LED replacement bulb reliability

[abyssal]

I have read many of the topics in here on replacing the old OSRAM 5008 anchor light bulb with a LED. Since my mast is down right now, this would seem like the right time to do it. I was talking to my marina owner about this and he didn't suggest it as he says he's put LEDs in lights and then had to turn around and replace them because they didn't work. Can those of you who have done this please comment on any problems you've had with this type replacement. Also, did you just purchase a tower or did you replace the whole anchor navigation light base unit?

 

[Justin_NSA]

LEDs last long enough that they should be the last bulb you'll ever need. Polarity is critical though. Maybe your friend's sockets are wired backwards. An incandecent bulb wouldn't care.
I've used them for mast and interior lighting.

 

[victorhoisington]

I'm no expert however, the little i've learned on the LED is as follows.

Unlike our incandescent bulbs, LED's expect a certain polarity (+/-) so they must be inserted correctly (if replacing existing bulbs) or wired properly (if replacing the entire fixture.) They also are less tolerant of voltage irregularities (however many of them come with circuits to handle voltage drops/spikes) but, if your wiring is not up to snuff or there are issues with the connections they will not work. I bet if you talk to the marina guy and asked a few questions, the failures he noted are most likely related to poor or incorrect wiring not the actual failure of the LED.

One other note, unlike our incandescent's, they are either on or off, no flickering or weak light to help trouble shoot.

Check the wiring and move to LED's as noted above once installed correctly you'll most likely never have to replace

 

[Rick D]

I have had LED's for about 10 years now, both for the running lights and the interior lights. In that time I only had one failure of a first-generation Dr. LED side lamp bulb. It came apart at the socket. However, no issues with the replacement (gen 2 or 3) and it's been quite a long time. So, I don't believe it is an issue. Went to LED's for my steaming light and anchor light a few years ago too. No issue. Good luck. (Quality counts)

 

[centerline]

the marina owner is probably not up to date on the led technology, and has used the wrong bulbs in the past....

assuming you are using the correct LED replacement bulb, then other than making sure the polarity of the wiring is correct to the bulb, the only other thing to make sure of is using dielectric/silicone grease in the bulb socket..... this will insure the moisture stays out and corrosion will never form. the bulb will be trouble free for a very long time

 

[Benny17441]

There are LED integrated fixtures and there are LED light bulbs that are designed to fit into conventional sockets. If the socket connectors are corroded or making poor contact no bulb will work adequately. LED bulbs are also polarity sensitive so if the wiring is reversed they will not work. If you are going through the trouble I would recommend you replace the whole fixture. LED lights use less power, are much brighter and will last longer than you will statistically own the boat. Make sure the wiring is in good shape and the polarity is correct and you will avoid many trips up the mast to correct mistakes and failures.

 

[JK_Boston_Catalina310]

I'll add that put cruising it's very obvious who is using LED anchor lights. They are brighter and easier to see. So much so that we use our temporary Davis light with an LED bulb over our masthead anchor light.

In the Bahamas I would say about 50% of the cruising boats are using LED anchor lights.

 

[mauruuru]

I converted original anchor light and running light to led replacement bulbs over 5 years ago with zero problems. In most recent mast lowering I replaced the anchor light fixture because of mechanical damage with a LED fixture. The running light is still a LED bulb in the original fixture and both work fine. And as noted are much brighter than the incandescents they replaced. I would not hesitate to make the change to LED.

 

[justsomeguy]

The only problem I've had is that the LEDs are more sensitive to lightning strikes, and what can you do about that? Nada.

 

[woodster]

i have 22 led lights on my boat and two of them are spot light leds ...... just turned them all on to see what the amp draw was total ....only 5.2 amps .....if that was incandescent it would be 5 times the draw or 26 amps so in the interest of an energy budget it makes better sense to do this than not

 

[pateco]

I have been doing this project over time. I have already replaced, the Cabin Dome Lights, and the reading lights over the last several months. This weekend I rebuilt the three fluorescent fixtures on my boat using COB LEDs from E-bay.

Dome Lights

Reading lights

COB LEDs

Old Fixture

LEDs Installed

Finished LED Conversion.

So Far I am very pleased with the results.

All that is left are my running lights and anchor light. Steaming light is already done.

 

[Long Story]

They also are less tolerant of voltage irregularities (however many of them come with circuits to handle voltage drops/spikes) but, if your wiring is not up to snuff or there are issues with the connections they will not work.

Just to clarify - LED lamps have a very high tolerance to voltage irregularities. Your typical LED lamp replacement will have rated output in the range of 8 VDC - 30 VDC, having lamps work below the rated full discharge of a 12 Volt battery bank is pretty impressive.