LED Anchor Light

D

Dreamer

New member
I finally installed the LED Anchor lights and last night at dusk, photographed them. They are brightest from directly in front or astern of the lamp. The brightness from 90 degrees to the boat drops off some but is plenty bright IMHO. The low current draw is the best part.

I got them from http://www.marinebeam.com Jeff Field was very helpful. These replace the Festoon style bulbs, Pointed ends, 31mm long. Part # FS-31-04WW.

DSCN1182.sized.jpg
 
You are really working away Roger! I like a guy who isn't afraid to use destructive/creative power tools but I think that whole you cut for water storage would not work out well in our 25. When I first saw our LED anchor light from a distance next to another boat with a standard light, it made me wonder how the old standard was good enough.

I just added some newer LEDs in the cabin and LEDs are improving quickly as a category as well.

Greg
 
Hi Roger,

That light looks good. A question for you: is your fixture the 2-bulb type (one facing forward, one rearward)? If so, you simply replaced the (2) festoon bulbs?

Seems to me that eliminating those incandescent anchor lights would go a long ways for battery use conservation, even more so than the cabin lights. Of course, replacing all would help, but the cabin lights aren't generally on for... how long do your nights last up there this time of year... like about 16 hours? :wink:

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Jim,

This time of year, about 10 hours of really low angle Sun! Summer in the Broughtons, it gets dark about 11:00pm they tell me. I'm long gone by then.

I'm sure you have the same anchor light. It's a Perko 1100 series and has 2 festoon bulbs.

Sorry to see you're suffering in the cold. :wink: I'm sure it will warm up soon enough.

All the best,
Roger
 
Thanks, Roger! :thup :thup

"Cold" is relative. The Rio Grande Valley is in for some cold the next few days. Cold, as in: going to get below freezing in the valley, probably not here at the coast. Our low will come Thursday night, when it's supposed to be in the low to mid 30s. :disgust

We were in the grocery store today - the place was packed. Seems that people are stocking up, because of "the winter storm." :roll: Now, I lived in the Black Hills, where we could get 5 FEET of snow overnight, temps below zero, and wind out of the north at a gazillion miles per hour. BUT, we knew that was going to happen once in a while... they don't know what to do with freezing temps here. Seriously, most people have water pipes that enter their homes above the ground. :crook The Valley is well-known for citrus... you can expect orange juice and grapefruit juice to be more expensive next season... especially if you are fond of Ruby Red grapefruit.

We see this kind of cold once every 4 or 5 years, but it generally doesn't last for more than a few hours... the weather weasels are predicting below freezing inland for over 24 hours.

On the bright side, Wild Blue is tied to the dock, and we are cozy in the house... this is my first day off the boat since we put her back in. Nice to have options. And to bring this back on topic, it will be nice to have LED anchor bulbs! :D

Best wishes,
Jim
 
JamesTXSD":i7m97wu9 said:
The Valley is well-known for citrus... you can expect orange juice and grapefruit juice to be more expensive next season..
Jim
Click to expand...

Seems to me that it should be less expensive since they don't have to spend the time and effort freezing it before I purchase my frozen orange juice in the store.....LOL.... :lol:
 
My Tom Cat did not come with the radar arch, and has a single double contact bulb, with the anchor light all of the way aft on the cabin house.

I suspect that the deminished light at 90 degrees is due to the two bulbs. In my unit, the single led bulb has a slightly spiral arrangement so that all of the sectors are covered. I assume that your boat does not have a separate stern light on the cabin house aft. (I didn't see one in the photos).
 
Hi Roger,

My thanks again for your find and sharing on these bulbs. Others that I've looked at were in the $30+ price range, these were only $10 each. The part # you listed has changed; it is now...

http://store.marinebeam.com/311ledfebu.html

according to Jeff. 31mm (1 1/4") 4-LED festoon bulb, warm white.

I'm looking forward to getting and installing these.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Jim,

Those bulbs you show aren't anchor lights, they're sold for replacing incandescent festoons in small courtesy lights. The ones sold for anchor lights have more LEDs: Navigation LED. They sell for $30 ea., as you mention, and even at that price are a great bargain. You can turn them on as the sun goes down and sleep till noon without worrying about the amp hours.

I'm not sure for what you ordered them, but this blog is on anchor lights.

And, Bob they have the kind of bulbs we use, too. for $35, which is a lot less that I paid (a couple of years ago.)

Boris
 
My anchor light is right in frint of my radar dome and the same height. It couldn't be seen from the stern. I had it replaced with a taller LED.
 
Boris,

You are right. The bulbs are not listed as anchor lamps. But, they are 31 mm in length, not 42mm. They are bright and low drain. They are the only ones that fit in the Perko 1100 series lamp. When was your anchor light last inspected by "authorities" ? It is certainly a personal choice to use these.

Roger
 
localboy":2n2tgasz said:
We've got this on our radar arch. I'm going to purchase one from Marinebeam, take a before & after pic and post it here.
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I'll be interested in seeing that project. I want to replace the anchor light on my Tom Cat because the factory location interferes with the canvas top when it is folded up for fishing, etc. Right now I have to pull a pin and rotate the anchor light fixture down, push the top bows against the cabin top, then return the anchor light to its normal position.

Any Tom Cat owners reading this with ideas, please share!

Warren
 
Aurelia":tj76gbs7 said:
I cheated and ripped the old one off and replaced it with one of these. Very happy with it. Beware or long link.
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No kidding, that was about the longest link I have ever seen! The photo does not show the mount. Can you describe it?

Thanks,
Warren
 
Dreamer":1g2lnvix said:
Boris,

You are right. The bulbs are not listed as anchor lamps. But, they are 31 mm in length, not 42mm. They are bright and low drain. They are the only ones that fit in the Perko 1100 series lamp. When was your anchor light last inspected by "authorities" ? It is certainly a personal choice to use these.

Roger
Click to expand...

When they come in and I get them installed, I'll check 'em out from 2 miles away to see if they can be seen. Over the miles, I have replaced 4 anchor bulbs and one nav light bulb. If they can be seen from the required distance, I will call 'em good and will look forward to MUCH longer bulb life.

One other thing I picked up for Wild Blue this winter: it is an "umbrella holder." It is a clamp that holds a small beach umbrella to a beach chair. I saw a guy selling them at a car show in Nevada... $8. It will clamp to our cockpit rails and then open up to hold a shaft on one of those solar lights (the kind used for lighting along sidewalks). Those lights are not bright, but I figure all that white in the cockpit will reflect some. The rules say our boats have to have ONE all around anchor light - they don't say you can't have another light on the boat (as long as it can't be confused with other nav lights). I have seen one of these made for boats while in Canada... they were selling it for over $40. $3 for a solar light (Menard's), $8 for the clamp... should be good to go. And those lights turn on at dusk, off at dawn. NO, it's not intended in place of an anchor light, just a bit more "ambiance" that doesn't take any battery juice.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
I am pretty sure the base was a standard push-in perko base. I cut it off pretty fast and re-wired and epoxied it directly into the old gutted mounting cup. The old connections did not inspire confidence so ours is now a fixed installation. With added height to reach over the roof mounted pudgy.

Greg
 
The LED bulb replacements arrived, and I put them in this morning. Both incandescent bulbs were working fine in the Perko fixture prior to messing with it. When I installed the LED replacements, the rear wouldn't light. I removed it, put the incandescent bulb back in, and it lit. I grabbed my phone to call Jeff at MarineBeam to see what he recommended. Without hesitation, he said that they'd replace the LED... and it lit up! Since he seems to have some sort of supernatural powers, I asked if he could suggest some lottery numbers for me. :wink: He did say that the festoon points may fit different from what was in there and to check for corrosion. I did that, cleaned the contact, and all seems fine.

Now, regarding the lesser amount of light from directly abeam of the boat. Yep. The 4 LEDs are mounted on a flat surface. I suggested to Jeff that an angled surface of about 45º would eliminate that situation. Once the lens of the Perko fixture is back in place, there is enough diffused light all around; better forward and aft, but still visible all around. The problem is the Perko fixture, with the forward/rearward lights. BUT, this is a direct drop-in replacement. When it gets darker, I will check it again and if it doesn't do the job, I'll replace the whole fixture. My first impression is that these lights will be visible from 2 miles.

Now, a quick test. When I turned on the anchor light before installing the LEDs, a digital battery readout showed a slight drop (.1). With the LEDs, there was no drop in the battery level. No, this is not scientific. But, it is my understanding that there is a 4 amp draw with the factory anchor light fixture... and each of these LEDs draws 18 milliamps. That is a significant difference for those of us who anchor out.

I did not change out the red/green nav lights, since they will only be one when running, and the engine alternator can take care of that draw. Next project will be to replace the cabin lights with LEDs. I'm impressed.

Here are some photos to show different angles (heavy overcast today)...

10 degrees aft, with no lens...

10degreesAftWOe.jpg

10 degrees aft, with lens...

10degreesWe.jpg

90 degrees, with no lens (very little light shows because of the Perko fixture)...

90degreesWOe.jpg

90 degrees, with lens (decent light spread)...

90degreesLowWe.jpg

at approx 45 degrees forward, you can still see some light from the rearward light...

45degreesWe.jpg

Jeff from MarineBeam let me know that this is not the intended application for these bulbs, but is interested in our opinions. I think this will work, will definitely help conserve battery juice, should eliminate the PITA of filaments on incandescent bulbs breaking (I have replaced each a couple times). A slight angle on the LED board will eliminate any light drop to the side - hope to see that as a future enhancement.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
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