolutely offshore ...

But inshore waters - if anyone wants to quote safety ....... I would ponder as to whether the Tri-Colour is in itself a risk ? Lose it amongst shore lights etc. - then where is visibility ?

 

[Guest]

Hang on now .... Vics ...

Hasn't that now defeated the object of the original post ... he's asking if a 10W is sensible substitute for the 25W ...

If the Tri-Colour is so great then surely the use of max wattage is advised ...

Right now onto another aspect ..... Safety - very handy little number that ... Lets equate safety by using 1 bulb in a tri-colour and that of 3 bulbs in conventional lights .... Even if one goes out - you still have a chance to be seen .... Tri-colour goes out - I hope you regularly check it - or are you "Illegal" with a tell-tale hole ??? Note I use word Illegal loosely - unlike the others who have used it as a rod !!

 

[gandy]

LEDs again

Just had a reply from Ultraleds about their special bulbs. I won't copy the email here, but it's along the lines of "we've sold loads for nav lights and nobody has said that they don't comply".

I'm going to try one. All the masthead stuff is in my workshop just now, so I can see exactly what angles the tri displays with normal bulb and with LED. Worst case, the LED will be "retired" to the anchor light, and if it's not fit for that then I will return it to the supplier. I will report back.

 

[VicS]

Re: Hang on now .... Vics ...

[ QUOTE ]
Hasn't that now defeated the object of the original post ... he's asking if a 10W is sensible substitute for the 25W ...


[/ QUOTE ] Well its gone full circle, not exactly defeated the object of the original question.

He can use a 10 watt bulb instead of 25 watts if he needs to economise on power but it is at the expense of visible range.
My priority was saving power especially as when I fitted out my boat the small bicolours were not available for some reason.
If I had a boat with a decent engine and alternator and was venturing offshore in it I would fit a 25 watt bulb. The boat I do sail in offshore has a 25 watt tricolour and a 25watt all round white which we use in place of stern and steaming lights when under power

I agree that in some situations the deck level lights are better because they are not lost to the view from the bridge of a ship amongst the shore lights. That's well known! and we do use those rather than the tricolour when appropriate. I'm not so concerned about the lower power of the deck level lights because we are using those in more of a close range situation ie so that the ferry following us into a harbour can see us.

Another advantage of a tri, not mentioned so far is that you are not blinded by glare off all the stanchions etc. Ok you could paint them matt black but we like our shiny bits.

Both boats have a full set of deck level lights which can be used if the tri fails, and we carry spare bulbs.

[ QUOTE ]
I accept that my steaming and masthead anchor lights don't work - but thats because they never worked in all the 10 yrs I've had the boat - last owner said clearly that they were not working when I bought it .... and I can't be bothered to lower the mast to find out why.

[/ QUOTE ] That is a very sad admission. We take our masts down every winter. That means we check not only the lights but the state of the standing rigging and the state of every thing else at the mast head. I'm glad I do that because that was when I discovered a broken strand in the forestay near the top a few years back.

 

[Guest]

Back-glare and mast ....

My lights are sited on side of pulpit fitted to fashion plates and therefore don't have the standard problem of stanchions etc. as with cabin mounted ... The old ones were matched fitting to the plates .. but the new require "wedges" to correct the angle. That is why I know from experience ... these and also others I've fitted in conventional locations about the angles etc that average yachts have.

Ok the mast ... it has been down a number of times - but each time the lights have been forgotten - sad admission but true. You get in such rush to sort xxx or you ask someone to do yyy and the lights get left. I did one time ask a guy to look at them - and he forgot ... luckily it was not a yard guy with a bill.
As to stays etc. - my mast / rigging is not "loaded" or strained as I am a Motor sailer who takes life a bit on the easy side .... not like my racer that I had in Tallinn that mast was up and down like a yoyo !! The other point of course is that my boat would take more than 10 years to get equal to the normal seasons use of the average boat .. I use it probably 2 - 4 weeks total per year ....

 

[damo]

Re: Agree absolutely offshore ...

When steaming at night I sometimes have to turn off my pulpit nav lights and use the tri - not good form I know, with the steaming light on. But I would rather be able to see ahead instead of being dazzled by the reflection off whitecaps ahead of the bow.

How do others cope with this problem?

 

[janda]

Re: LEDs again

Having just bought the uiltraled that fits my Aqua 40 Triclour mast head light I can say that there is no way it complies with the regs even though he said the same to me. I am sticking to the 25 W. It is a safety issue for me. I will use it for the allround/steaming light. I am using his festoon type replacement Leds for cabin lights. For me if I need to economise I can use my lower set of lights which are all compliant LED nav lights

 

[gandy]

Re: LEDs again

[ QUOTE ]
Having just bought the uiltraled that fits my Aqua 40 Triclour mast head light I can say that there is no way it complies with the regs even though he said the same to me. I am sticking to the 25 W. It is a safety issue for me. I will use it for the allround/steaming light. I am using his festoon type replacement Leds for cabin lights. For me if I need to economise I can use my lower set of lights which are all compliant LED nav lights

[/ QUOTE ] What was wrong with the Ultraled? I've just done some tests and am interested to see if we're in agreement. I reckoned the angles were OK, and the angle of view, but the Red segment too dim.

Also, what LED lamps do you use for the low level?

Thanks, Tony S