LED Dome Lights

J

John S

New member
I was just wondering if anyone has replaced the original dome lights with the new LED dome lights? I was on a friends custom made boat the other day and he had LED Dome Lights that worked great and gave off plenty of light.

I remember reading a post quite a while back where someone had tried the replacement bulbs only with the cluster of LED's coming off them and was disappointed.

So, has anyone gone for the complete light fixture change out? and if so which new style LED Dome did you go with? How do you like it.

Thanks,
 
Not necessarily dome lights, but L@@K HERE for what another Brat has done. He says the LEDs are not good for general illumination.

Warren

P.S. thanks Joe for the new emoticon. :mrgreen:
 
John,

The thread for which Warren added the link was mine and I still feel the same way about the overhead LED's, but that is just our opinion. Others may feel differently, based on their experiences.

During my search for LED cabin lights, I also bought some replacement LED bulbs for the overhead fixtures that you mention. In order to get the directional light that is needed, due to the placement of the "socket" in the factory units, I had to buy flat "cards" that had a number of LED's attached. There was a wire that plugged into the factory receptacle and the card had to lie flat and loose in the dome cover, and the card would rattle around. The light was also insufficient. (I have found that the manufacturer makes a HUGE difference in quality, though) This route seemed like a one-size-fits-all approach and was disappointing.

We really like the swivel units that we have for reading and the only thing that I would now do differently would is choose the six LED models for the V-berth rather than the 9 LED models which are almost too bright, considering the distance the book is from the light. (Pictures in our album)

I have been following the tech developments in the LED industry lately and a company named Cree has made some astounding developments in the LED bulbs for tactical flashlights (like Surefire) for LE applications. I hope that this carries over into other LED fields, as well.

I'm still looking for a Brat who has found (and personally USES) a direct replacement LED bulb for the factory anchor light.

Hope that this helps,

Nick
"Valkyrie"
 
I just finished installing two 'Dr. LED' dome lights in the cabin, a red/white under the electronics shelf, and a two-brightness white just inside the cabin door. At about $79 each, they weren't cheap, but they are nicely designed and look great. As we are still ice-bound, I haven't used them yet, but they seem like they'll do the trick. Eventually, I plan to replace the v-berth lights as well.
Al
 
John S

Another avenue you might pursue to get lots of light and at the same time minimize power consumption is to use the 12-volt mini-florescent tube fixtures.

I have one above the doorway in my CD-22 cabin that has two 8-watt tubes in it and draws 16 watts of power, which should be about 1.5 amps after the very small heat loss is calculated in. This one light lights up the whole cabin brightly enough to play games, read, or whatever. (Dark curtains may kill some of one's lighting efficiency.)

The ones sold at marine dealers usually have UL approval for marine use and will not interfere with on board electronics because they radiate very little radio frequency emissions.

While these lights are "hot cathode" florescents, there are other, even more efficient florescent "cold cathode" lights that are available.

Here's a LINK to West Marine's selection of these different types of lights, but I'm sure you can do better on the prices if you shop around on the net.

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Thanks for the ideas and thoughts guys. It sounds like not many have actually replaced the dome lights, (except for the untested Dr. LED's) I like the idea of the swivel directional and reading lights (thanks for the photos) but I really need something to replace these high amperage dome lights. The flourecent tubes are a thought, but I am really hoping for a direct replacement.

Thanks,
John
 
I put two Cabelas surface mount lights ($16.99) in the cab-one above the door and one on the underside of the radio tray. I love them-they do just what I want them to-make it so I can see when it's dark- and they are much more efficient than the old bulb. I tried to post a link to Cabela's but I'm way too incompetent at this time-LTB

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Cool,

I never thought to look at Cabela's for LED Dome lights. It says these are 18 bulb LED lights and they are one of the best prices I've seen at $29.99. Here's the image I came up with. (I couldn't get the image to link from Cabela's so I put it in my album.)

I'm not near my boat right now, does anyone know if the standard dome light in the C-Dory's measures 5 1/2" like this? If so, I'm going to order one and give it a try.

Thanks


s7_015545_007_01.jpg
 
Not exactly the same, but the West Marine "Lightship" Led solar light is a nice light source with NO POWER DRAIN. It puts out enough light to read by (white) and good night light (red) for all night, on one days charge. It will even charge through the darkened forward hatch cover. We keep one there, and one on the aft cabin window. Easy to move around, suction cups!

LightShip™ Solar Powered Light

Shopper Rating:
Read/Write





Manufacturer MFG Part # WM Model# Price In Stock? Qty
SIMPLY BRILLIANT,LLC 5402 8699878 Only $16.99 USD YES
Sorry, I messed up getting the picture again.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Would someone please measure the dome lights on their C-Dory and let me know if they are 5 1/2".

I'm a few thousand miles from my boat until May 5th and I'm interested in ordering the Cabelas LED.

Thanks
 
John S":7o6ikdgs said:
Would someone please measure the dome lights on their C-Dory and let me know if they are 5 1/2".
Click to expand...

Just walked out and measured mine. They are approx 5 inches. This is measured with the light in place rather than taking it down and getting and exact measurement. The 5 1/2 should be fine.
 
Hi all, about a year ago I set out to replace the high draw low light output cabin lights on my boat. I tried several led lights sold at West Marine and Boaters World, including a SeaSense 18 led light and the Sesibulb led replacement that Valkyrie spoke of. To say the least I was not happy with any of the results. Led's may claim to be the future of low power lighting but for now they just don't seam to produce enough light.

I then tried the Innovative lighting 6" round fluorescent lights. They seemed like a good idea. The same size and shape that I was replacing and a proven technology.

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|65136|328876|771396&id=329971

They put out a blue light that flickered and not much of it.

At this point a sane person would probably have given up but once I get an idea in my head it is hard to get it out. Luckily when I bought the Innovative Lighting 6" fluorescent I also bought their 10" Rectangular surface mount 13 watt fluorescent fixture to try.

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|65136|328876|771396&id=331151

Finally success! These lights put out a nice white light that doesn't flicker. One puts out way more light than both the original lights in the cabin. It also draws less power at .8 amps while the stock lights draw .9 amps each. If you are like me I usually had both interior lights on at night and now I only need the one fluorescent. When I cook or read I'll turn on the second light.

In the v-berth I replaced the stock lights with the Innovative Lighting 8" Rectangular Surface mount 7 watt fluorescent fixtures. These draw only .5 amps and put out double to triple the light of the stock light fixtures. Many people would be happy with these in the main cabin. I used the larger 13 watts in the cabin figuring that one of these on at .8 amps puts out more light and draws less power that having two of the 7 watt .5 amp lights on.

One thing to watch with these lights is that for some reason about half of them make a soft buzzing noise. It wasn't very loud and probably wouldn't bother most people but it did bother me. I returned the ones that buzzed and exchanged them for new ones. Hopefully they have solved this problem now.


Anyone that is considering deck lights should check these out.

http://www.solarseller.com/dc_fluor...allasts__screw_in_ballasts__low_voltage7c.htm

I have two of them lighting my cockpit and I'm very pleased with them. They put out a ton of light and only draw .7 amps each. They are a little pricy ( I paid $40 each last year) but they are worth it.

Bill
 
Bill, thanks for posting your experiences. Those LED lights sound good.

Has anyone received lights they ordered from Cabela's? What do you think of them?

Warren
 
I ordered one Cabela's dome light last night. I am going to replace one of my four dome lights with it and will make a report. We will use it on a 7 night 8 day bear hunt/ fishing excursion during May in Prince William Sound and share our results.

By the way Cabela's is doing free shipping on boating supplies right now, if you buy over a certain dollar amount.

John
 
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