I have been looking at upgrading my interior lights on my 1983 H34. I have researched 'marine' 12V lights and have found that they are very $$$ and somewhat limited in selection. On a whim, I went to Home Depot Expo and looked at their 12V lighting selection. Since they usually sell the lights for homes, they assume you are going to buy a transformer with the lights and if you are only buying the individual lights, you are replacing one or adding to a string. The net effect of this is the individual 12V lights are pretty reasonable and they have a big selection. My question is, can you use any 12V light on the boat? Most of the Home Depot 12V lights are Halogen and 20-50W (seem to be the same rating as West Marine's lights). The only drawback I can see is they usually don't have an integrated power switch. I am ok with this as I plan to leave the overhead lights the way they are (already been upgraded with marine lights) and only replace the bunk lights and the directional spot lights over the table and over the settee. For the bunk lights I will put in a separate light switch. I plan to locate this on the wall away from the light (more like a big boat or a house). For the lights in the main cabin, I plan to control each side of the boat with its own switch (2 lights per switch). Any thoughts would be appreciated.
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Paul Akers
12v is 12v
Peter, IMHO 12v is 12v no matter what the source. I hear ya when you say that "marine" lights are more expensive. I replaced a few overhead lights last year and compared prices. The same lights were 50% cheaper in the camper catalogs vs the boat catalogs. Go online and look around. I found a good selection in www.campingworld.com and ordered from there. They were the exact same lights.
Peter, IMHO 12v is 12v no matter what the source. I hear ya when you say that "marine" lights are more expensive. I replaced a few overhead lights last year and compared prices. The same lights were 50% cheaper in the camper catalogs vs the boat catalogs. Go online and look around. I found a good selection in www.campingworld.com and ordered from there. They were the exact same lights.
Watch your power consumption.
Peter: Some things to look at. First check the power consumption. I think you will see that the lights for the marine environment is probably in the 5W to 20W range. These other fixtures are 20W-50W (I suppose you figured this out from your post about a dimmer). You may also need to consider heat from these fixtures too. The other thing that you may want to check out is the material and finish. You will probably find that they are tin with paint. Most of the marine stuff is plastic, brass, alum. or stainless. I purchased lights from West Marine for $11-13 each (these are the overhead ones). The catalog has these in the $16-20 range now. I would check out the RV supply before you take the HD route. You may find something that is a little more appropriate. But to answer your original question, they should work just fine. Just not sure that the savings is worth the effort. I have installed an Alpenglow florscent over our dining area. It puts out great light and consumes minimal power. They now have a LED design that consumes even less power.
Peter: Some things to look at. First check the power consumption. I think you will see that the lights for the marine environment is probably in the 5W to 20W range. These other fixtures are 20W-50W (I suppose you figured this out from your post about a dimmer). You may also need to consider heat from these fixtures too. The other thing that you may want to check out is the material and finish. You will probably find that they are tin with paint. Most of the marine stuff is plastic, brass, alum. or stainless. I purchased lights from West Marine for $11-13 each (these are the overhead ones). The catalog has these in the $16-20 range now. I would check out the RV supply before you take the HD route. You may find something that is a little more appropriate. But to answer your original question, they should work just fine. Just not sure that the savings is worth the effort. I have installed an Alpenglow florscent over our dining area. It puts out great light and consumes minimal power. They now have a LED design that consumes even less power.
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Bruce
Marine vs non-marine
The problem I have found in using non-marine items is mainly corrosion. Most non-marine things will rust rather easily in a salty, high humid environment. In addition to the exterior, check the wiring. Marine wiring is more costly because each strand is tinned to protect from corrosion, and there are usually more strands to give it more strength because of vibration.
The problem I have found in using non-marine items is mainly corrosion. Most non-marine things will rust rather easily in a salty, high humid environment. In addition to the exterior, check the wiring. Marine wiring is more costly because each strand is tinned to protect from corrosion, and there are usually more strands to give it more strength because of vibration.
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Scott
power consumption is an issue
Hunter put 5 and 10 watt halogens on the 340 they drew about 1/2 amp amd 1 amp respectively. The 20 watt will be about 2 amps and so on. That is alot of juice if you have a couple of people reading or whatever. I have looked at the nonmarine alternatives for bulbs as the marine units are expensive and didn't find the lower wattage bulbs. We wouldn't use the higher wattage because of power consumption, as we spend most of our time on the hook. Scott
Hunter put 5 and 10 watt halogens on the 340 they drew about 1/2 amp amd 1 amp respectively. The 20 watt will be about 2 amps and so on. That is alot of juice if you have a couple of people reading or whatever. I have looked at the nonmarine alternatives for bulbs as the marine units are expensive and didn't find the lower wattage bulbs. We wouldn't use the higher wattage because of power consumption, as we spend most of our time on the hook. Scott
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Bryce
LED
Anyone looked into LED's as replacement lighting? Seems to be a big up and coming technology and they're sure easy on batteries. Bryce S/V Spellbinder H410
Anyone looked into LED's as replacement lighting? Seems to be a big up and coming technology and they're sure easy on batteries. Bryce S/V Spellbinder H410
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Dr. Dennis Brittain
Bryce, LED's
Bryce, I have been using LED's for 4 years now. I ended up buying them wholesale from a company who sells the keychain LED lights. I took the LED's (which come in 5 different colors), added the right resistor (by simple ohms law), and a switch. I can have my HUN 430 lit up throughout at night with 13 red LED's and only be drawing .56 amps! The white isn't a real true white but more like a flourescent coloring. Blues are the brightest. They are fun to build and with them you won't be seeing your batteries drop!
Bryce, I have been using LED's for 4 years now. I ended up buying them wholesale from a company who sells the keychain LED lights. I took the LED's (which come in 5 different colors), added the right resistor (by simple ohms law), and a switch. I can have my HUN 430 lit up throughout at night with 13 red LED's and only be drawing .56 amps! The white isn't a real true white but more like a flourescent coloring. Blues are the brightest. They are fun to build and with them you won't be seeing your batteries drop!
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Peter Roach
LEDs
I stopped by a truck stop this weekend. They had a lot of LEDs in a number of different colors - cheap. I will try to use these instead of the 20W light bulbs. I will let you know how it goes.
I stopped by a truck stop this weekend. They had a lot of LEDs in a number of different colors - cheap. I will try to use these instead of the 20W light bulbs. I will let you know how it goes.
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