LED lights

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latitudes
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LED lights

Post by latitudes »

looking to switch my sodium light out to some LED's. The neighbor (boat wise) went with some from a company called Wapato Engineering and has been happy with them. Any other companies you would reccomend looking at? I was looking at the LED's as they were brighter and I didn't need to run the genset to power them. (the sodium is a 1000 watt AC light)
curmudgeon
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Re: LED lights

Post by curmudgeon »

I installed a pair of the 20" light bars from "Rigid Industries" They're 12-volt and draw less than 15 amps each. They put out an amazing amount of bright bluish light in a very tight spot plus a nice flood included. Fisheries Supply and Murray's has them. Check out the video on their web-site of them trying to destroy one of the units. Impressive! http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... XMzkh-NzJk
I'm just a troller and have no stock or other interest in that company :-)
Drew
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Re: LED lights

Post by Drew »

Thanks for reminding me. I want to put one of the small rigid LEDs on my bow for pulling up to SPC after dark.
JKD
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Re: LED lights

Post by JKD »

So far I have been very satisfied with my 'Rigid Industries' LED light fixtures. They are well made and easily adjustable. I have three of their 'Dually 2' fixtures arranged to light forward and aft of the troll cockpit and have found them to be quite handy when I am manuevering to tie to a dock with poor lighting. I suspect that by this spring I will have a couple of Rigid's 20-inch light bars (mentioned above by curmudgeon) mounted forward on top of the cabin to shine ahead so I can both watch for drift and kelp islands while running after dark, and for lighting while setting the anchor.
JYDPDX
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Re: LED lights

Post by JYDPDX »

I saw the Rigid Industries video too and was impressed until I heard that people were having problems with them failing due to water intrusion. I found some condensation in mine this fall (after about 1 year). I did also hear that they got that issue worked out. FWIW

I believe there are different varieties of flood/spot combos. Don't remember which I chose (I have 2 20"ers) but wish they were a little more food than spot. I got more spot than flood even with them mounted offset to fan a little. They don't do anything for peripheral vision entering anchorages or seeing what you are dodging. But stuff directly in front of the boat will light up very good.
entropy1
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Re: LED lights

Post by entropy1 »

I've done some LED research and not to impressed with Rigid, fancy website, info lacking, and high prices. I've not been able to find their waterproof rating or vibration certification. I ended up ordering a bunch direct from another maker with the highest waterproof, IP68, and vibration resistant rating I could find. Substantially less priced (and hopefully a better product) but I may not have access to rapid customer service if needed.

I'll report in when lights arrive and I get a chance to use them.
F/VNightingale
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Re: LED lights

Post by F/VNightingale »

Superbrightleds.com. Every light on my boat has been replaced with a product through this company, from the decklights, to cabin lights, to LED lightbars. Haven't had a single problem with anything. For 600 dollars I was able to purchase a 30 inch and 40 inch lightbar which I have been super happy with. That's less than half the price of a single 40 inch Rigid lightbar!

I use the lightbars to find my buoys when I'm longlining for grey cod at night. I really like the low power consumption and instant on that the LEDs provide. What I've found lacking is the low floodlighting they provide. As everyone will state, a single lightbar is mostly a hopped up spotlight compared to a 1,000 watt AC sodium (which I also have). Compared to a sodium light which creates that nice flood all around and ahead of the boat, LEDs are spotlights, and you make turns blindly. Also, I don't like the intense white light as much as the orange, it blinds you when there is any kind of mist/snow/rain in the air, compared to the sodium.

The conclusion I've come to is that in order to make these 12 volt LED lightbars work in place of a 1,000 watt sodium I will have to set them up differently:

I would buy amber lenses/LED lightbars instead of the normal white light. I would put a 30 incher facing forward, and two others facing slightly to the side of the boat at about a 45 degree angle from center.
latitudes
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Re: LED lights

Post by latitudes »

Thanks for all of the info. I will take a look at the companies mentioned, and keep everyone posted as to which way I go. The Wapato lights aren't in expensive, but like most things on a boat it isn't good to be a penny wise and a pound foolish. I have always gone with the best I can afford, and never regretted it. Stay tuned.
fvsedna
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Re: LED lights

Post by fvsedna »

I have now changed all my lighting over to LED; cabin,deck, troll pit, forward lights & engine room....the only ones that still remain are the nav. & one fixture In the head. Most of them all came from marinebeam.com. The others are Rigid. I like them both.
Andrew
carojae
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Re: LED lights

Post by carojae »

What I can't figure out is why there are led's (MER sells them) that are 400 watt and all other companies seem to be like 30 to 50 watt at best.
The thing about MER's is they are also VERY expensive.
Anybody here know why MER seems to be all alone in their calibur of led lights? Are they that good or are they for super crabbers only? lol
I talked to MER about getting a led light from them about a year ago and the guy said that it might be better if I waited because the prices were coming way down; I'm still waiting.....
Is MER and their led's lights in a class of their own?
JKD
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Re: LED lights

Post by JKD »

carojae - I'm also curious - are MER's LED fixtures AC or DC power?
carojae
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Re: LED lights

Post by carojae »

Fish n electrician
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Re: LED lights

Post by Fish n electrician »

Thanks for the info Nightingale, I have been looking for a while and was put out by the $$$ of the Ridged brand.
I ordered two light rails (floods) and 3 cabin lights fro superbright LED.
Should arrive in 2 weeks.
latitudes
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Re: LED lights

Post by latitudes »

I ended up going with the Wapato Engineering lights. 2 of the singles mounted on either side of the sodium. We used some alum flat stock to build shields underneath so the light didn't shine on the bow deck. They are run off of an invertor, so start at ac power, and then go into a balast, before running up to the lights. They work great. Also Roger, the owner, is very helpful on customer support. I would certainly recommend them.
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