LED replacement help

[dcartie]

Hey guys, I've been reviewing all the LED posts and still had some questions. I will be replacing the cockpit floor lights to blue and half the cabin courtesy lights to LED. If I get the warm bright LEDs, will they be any brighter? I definitely need a brighter bulb for the bathroom, aft cabin for reading, and others would be ok. And since I'll only be replacing half due to the high costs, should I just make them all cool white replacements, so that I can use the remaining incandescent bulbs if I want that relaxing light. I'm not sure about that striking bright cool led....anyone done it and have an opinion? I'll be replacing 6 of 12 cabin courtesy lights....all on various switches. Thanks!!

 

[ssobol]

Re: LED replacement help

Hey guys, I've been reviewing all the LED posts and still had some questions. I will be replacing the cockpit floor lights to blue and half the cabin courtesy lights to LED. If I get the warm bright LEDs, will they be any brighter? I definitely need a brighter bulb for the bathroom, aft cabin for reading, and others would be ok. And since I'll only be replacing half due to the high costs, should I just make them all cool white replacements, so that I can use the remaining incandescent bulbs if I want that relaxing light. I'm not sure about that striking bright cool led....anyone done it and have an opinion? I'll be replacing 6 of 12 cabin courtesy lights....all on various switches. Thanks!!

Depending on how you do it LEDs can be very cheap. I replaced the light bulbs in my cabin lights with flat LED arrays (48 or 24 chips ea). You can get them on ebay for about 1.20 each. They come in number of temperatures. It did require some gluing and changing of wire in the lamp, but other than the glue curing time it took about 10 minutes per lamp to convert them. For example:48 SMD Warm White Light Panel T10 BA9S Festoon Dome 48 LED Interior Bulb Lamp | eBay

You can also get potted units that contain 1 to 3 LEDs than are in units 1-3 inches long that are sealed and weather proof (IP65 or IP67) for about a buck each. These come on a string and you just cut them apart and put them in. They make great courtesy lights and compartment lights. I added a number of modules similar to these under the gunwales of my boat for indirect courtesy lighting. 20pcs White 3528 SMD Waterproof Modules DC12V 3 LED 40 12mm | eBay

This is not my picture, but it is what I did with the Perko cabin lights. It works great.

 

[dcartie]

Re: LED replacement help

That's so cheap I might just do it....haha! I was originally going to replace just the bi pin bulbs from superbrightleds.com and they are $18 each...but just as simple as putting the new bulb in...is warm light the way to go, or the brighter cool light ?

 

[ssobol]

Re: LED replacement help

That's so cheap I might just do it....haha! I was originally going to replace just the bi pin bulbs from superbrightleds.com and they are $18 each...but just as simple as putting the new bulb in...is warm light the way to go, or the brighter cool light ?

There are a couple of different temps for "warm" white. The lower the number to yellower the light. I used warm white in my boat because it is not as harsh and goes with the color of the interior better (off white). If I had a whiter white interior I might have used the cool white LEDs. Generally the difference in the color is noticeable but not severe. It really is a matter of personal taste.

Actually, the LEDS are so cheap I got both cool white and warm white LEDs and tried them to see which I liked better. I decided on the warm white lights for the cabin and gunwale lighting. I'll use the cool white lights for illuminating the inside of storage compartments and cupboards (this worked great on my last boat).

 

[BrianNJ]

Re: LED replacement help

Very cool. Thanks for these pointers.

 

[dcartie]

Re: LED replacement help

That explains it pretty well, thanks! I'm probably going with warm white in the 100 lumen range (compatible 15 to 20)....mine originals were 12v 5w. And maybe get the cool white in the head where more light is needed....but it is also an off white colored cabin in the head so maybe warm would be appropriate there too. I'm putting blue o
Bulbs in the cockpit floor courtesy lights and probably going with cool unless u recommend going all warm white. Thanks and happy boating!

 

[dacarter]

Re: LED replacement help

Check HomeDepot. They have two Phillips LED bulbs with the G4 base, one shoots out the other shoots light 90 degrees from the pins. They worked great for me replacing both my dome lights and my reading lights. $11 each. Brighter than the 10w hallogens that were in the boat, and they only consume about 2w.

 

[ssobol]

Re: LED replacement help

That explains it pretty well, thanks! I'm probably going with warm white in the 100 lumen range (compatible 15 to 20)....mine originals were 12v 5w. And maybe get the cool white in the head where more light is needed....but it is also an off white colored cabin in the head so maybe warm would be appropriate there too. I'm putting blue o
Bulbs in the cockpit floor courtesy lights and probably going with cool unless u recommend going all warm white. Thanks and happy boating!

If you have a "high tech" style boat (lots of white FG, gee whiz features) you probably should have cool white KEDs. If you want a more "homey" feel (lots of wood, cozy cabin) you probably should go with warm white. If you are not sure get a couple of each and give them a try. The LEDs are so cheap its not a big expense to experiment til you find what you like best.

 

[dcartie]

Re: LED replacement help

Great tips, thanks guys!

 

[bruceb58]

Re: LED replacement help

Personally, I always get the warmest LED I can possibly find. The cool ones are just too harsh in my opinion.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: LED replacement help

I agree with the cool LED's being a bit harsh.

 

[dacarter]

Re: LED replacement help

The Phillips at Home Depot are about the same light color as the original halogens, maybe slightly less yellow, but still very warm.