12" Fluorescent light fixture replacement?

[pateco]

I have been going through the boat and replacing all of the incandescent bulbs with LEDs. Now I wish to replace the 12" Fluorescent fixtures in the galley and head with LED, but I am having a hard time finding suitable replacements. What have you used? What would you suggest?

The ones installed currently look like this:

However, my lenses are faded yellow, and cracking in places. so I need to replace.

 

[Stu Jackson]

I got a Marinebeam replacement. They make IIRC both 12" and 24" models.

 

[uncledom]

They make replacement lamps but not a wide selection of fixtures. I would open one up to try and find manufacturers' info if someone here doesn't chime in with an answer.

 

[centerline]

those lights put out so much light in a good wavelength that its hard to find an equal replacment to them....
because I have a good sized solar charging system, I left the 3.5amp twin tube "thin-light" installed, for those times when we really need some good lighting.
all the other bulbs/fixtures (and more added) have been upgraded to LED.

EDIT... im not so sure THAT is a good light, but the thin-lights are ... we had some similar to those in your photo in our 34 that looked like they could have been considered junk when they were new...

 

[pateco]

They make replacement lamps but not a wide selection of fixtures. I would open one up to try and find manufacturers' info if someone here doesn't chime in with an answer.

I would really like to replace the whole fixture as the lenses are bad, and they are just painted stamped steel bases that are starting to show rust etc. I want to switch to something plastic if possible. There are two over the galley, and one over the mirror in the head.

 

[pateco]

EDIT... im not so sure THAT is a good light, but the thin-lights are ... we had some similar to those in your photo in our 34 that looked like they could have been considered junk when they were new...

The originals are OK, but just one tube, and with the faded lenses they don't put out much light. Really trying to reduce electrical usage aboard wherever possible. We like to sail at night, but have run the batteries down twice already. New LEDs in all other lights should help a lot, but want to complete the project and replace all of the old inefficient fixtures.

 

[kloudie1]

Still have my old fluorescent fixtures but I hardly use them since going to LED in everything else.. Here is something that might be good to replace the fluorescents .. 0.44 ampere draw:
https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...re-with-switch/1490/3465/#/tab/Specifications

 

[pateco]

Still have my old fluorescent fixtures but I hardly use them since going to LED in everything else.. Here is something that might be good to replace the fluorescents .. 0.44 ampere draw:
https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...re-with-switch/1490/3465/#/tab/Specifications

I looked at several like these, but most were only 9" The ones you linked are 10.5" and should be good.

 

[seadaddler]

Try a RV store or RV on internet.
I have changed to LED but still use my fluorescent in main cabin.
Nick

 

[FastOlson]

I replaced an aging Thinlight two-tube light fixture over our galley with an Alpenglow light fixture. Even less amp draw and lots of light output.
Two levels of white brightness and two levels of red.
The lowest red level is great at night in the ocean when the off-watch guy likes a little bit of light to help see his way around the cabin but can still fall asleep.
http://www.alpenglowlights.com/overhead-light-info.html
Quality product from a great company. (IMHO)

Cheers,
Loren

 

[Benny17441]

Really trying to reduce electrical usage aboard wherever possible. We like to sail at night, but have run the batteries down twice already.

When sailing at night we only keep a red light on inside the cabin to preserve night vision and flashlight with a red filter lens in the cockpit in case we need to read a chart or something. We also keep a spot light handy but that is only used to make sure we are seen by any boat which may be on a collision course. Monitor your usage and recharge options and you should not have the batteries run down.

 

[Maine Sail]

Marinbeam has some great fixtures as well as LED tubes to replace the fluorescent bulb. Converting a fluorescent to LED does require some rewiring and removal of the ballast though..

 

[pateco]

When sailing at night we only keep a red light on inside the cabin to preserve night vision and flashlight with a red filter lens in the cockpit in case we need to read a chart or something. We also keep a spot light handy but that is only used to make sure we are seen by any boat which may be on a collision course. Monitor your usage and recharge options and you should not have the batteries run down.

Benny, it is not so much the sailing at night, but the anchoring out for cocktails and dinner where we run the batteries down. In December when we anchored out for the Winterfest holiday boat parade, we managed to kill the batteries in 5 hours, and needed a jump start from Tow-Boat US to get the engine started. I know I screwed up and left the battery selector on all, and this was before I had changed out any of the interior incandescents, But even at the dock last week, I worked onboard late one night until the early morning and managed to drain the batteries to where the lights were dimming even while connected to shore power and charger. This was after switching out half of the interior lights to LED.

The bulbs for the rest of the incandescent fixture should be here later this week, but the fluorescents are still a worry.

 

[Maine Sail]

In December when we anchored out for the Winterfest holiday boat parade, we managed to kill the batteries in 5 hours, and needed a jump start from Tow-Boat US to get the engine started. I know I screwed up and left the battery selector on all, and this was before I had changed out any of the interior incandescents,

And this is a good example of why we have been suggesting a charge management device such as an ACR's or Echo Chargers for years. These devices cost less than a single tow and simply automate charging of both banks....

But even at the dock last week, I worked onboard late one night until the early morning and managed to drain the batteries to where the lights were dimming even while connected to shore power and charger. This was after switching out half of the interior lights to LED.

The bulbs for the rest of the incandescent fixture should be here later this week, but the fluorescents are still a worry.

Your batteries appear to be toasted. Five hours of lighting, even incandescent, on a 31' boat with two banks powering them should not leave you dead in the water in 5 hours.

 

[gettinthere]

One option for converting flo to led is to gut the flo fixture but keep the housing. Then buy the led strips that can be cut to any length and wire them into the fixture. They come adhesive backed so you just stick em in place. They have clips that attach to the ends of the strip to provide wiring terminals.

 

[pateco]

Your batteries appear to be toasted. Five hours of lighting, even incandescent, on a 31' boat with two banks powering them should not leave you dead in the water in 5 hours.

That was my thought after the first incident. I have just 2 batteries, and they are deep cycle marine Group 24. They came with the boat, so I have no idea of their age and use patterns. The next day after I needed the jump, I pulled them off of the boat, and took them to be tested. They hade been charging on shore power overnight, and the charger showed them as charged. I was expecting to replace them, but they tested out above spec for the battery. Do you think they are really toast, and the shops load testing equipment just didn't show it?

 

[Maine Sail]

That was my thought after the first incident. I have just 2 batteries, and they are deep cycle marine Group 24. They came with the boat, so I have no idea of their age and use patterns. The next day after I needed the jump, I pulled them off of the boat, and took them to be tested. They hade been charging on shore power overnight, and the charger showed them as charged. I was expecting to replace them, but they tested out above spec for the battery. Do you think they are really toast, and the shops load testing equipment just didn't show it?

Two group 24's is about 150Ah's, when new. Even if your cabin lighting was burning a total of 10A this is -50Ah's in 5 hours which should put you at roughly 65-67% SOC... Two healthy group 24's should easily start a small diesel at 20% SOC...

Without knowing what they tested or how they tested it is hard to say but capacitance testers do not correlate well

 

[pateco]

Without knowing what they tested or how they tested it is hard to say but capacitance testers do not correlate well

Alright, I am a cheapskate, so I used the Wall mart computerized battery tester in their battery department. It throws a load on them and then a charge, and then another load and generates a printed report based upon the size and type battery you indicated you were testing. Maybe not the best way to test.

How and where would you suggest getting them tested? Or should I just replace?

 

[centerline]

Alright, I am a cheapskate, so I used the Wall mart computerized battery tester in their battery department. It throws a load on them and then a charge, and then another load and generates a printed report based upon the size and type battery you indicated you were testing. Maybe not the best way to test.

How and where would you suggest getting them tested? Or should I just replace?

without have the experience and knowing the equipment, if you wait 2-3 days after fully charging them, and BEFORE any load is put on them, use a carbon pile tester for load testing, and a refractometer to check specific gravity of each cell ... if you dont have a refractometer, use a hydrometer, as this is not quite as exact, but it will tell you if you have a bad cell....

those of us who do this all the time with our own equipment, we can determine the condition almost instantly, otherwise, by letting the batteries settle out a few days after a full charge, it will be easy to see the difference even with NON- state of the art equipment by someone who may not notice the slight differences when reading a "hot" battery...

 

[Maine Sail]

Alright, I am a cheapskate, so I used the Wall mart computerized battery tester in their battery department. It throws a load on them and then a charge, and then another load and generates a printed report based upon the size and type battery you indicated you were testing. Maybe not the best way to test.

How and where would you suggest getting them tested? Or should I just replace?

Wal-Mart is generally using Midtronics testers. They are decent tools for determining "warranty" as well as availability of "cranking amps" but not much more. They do horribly at predicting typical house bank use or Ah capacity or state of health for house bank use...

Are Impedance Testers Worth It?

That said if two group 24 batteries failed to start a small aux engine after 5 hours, with just incandescent lighting, they're toast and we don't need a test for that.....