Anyone convert those florescent fixtures in their 2004ish hunters to LED ? Pretty sure the ballast is shot I understand that the ballasts need to be removed and some re-wring done. Simple instructions ?
Convert florescent fixtures to LED bulbs
- Thread starter spadaforaj
- Start date
My plan is to remove the guts and replace with a couple strips of LED lights. Two or three strips as needed.
I just lit up my engine compartment with four six foot long strips of these. There are brighter fixtures and strips out there but these are decent. If you plan on running this off of 12v, then you will see an increase in efficiency. Higher voltages usually lead to reduced amperage
I converted over. I found some LED units somewhere online that physically replaced the fluorescents, and some minor wire snipping to remove the ballast. Was pretty straightforward. When I was first going to do it about 5 years ago, these kind of physically matching drop-in replacements were not available.
They also had some variations in colors. I bought the more natural (warm) and the bright white to test with. Ended up using bright white in the forward cabin with vanity (2009 Hunter 41DS) and the galley area - and the more mellow/natural for the main salon lighting and aft cabin. I would recommend just getting the natural/warm version - I had already bought the bright white so just used them as described.
These are what I bought.
Oh - and the overall effect with the warm is that they are a little 'warmer' and about the same overall light level as the original fluorescents.
They also had some variations in colors. I bought the more natural (warm) and the bright white to test with. Ended up using bright white in the forward cabin with vanity (2009 Hunter 41DS) and the galley area - and the more mellow/natural for the main salon lighting and aft cabin. I would recommend just getting the natural/warm version - I had already bought the bright white so just used them as described.
These are what I bought.
Oh - and the overall effect with the warm is that they are a little 'warmer' and about the same overall light level as the original fluorescents.
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I went a different direction and replaced both of my fluorescent fixtures with these HELLA dual color LED fixtures.
I'm pretty happy with how they came out and being able to switch to red is a nice feature to have at night.
I'm pretty happy with how they came out and being able to switch to red is a nice feature to have at night.
Ahh, bummer. I got them from Camping World for about half that, but it looks like they don't carry them, anymore.
I replaced all of the incandescent bulbs on my Hunter 28.5 with LED bulbs. The take a LOT less current, and I was able to find replacement bulbs for most of the fixtures. I replaced the main light in the galley with a complete light fixture. I monitor my power usage (DC amp meter) and it does make a big difference.
Sir Michael
Sir Michael
Converted my galley overhead flourescents with LED back in 2019. One red and one white. Purchased the LED tubes from MarineBeam.
My p/n was 1 × 12" F8T5 LED Tube for Fluorescent Fixtures (FL-T5-66)
My p/n was 1 × 12" F8T5 LED Tube for Fluorescent Fixtures (FL-T5-66)
2005 H36. My ballasts work just fine and the fixture was more complicated than some, so I just bought these LED replacement bulbs online. Initial reaction is that the light is great and the power consumption is reduced by about 60%. They were $20 for 4 of them, so pretty affordable. Now I will just have to see about durability in the marine environment!
