LED Marine Lighting

[Adrian Jones]

Hi forum members,

I thought I would introduce myself, My name is Adrian Jones, I'm an electronics engineer with some 40years professional industrial experience and now the proprietor of a company called Boatlamps Ltd. If any boat owners have any question in respect of marine LED lighting issues I will be happy to answer in an open and honest fashion. I will not deliberately promote my own products unless someone directly asks me a question about a particular product, my answers will be based on generic guidelines.

There is a lot of very confusing information floating about at the moment and much confusion arises when comparing technical merits of one product with another. A big debate is ongoing as to the merits of very cheap, by cheap, I mean 50P or less LED lamps on Ebay coming from Hong Kong.  These look similar to lamps costing ten times as much on sale in the UK by marine specialist suppliers. Some folk think they are the same products and UK suppliers are greedy and profiteering. Others argue that the higher cost reflects more sophisticated products necessary in the deep-cycle battery world where voltages on board can rise to 15.5V.

Any questions, I will be happy to answer.

[Nigel]

There is a lot of very confusing information floating about at the moment and much confusion arises when comparing technical merits of one product with another.

Hi Adrian,

Welcome to the forum! I'm sure that others will value your input here.

I've been following that recent thread in the YBW forums. As a former electronics engineer myself, I've tried to show support for your explanations, but I feel they are falling on deaf (or perhaps dumb!) ears.

PS This thread (being an introduction) will be moved to the Scuttlebutt forum, once I figure out how to do it 

Nigel

[Adrian Jones]

I'm actually enjoying the banter on the YBF some of these people, I think, spend their life trying to find fault. I'm sure you have seen some of the attempts to undermine me. It's water off a ducks back to me and I bounce back
I've looked at the MR11 lamp the thread originator now recommends. Wow the supplier claims a Lumen output of 360 Lumens for their 1W lamp.  Cree in the USA made an announcement in May of this year that they had the developed the worlds highest output 1W LED and achieved 231 Lumens. Wow you can now buy a brighter lamp for £22.50 on EBay. I wonder if that's also controlled by two transistors.......

[Nigel]

I thought I would introduce myself, My name is Adrian Jones

For those who may have missed it, Adrian also got a mention in YM this month (on Page 5, right next to the forum announcement). The item discusses the subject of cheap LED lights, and why they are not a good idea.

[CRYSTAL]

Been there done it! I've bought some of this cheap leds myself and even for a friend from an online UK LED shop - no names mentioned. Within weeks if not days, each one of the G4 barrel type LEDS started smoking. After wondering for a while, I realised that the voltage rating was between 8 - 16Vdc so I totally agree with your comments.

I now got G4 LEDs rated 10-30vdc and working fine for the past 6 months.

[berty2]

Why would anyone spend thousands on a yacht and then expect a 50p foreign bulb to be safe and reliable? I replaced all my saloon lights on my B36 with LEDs from SimplyLED in Milton Keynes at roughly £7 each and am very happy with the result. Incidentally I keep my boat in the South of France and would love to hear from any other Bavaria owners in that region.

Peter

[singlefish]

Ive spent considerably more on my house than boat and dont have a prob with 50 p bulbs there , in fact biggest complaint that more expensive ones dont seem to last any longer ! , talking "normal" bulbs here with tongue stuck in cheek

But I am intrigued and would fit leds in boat (and house ) , but as pointed out , bit of a mine field if you cannot afford to shell out for specialist bulbs , bit of education for likes of me wouldnt go adrift , also with economies of scale surely there must be cheaper bulbs that are ok , but being sold in larger quantities by others hence lower price .

when sourcing a simple  ss yacht fitting found on google, range of prices , 140 plus dollars  chandler , 45 cents manufacturer in china not kidding screw in ss pad eye and plate .

ps Im not american just some bloody google searches get a wee bit carried away !!