LED lighting refurb on a 25

[Ritdog]

I have been wanting to upgrade to all LED lights in my 25 but still maintain the look of the old 6-inch square lights. They are funky, but I like them.

What I did was gut the old fixtures out, which were getting corroded anyway- all the slide switches were frozen and the bases were OLD....

Got some 1/2 x 3/4 aluminium angle from the hardware store, cut it 2.5" long, and trimmed the angle on the bottom to about 3/4" where it would pop rivet to the plastic shell. Not doing so would keep the base plate off the plastic.

Drilled 1/8th " mounting holes and wire pass-throughs in the vertical plate -- (those all had to be a a slight angle to make the LED parallel to the base - don't know why they made the base socket that way....SEE PHOTO) and another in the base for the pop rivet to the shell.

Ordered a 2.5 watt and 1.5 watt LED for $11 total , got a SPDT switch from an electronics house (Radio Shack has them too) .

Used one SS #4 machine screw (fits the socket base holes) to fasten it to the angle, and test wired it to an old computer power supply (the CD burner MOLEX plugs are 12 volts on one end , 5 on the other : +12-grnd-grnd-+5) and there I have low and high beams , for about $13.00.

Am making 6, two for the V-berth, 2 for the salon, one for the Galley area with one spare for wherever I want it!

 

[GregL564]

Nice mod! And you can leave those on all night if you wanted without running the battery down.

 

[Brian S]

I have done similar on mine, replacing nav and interior bulbs with LED. But now that I've done so, I begin to wonder if I should replace my breakers with the lowest amperage I can, since there's nowhere near as much current draw anymore...

 

[centerline]

nice job. thats an efficient way of converting to LED lighting when you have a decent quality fixture to work with....

 

[Jackdaw]

Did I read you right... you have an old computer power supply on your boat, just to step-down 12vdc to 5vdc so you can have dimmer lights???

I would have just used RED LEDs in the 2nd fixture... better night vision.

 

[centerline]

Did I read you right... you have an old computer power supply on your boat, just to step-down 12vdc to 5vdc so you can have dimmer lights???

I would have just used RED LEDs in the 2nd fixture... better night vision.

and in addition, one can purchase a low amp voltage regulator(will carry up to 2amps), of whatever volt output you choose, that is about the size of a diode, for .85cents each.... at any electronics store. but still, its good to experiment with what we have on hand

 

[Chief RA]

The guys are steering you right with red light concept but they could have also suggested that you are wasting amps with that step down unit and might negate what amps you think you saved with the LED's!
Chief

 

[Brian S]

Oh, yeah, and with regards to red/white interior lights, I love my Marine Beam red/warm white combo light. Turns on red, then toggle off and back on, it goes white. It's as bright as sitting home in the living room, except better because I'm lounging reading a book on my boat! Woot! http://store.marinebeam.com/red-white-dome-light.html Maine Sail says these guys make the best LED lights. Huh, LED dimmers, too: http://store.marinebeam.com/led-dimmers.html

 

[Ritdog]

Sorry for the misunderstanding- I'm using the old computer power supply just for testing the lights.

The yellow lines are +12 volts, blacks are ground, red are +5 volts, and orange +3.3

The LEDs themselves are 2.4W and 1.4W, not dimming, hence the switch.

BRIAN S. - I'd love to know what you replaced your nav lights with- all I can find with bayonet bases are tower bulbs, a bit big for the standard Perko half-domes....was thinking last night about extending the standard bulb bayonet into the hull to fit...

Energy Efficient Products in Rome NY is where I got mine- they have good stuff at a good price. The ones I got will handle 10-30 volts, and are non-polarized.

 

[Brian S]

Ritdog, I used warm white Dr. LED 31mm festoon star lights, part number 9000173 to replace the incandescents in my stern light and steaming light. This is a 3 LED festoon, set into a triangle. I oriented mine such that the point of the triangle of the circuit boards points forward or aft. From where I can see them, they seem to throw even light. No one else has commented, of my associates who sail our full moon raft ups and sails. These cross reference to my Perko fittings. I probably bought them from www.defender.com. As for the bi-color bow light, I sourced a 42 mm Cone End Festoon (FS42C 30P) from Cruisingsolutions.com. Again, this is a warm white color, which is especially important for the bi-color light, as a typical blueish-white LED color would not make the proper red/green shades. Our chandlery here on this site has a bulb finder: http://shop.sailboatowners.com/cu/detail-led.php?54143/LED Conversion Finder I'm not sure which brand of bulbs they are selling.

I have heard some not necessarily good things about Dr. LED quality and longevity. I have been good for 2 seasons of fresh water use now, so I'm feeling good. Marinebeam.com, on the other hand, has an excellent reputation. Also, since I'm on a small inland lake with 20hp max, I'm not worrying too much about the legal ramifications of replacing incandescent bulbs with LED for which my fixtures were not USCG certified. If I were sailing in bigger waters, I would probably replace the fixtures with USCG certified LED fixtures from Hella or Aquasignal, rather than just the bulbs. If I were feeling particularly legally paranoid… This is a real thing, Maine Sail has been involved in a case like this. I guess it's all about the risk you are willing to assume. Me, I think my nav lights are better than some I see out on the lake, so I don't worry.

 

[hotrodderjim]

I replaced mine with 1157 auto bulbs I got online (Amazon)for short money!! All I did was replace the 1157 incondecent(?) ones. Took 10 mins & they work great. I also bought LED self stick strip lights & installed them along the over head for the length of the cabin on both sides. It lights the inside up like Yankee stadium! I bought a 16ft length , cut it in 2 8ft lengths & just skinned back the cut piece & spliced on some wire for another complete length.
HRJ

 

[Ritdog]

HOTRODDER- YES!!- was in an auto part store tuesday and saw a whole rack of 1157, 1156, and other LEDs in blister packs, 2 for $20!

They had 1156 and 57 bulbs hat would be a direct fit to the nav lights, and the lumen out- put was the same! They also had 4-level bulbs that would go high/low!

I had to change out my interiors with the ones I made as the slide switches and most of the bases were way too corroded.