LED Bulb Comparisons
- Thread starter Maine Sail
- Start date
The steaming light fixture is the wrong brand, and wouldn't be USCG certified with an LED bulb that I can find. Also, no real need to conserve power if I'm motoring, is there... 
Many thanks, Maine Sail
your hard work and well presented information has inspired me to look further into whether we should to LED lights aboard.
Jim Kolstoe, h23 Kara's Boo
your hard work and well presented information has inspired me to look further into whether we should to LED lights aboard.
Jim Kolstoe, h23 Kara's Boo
Excellent Post Maine Sail
.Clearly the Sensibulb is the winner with everything but the cost, yet I am sure that in the long run, it is going to be the light that lasts the longest.
Wish there were a way to get this bulb compared with your next test.
http://catalinadirect.com/index.cfm...190386379-88BED497-D61C-E357-D905A66C53BC24E2
It has both the LED lights in white and red. My friend just replaced all his interior cabin lights with these. I haven't had a chance to see them in the dark, but the red is nice at night. I have a LED light in the back cabin that is both red and white and the white will hardly shine on the sole.
Thanks again for a good comparison and post as always!
.Clearly the Sensibulb is the winner with everything but the cost, yet I am sure that in the long run, it is going to be the light that lasts the longest.
Wish there were a way to get this bulb compared with your next test.
http://catalinadirect.com/index.cfm...190386379-88BED497-D61C-E357-D905A66C53BC24E2
It has both the LED lights in white and red. My friend just replaced all his interior cabin lights with these. I haven't had a chance to see them in the dark, but the red is nice at night. I have a LED light in the back cabin that is both red and white and the white will hardly shine on the sole.
Thanks again for a good comparison and post
as always!
Re: Excellent Post Maine Sail
For just a little light so as not to fall over the table I rather like a kerosine lantern turned down low. I can read a chart when it is turned way up but I can turn it down to less than a candle.
For just a little light so as not to fall over the table I rather like a kerosine lantern turned down low. I can read a chart when it is turned way up but I can turn it down to less than a candle.
Re: More LED Bulb Comparisons
I have sensi-bulbs in overhead fixtures galley & over nav. They're great. Dr. LED in some reading lamps & I'm satisfied with them too, although sensi definitely brighter. Have not used the sensi-bulb bayonet adaptor, too much trouble & not great fit in fixture. just went w/Dr. LED for the reading lamps. Lot of $$ but worth it to not run engine. Minimal electric on my boat, no frig etc. Have Aqua signal LED in anchor light.
I have sensi-bulbs in overhead fixtures galley & over nav. They're great. Dr. LED in some reading lamps & I'm satisfied with them too, although sensi definitely brighter. Have not used the sensi-bulb bayonet adaptor, too much trouble & not great fit in fixture. just went w/Dr. LED for the reading lamps. Lot of $$ but worth it to not run engine. Minimal electric on my boat, no frig etc. Have Aqua signal LED in anchor light.
Led update
Mainesail and others,
I ordered these led from Cruising Solutions for $25/piece. The fixture in upper left was unable to handle the led originally since the prongs were to short. The base would not sit in deep enough. They exchanged it for one like the lower right but with the prongs straight up. I've now enough led's to replace all the lights in the salon. This coming weekend I will check and see the difference between the old bulbs and new led's. The current draw should be a significant difference. Will try to take pictures...
Mainesail these leds look just like the ones you are getting from MaineBeam, do you concur?
Mainesail and others,
I ordered these led from Cruising Solutions for $25/piece. The fixture in upper left was unable to handle the led originally since the prongs were to short. The base would not sit in deep enough. They exchanged it for one like the lower right but with the prongs straight up. I've now enough led's to replace all the lights in the salon. This coming weekend I will check and see the difference between the old bulbs and new led's. The current draw should be a significant difference. Will try to take pictures...
Mainesail these leds look just like the ones you are getting from MaineBeam, do you concur?
Attachments
I just recently (just before Mainsails' first SensiBulb post) purchased the SuperBright LED 1156-PCB-WHP9 bulbs - two cool white 7000k and two warm white 3100k @$21.95 each. They were simple plug & play, no adapters required. They replaced the original factory installed lights on my MacGregor and so far they are satisfactory, perhaps not quite as bright as the originals but darn close enough that it makes little difference. I don't use lights that often and mostly use battery powered lights when I do so as to reserve the boat batteries for other stuff. Now I won't feel the need to preserve so much with LEDs installed.
The other advantage of the Sensibulb is the ability to use a dimmer. I have these in both of my overhead lights with dimmers and love them. Can cut the current draw without much loss of brightness, and can dim them to a very soft nightlight intensity that allows us to move about the cabin without attracting insects. With the bayonet base adapters, simply plug them in and they're supported at the proper angle. Light output seems brighter than with the original halogen bulbs but without all the heat.
Yes but only because Cruising Solutions is selling the MarineBeam bulbs. This according to Jeff the owner of MarineBeam..
Sailors Solutions / SCAD is a different company altogether.
P.S. I have added a photo of a 10W halogen to the OP. The color temp is very similar to the Sensibulb but it's a wider beam.
As requested
As requested I have added the current draw from each bulb to the original post.
Current Draw is as follows:
20W Halogen = 1.745 amps
10W Halogen =.87 milliamps
Sensibulb = .194 milliamps
MarineBeam = .158 milliamps
Dr. LED = .138 milliamps
To put it in perspective one 10W Halogen bulb uses 454% more electricity than does one Sensibulb or one 20W halogen uses 899% more electricity than the Sensibulb which was the highest drawing of the LED's tested at .194 milliamps.
Many interior lighting fixtures, from ABI and others, now come standard with 20W Halogen bulbs. I have a box of them that I removed to replace with LED's that are now doing nothing but collecting dust.
Here's some simple math based on our personal use.
If you ran five 20W interior lights for 3.5 hours per day, about our average, it would consume 30.54 amp hours from your batteries. Now lets assume you are on the hook for the weekend, for two nights, and don't want to run your engine.
So now you multiply 30.54 X 2 = 61.08 amp hours for just 3.5 hours of lighting per day. Because you're on the hook you now need an anchor light which usually consumes between 1 amp and 2 amps per hour. To be fair will call it 1.5 amps per hour. So now figure 1.5 X 10 hours per night = 15 amps per night for the anchor light, times two days, = 30 more amp hours. With incandescent bulbs you can potentially burn 90 amp hours in just two weekend nights!
Running the same amount of lights, five, using a Sensibulb (the most current drawing LED) consumes roughly 3.4 amp hours per day or 6.8 amp hours for two days. Now add an LED anchor light at .2 amps per hour for two days and you've consumed 4 more amp hours. When you add interior to anchor light you have consumed only 10.8 amp hours!!!
90 amp hours for five incandescent bulbs vs. 10.8 amp hours for LED's!!!! 90 amp hours is battery bank upgrade material so even at $36.00 each for the most expensive interior LED it is still far cheaper than upgrading a battery bank.
The way I like to do math is like this; That is 90 - 10.8 = +79.2 amp hours saved by using LED's for chilling beer!!!!!!!!!!
As requested I have added the current draw from each bulb to the original post.
Current Draw is as follows:
20W Halogen = 1.745 amps
10W Halogen =.87 milliamps
Sensibulb = .194 milliamps
MarineBeam = .158 milliamps
Dr. LED = .138 milliamps
To put it in perspective one 10W Halogen bulb uses 454% more electricity than does one Sensibulb or one 20W halogen uses 899% more electricity than the Sensibulb which was the highest drawing of the LED's tested at .194 milliamps.
Many interior lighting fixtures, from ABI and others, now come standard with 20W Halogen bulbs. I have a box of them that I removed to replace with LED's that are now doing nothing but collecting dust.
Here's some simple math based on our personal use.
If you ran five 20W interior lights for 3.5 hours per day, about our average, it would consume 30.54 amp hours from your batteries. Now lets assume you are on the hook for the weekend, for two nights, and don't want to run your engine.
So now you multiply 30.54 X 2 = 61.08 amp hours for just 3.5 hours of lighting per day. Because you're on the hook you now need an anchor light which usually consumes between 1 amp and 2 amps per hour. To be fair will call it 1.5 amps per hour. So now figure 1.5 X 10 hours per night = 15 amps per night for the anchor light, times two days, = 30 more amp hours. With incandescent bulbs you can potentially burn 90 amp hours in just two weekend nights!
Running the same amount of lights, five, using a Sensibulb (the most current drawing LED) consumes roughly 3.4 amp hours per day or 6.8 amp hours for two days. Now add an LED anchor light at .2 amps per hour for two days and you've consumed 4 more amp hours. When you add interior to anchor light you have consumed only 10.8 amp hours!!!
90 amp hours for five incandescent bulbs vs. 10.8 amp hours for LED's!!!! 90 amp hours is battery bank upgrade material so even at $36.00 each for the most expensive interior LED it is still far cheaper than upgrading a battery bank.
The way I like to do math is like this; That is 90 - 10.8 = +79.2 amp hours saved by using LED's for chilling beer!!!!!!!!!!
Jeff
Can you comment on Tim R.'s finding about the two festoons, one from you and one from, Superbrite being the same? I saw them and it is more than a knock off it is the same bulb? Is it possible Superbrite is now buying from your supplier?
I have a Superbrite G4 / MR-11 on order that also looks to be identical to your bulb and when it gets here I'll let you know what I find. I will also take high resolution photos to compare the two. The Superbrite bulb sells for $14.95.???
If they are in fact the same bulbs you might want to go back to your supplier for a price break so you can remain competitive.. Your service was outstanding BTW!!
Can you comment on Tim R.'s finding about the two festoons, one from you and one from, Superbrite being the same? I saw them and it is more than a knock off it is the same bulb? Is it possible Superbrite is now buying from your supplier?
I have a Superbrite G4 / MR-11 on order that also looks to be identical to your bulb and when it gets here I'll let you know what I find. I will also take high resolution photos to compare the two. The Superbrite bulb sells for $14.95.???
If they are in fact the same bulbs you might want to go back to your supplier for a price break so you can remain competitive..
Your service was outstanding BTW!!Re: As requested
Maine Sail,
An excellent effort at a comparision. With LEDs, just like incandescents, it is really hard to compare the output of products which have different wattages. I think it is important to reiterate that the Sensibulb draws 23% more power than the Marinebeam.com bulb, so I am not surprised at the difference in output. May I suggest the next test use the 10-LED MR11 which will draw similar power to the Sensibulb (maybe even a bit more) see http://www.marinebeam.com/mr10smdpocl.html, but will put out significantly more light. I think you will be able to bracket your test and see that on a lumens/watt basis, the bulbs have similar output. Contact me offline, and I will get you one to try.
For others that see $10 bulbs that look the same, I suggest a gander at the copycat portion of the marinebeam site.
For the post above that shows the Catalina Direct lamp. Look closely at the photo and notice the beige ballast resistors. Absolutely a NO-NO aboard a boat! See the Idiots Guide to LEDs at www.marinebeam.com to understand why.
Jeff
Maine Sail,
An excellent effort at a comparision. With LEDs, just like incandescents, it is really hard to compare the output of products which have different wattages. I think it is important to reiterate that the Sensibulb draws 23% more power than the Marinebeam.com bulb, so I am not surprised at the difference in output. May I suggest the next test use the 10-LED MR11 which will draw similar power to the Sensibulb (maybe even a bit more) see http://www.marinebeam.com/mr10smdpocl.html, but will put out significantly more light. I think you will be able to bracket your test and see that on a lumens/watt basis, the bulbs have similar output. Contact me offline, and I will get you one to try.
For others that see $10 bulbs that look the same, I suggest a gander at the copycat portion of the marinebeam site.
For the post above that shows the Catalina Direct lamp. Look closely at the photo and notice the beige ballast resistors. Absolutely a NO-NO aboard a boat! See the Idiots Guide to LEDs at www.marinebeam.com to understand why.
Jeff
While you might not notice any difference, I see different LEDs, with different forward currents right off the bat. One bulb has China orphan LEDs, the other has Seoul Semi LEDs.
I can't say anything more as I don't have it in my hands. Clearly looks as close as the others on the copycat section of my website.
Jeff
They could be from different manufacturing runs, of the same design, from different manufacturing plants. A lot of companies outsource actual production, and the circuit board design is identical as are most of the components. It is like when a computer manufacturer uses Western Digital harddrives for one production run, and then switches to Maxtor or Seagate harddrives for the next batch because the WD drives were more expensive or not available. Almost identical specifications, but slightly different components.