Led deck lights

[odes20]

Is anyone using LED FLOOD OR SPOTIGHTS that are effective as an overhead deck light?
I have used the double 12 volt fluoro lights for years, and I am seeing a lot of LED on the market but it's difficult to know how much light they really throw. I know how little power they draw, but can anyone help with a really efficient example of a led light they are using. My boat is a Yalta 2000 so I have a reasonably large deck area to light. Any tips?

Cheers

[Mossy247]

Mate worth looking into the led strip lighting you can get its all sealed comes in strips, easy enough to assemble yourself, can also get dimming switches etc, I have them on my tinny only down one side as they are pretty bright depending on colour choice. Your local auto place should have the led strips on display to see the kind of light they throw but also around are led's light's in like a light fixture as well. Have a look online under led lighting for boats etc, should be able to get an idea of what is best suited for your set up, I have led strip lighting up the side of my 4.3 mtr tinny only about 3 mtrs which runs into the front bow storage area/front mount battery.
cheers

[odes20]

Yep Mossy I know about strip lighting but Im asking about overhead lights to flood deck / work area with light, and yep I know they are available online and all but Im asking if anyone has first experience of any in particular, as its a bit hard to determine efficiency by just reading info.

Thanks

[FishHunter]

I have a Ebay one. Works pretty good. Look for the highest lumen output with the lowest amp draw. I think mine is around 100 lumens and 1/2 an amp current cant remember exactly but its easily bright enough

Sent from my X10i using Tapatalk

[Horse]

Yea we run a couple of Fea Bay 4 lLED floods off the back of our boar. Nice and bright and they only draw a little over 1 amp

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/12V-24V-15W-WATERPROOF-LED-WORK-FLOOD-MARINE-BOAT-4X4-UTE-TRUCK-TRAILER-LIGHT-/280784522693?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item41600fcdc5

[Jakers 69]

Hi I use 2 Hella marine led spots, it is almost daylight when you switch them on.
Bit expensive but worth the layout.

[team_mongo]

oedes,

I have a set, and they're great. Bright as all buggery, uses very little power. You can have them on all night and not have to worry about flat batteries.

tm

77960

[deckie]

detachable, all IP67/68. About 20-25W White plus 10W Red for fishing. Double White draws 1.4A, Red whilst fishing only 0.6-0.7A.
Very good spread and v close light.

[fat-buoy]

I was thinking the same thing about the strip LED that I put as deck lights on my old boat.. the strip cost something like $7 and while I didn't try it out I had the strip out in the back yard and connected to battery and was very impressed by the amount of light given out... then I brought them inside the 6m shed and they lit it up pretty bloody bright... for the money it is worth giving it a try without breaking the bank.

[netmaker]

i have strip lighting also. 24 leds light up the whole boat (open 14 footer). could only imagine the extra light from spotties would be somewhat blinding.

[Jarrah Jack]

detachable, all IP67/68. About 20-25W White plus 10W Red for fishing. Double White draws 1.4A, Red whilst fishing only 0.6-0.7A.
Very good spread and v close light.

Did you make your's up Deckie. Thats what I want.

[johncar]

I have 4 of these little LED floods lighting up the rear decks and water around the rear of my boat: http://www.marineled.com.au/index.php?product=MLED1227&shop=1&c=38.39

They work very nicely but not so cheap. The good thing is that they are not in my eyes and light up where I need them to and little power drain for what they do.
I also have other strip lighting inside lighting up the cockpit, cabin areas. Gotta love LED's

[DAZMC1]

Yea we run a couple of Fea Bay 4 lLED floods off the back of our boar. Nice and bright and they only draw a little over 1 amp

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/12V-24V-15W-WATERPROOF-LED-WORK-FLOOD-MARINE-BOAT-4X4-UTE-TRUCK-TRAILER-LIGHT-/280784522693?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item41600fcdc5I run the same lights and they are very good and throw a lot of light out.

[seastorm]

I run two 10 watt LED flood lights on the top of my boat they are magic and they only cost $35 each I can also get 30 watt in green or blue as well

[deckie]

Did you make your's up Deckie. Thats what I want.
Yeah did jack..was when i finished wiring and was on a roll 8-) Looked at good spreaders, floods, etc etc and decided the easiest way to get both solid white light and the red i wanted whilst fishing was to make my own.
They're LED bars not strips, IP67 5050 LED epoxy coated, i think about 0.6-0.7m each, got the w/proof thin gauge wire from a website out of Melb, the button switches are perfect and easy to get to, made for a Honda Goldwing. Just reach up to switch lights.
Just a bimini on this rig without a launcher but wouldnt matter...attaches with two simple 1 inch tube clips..bars epoxied onto some anodised ally. Got a w/proof outlet on port side that can run wires up bimini. kept in bubble wrap in cabin..just attach to bimini and plug in when needed. Connectors are just cut up from a chocolate box then epoxy filled.
Not hard but i did chuck out my first two goes...i'm no leccie but works a treat. Pretty fun project, not hard to do. Sits v solid and no mods/cuts required to canvas just push on pull off. Even easier onto a launcher cross bar.

i dont like a lot of light at all when fishing, so the one red works good...but occasionally really want a lot of white from above. Could use blue instead of red depending on your own eyes...red works better for mine. Need the 5050 not the 3528 type LED's to get the power...or just put an extra bar on. Surprising how strong the red one is. Thousand ways to do it i guess.
Steve.

[gonefeedin]

With the led strips, can you connect then straight to the battery via a switchand fuse or do you have to add some gadget to prevent them from frying.

[odes20]

All these connect direct to 12v power no probs

[Dignity]

Yeah did jack..was when i finished wiring and was on a roll 8-) Looked at good spreaders, floods, etc etc and decided the easiest way to get both solid white light and the red i wanted whilst fishing was to make my own.
They're LED bars not strips, IP67 5050 LED epoxy coated, i think about 0.6-0.7m each, got the w/proof thin gauge wire from a website out of Melb, the button switches are perfect and easy to get to, made for a Honda Goldwing. Just reach up to switch lights.
Just a bimini on this rig without a launcher but wouldnt matter...attaches with two simple 1 inch tube clips..bars epoxied onto some anodised ally. Got a w/proof outlet on port side that can run wires up bimini. kept in bubble wrap in cabin..just attach to bimini and plug in when needed. Connectors are just cut up from a chocolate box then epoxy filled.
Not hard but i did chuck out my first two goes...i'm no leccie but works a treat. Pretty fun project, not hard to do. Sits v solid and no mods/cuts required to canvas just push on pull off. Even easier onto a launcher cross bar.

i dont like a lot of light at all when fishing, so the one red works good...but occasionally really want a lot of white from above. Could use blue instead of red depending on your own eyes...red works better for mine. Need the 5050 not the 3528 type LED's to get the power...or just put an extra bar on. Surprising how strong the red one is. Thousand ways to do it i guess.
Steve.
Deckie, some interesting information here. What is interesting is that obviously the IP rating is important as I have trouble buying outdoor lights for the house where they are mostly IP54, bloody useless, anythin with a higher rating is near double the price. From memory the first figure is a dust rating and the second is a waterproof rating so the higher the better, maybe there is a leckie who can specify what they are.
As I haven't gotten into LED's much other than wiring up the tinnie for some nav lights I am very interested in this thread and was wondering what the difference is between type 5050 and 3528 LED's and whether this "type" is easily distinguishable or even available as part of the specs.
Another thing I found when wiring up the nav lights was that LED's soon show up any problems with the wiring (wired by the dealer), in my case 2 switches had high resistance which didn't show up with the old bulbs but the LED's just wouldn't work.

[myusernam]

odes i bought in from china some 24 watt round worklights. IP68 - I tested mine in a bucket of water. SS hardware. Very bright. I want to get some more, can send photos. worked out to be $40 single price landed and the exact same lights are repackaged and sold at ashdowns/ supercheap/ repco etc. Let me know if you want to go in because the more you buy the cheaper the price becomes. Will try and post up some photos. Have hod on my ute for over a year and they are very bright. cheers

[Stuart]

We get shafted in Austtralia when it comes to price. I costed up 10 meters of LED 5050 plus 2 meters of LED short lenghts, remote dimmer switch cost $240. Dirrect from China for the exact same thing landed $96. Im about to buy LED docking lights for the hard top, cost Here in Australia for 4 $750. Direct from china for the exact same lights $115 landed.

[deckie]

Yes, much of what u get here is just rebranded from china made to order, often identical and often without even much attempt to disguise it, then some added marketing dribble and relying on the general public still being relatively ignorant of the product or using scare tactics re buying overseas. Its just the way things work here with an old school economy...less sales with a higher mark up. Similar in the states except bigger marketplace and more competitive hence lower price. When u lose your manufacturing base you're left with what we have. Like flat screen tv's there really arnt that many manufacturers but hundreds of brands..relying upon a brand name to basically sell you the same thing repackaged out of the korean/chinese factory...all pretending to be somehow different and relying upon our ignorance.

Was a time when "Made in Japan" was considered second rate the way some see things now re China. In many cases "you only get what you pay for" is a line much abused here and pretty hard to swallow. Same goes for "dont send our jobs overseas"...it doesnt actually work that way. Our pitiful laws also permit/sponsor the rebranding of cheap goods made overseas and can actually be called "Made in Australia" as long as a % of it was made here, or the parts put together. In some cases just the packaging being sourced locally can be enough to now rebadge it as "good aussie made gear".

Like anything...Caveat Emptor. Our smaller market still relies heavily upon the public being kept in the dark. That relatively expensive piece of cast or mirror finish 316 s/s fitting with the word "marine" on it.....90% sure it'll be chinese made from chinese steel. Car indusry the same...many buy a mercedes only to find it was made in South Africa, but noone told them and buyer assumed they were paying for a German made product..not just a design sent out from Germany and put together by god knows who. Do Fisher boats actively inform people in their marketing that their boats are Made in China ? LED's no different, just a lower price.

[deckie]

Deckie, some interesting information here. What is interesting is that obviously the IP rating is important as I have trouble buying outdoor lights for the house where they are mostly IP54, bloody useless, anythin with a higher rating is near double the price. From memory the first figure is a dust rating and the second is a waterproof rating so the higher the better, maybe there is a leckie who can specify what they are.
As I haven't gotten into LED's much other than wiring up the tinnie for some nav lights I am very interested in this thread and was wondering what the difference is between type 5050 and 3528 LED's and whether this "type" is easily distinguishable or even available as part of the specs.
Another thing I found when wiring up the nav lights was that LED's soon show up any problems with the wiring (wired by the dealer), in my case 2 switches had high resistance which didn't show up with the old bulbs but the LED's just wouldn't work.
I truly doubt you can rely upon IP ratings anymore except with the quality stuff. With so much cheap gear being palmed off as good gear its just as likely to be a passed on rating that they can spruik but have no true certification. Wouldnt trust ANY IP68 rating for lighting unless u know the manufactuer has a reputation for quality to uphold such as the Narva's/Hella's etc and maybe a replacement/solid warranty policy. I imagine its tough to flog anything though without this rubbery rating. Whether its true or not and the certification available, its become a market necessity for many goods. I wouldnt dunk anything IP67 into saltwater if i got it on the cheap...chances are tho it'll at least be ok in rain or a hit from the hose. IP68 is always expensive and usually the domain of the quality manufacturers that stand by their product and test it properly...naturally it costs more with extra human quality control at various stages.

Do a search of the forum for LED's and related lighting. Been lots of talk and great info passed on in here. We've been experimenting with these things for years...from "supposedly submersible" trailer lights thru to onboard and underwater lighting. Good stuff worth reading. The 5050 ones are larger in size than the 3528's and a little bit later tech tho not by much. They do choof out more but then they physically cant put as many onto a surface so its a trade off...and do draw more current. So the devil is in the detail with things like LED strips as u probably know. How much current they draw for the wattage they choof out. The cheap stuff their numbers are probably half bullshit in reality. Generally 5050 bars and strips only come in about 30 or 60 per metre and are larger "squares", whereas the 3528 can be 120 per metre and look smaller. Easy to tell apart. Obviously 60 3528 types in a strip will be less powerful than 60 5050's, but then it'll draw less current as a trade off...so depends on the use. Its the quality of manufacture that makes all the difference...the epoxy/silicone coatings and wiring on some is pretty bad but still called IP67 gear. They must churn them out in thousands with low quality control...its like $3 will make or break a sale for 5m of them so pretty competitive, just not competitive here. If you arnt in any hurry you can also get free delivery out of China.
There's a damn good aussie website that sells good gear up to IP68 rating at pretty good prices, can pm you the website if u want it coz the mods would prob just delete it if i type it out. They also do IP67&IP68 screw type connectors and good wiring thats damn handy. Plus have tubes that the strips can be put inside for w/proofing. I got it off one of the guys in here in another thread.

I'm no leccie but one thing to watch with LED's is how u wire them up...on own cuircuit genrally no hassles at all, but when switched onto another circuit they dont like changes in current draw. I ran a simple led strip off the anchor light circuit with an inline switch, but anchor light then turned to shit. Apparently need whats called a "constant current driver" if on same circuit as another...they are already in most led anch lights near the base encased in resin, but i learnt the had way by making my own led anch light up and experimenting. Usually not a problem tho, unless say one thing drawing 5A whilst the other 0.5A, representing a big difference...one of the leccies in here might be able to shed light on that.

Yeah wiring is the real weak point. The wires on even expensive gear can be such thin gauge that vibration/pounding on a trailerboat becomes a killer. I use a bit of epoxy then heatshrink it, or the glue lined stuff..not just to w/proof connections but more important to stiffen it up and protect from vibration etc. Your switch problem could just be old switches or the dealers/installer using cheapo crap or in a hurry. No idea coz i havent had any issues with switches at all. Any drivers such as for RGB under gunwhale i mounted using a layer of thin eva foam to further reduce vibration/impact, but no proof if that works or is even worth bothering with. Just seemed like cheap insurance coz some of this stuff goes in places hard to get to if anything buggers up. Prefer to do something once to last.
Hope that junk at least helps a bit
Steve.

[googarra]

78199

This is what I have in my boat.

5 of the flea bay 60 led lights as shown in the pics. I have one either side overhead pretty much to the rear of the boat. Along side of these and facing out/down onto the water is another two. These show whats coming up from the drink. These four are on one dash switch

I have one forward of the storm covers facing the anchor winch on its own dash switch and only use it when anchored and fishing.
78197

The original side lights have had led bayonet bulbs soldered in and sealed. These are great for travelling and have a dash switch.

The boat is well lit with no shadowing.

From memory they are about $30 each so not the cheap option but they have had a pounding for 2 years, bleached, hosed the crap out of them and are still good.

781967819878195

[deckie]

Pictures say a lot more...like googarra's up there ^. These might give a better idea what the wattage/power is actually like as a guide, this is a small cuddy about 5m for inshore night, but not that much difference in light needed for any trailerboat.
1. What the 5050 bars look like if u want to go that way, if u can see it amongst the mess. 2. White under gunwhale on full, with no overhead lighting. 3. Overhead led bars ON (5050led, about 20W, draws about 1.3A) plus under gunwhale left on low. Bit duller looking in the pic than actually is. 4. Red overhead light on about 10W drawing only about 0.6A. Surprised me how good it was and doesnt screw my eyes up. 5. Single Red bar on, main light that gets used the most. 6. About 20W from 2 5050 white led bars overhead, nothing else on, a better idea of the light than pic 3, decent and even light.
Might help deciding how much light u need.