Does anyone know where to find a replacement bulb for the 360 deg. anchor light on the top of the mast. I’ve never seen a bulb like this. It looks like a fuse. It’s 1-3/4" x 3/8" with a metal cap on each end. Both ends have a small dimple to allow it to be held in the fixture. Better yet, I’d like to find an LED bulb that would fit in the same fixture. This would save me the task of climbing the mast to change a bulb. I’ve found an LED with the approximate dimensions but it has a point on the ends instead of the dimple.
The bulb with the dimples is special to Aqua Signal. It was designed that way to prevent replacing with an automotive type lamp.Aqua Signal fixtures come with certification paperwork that specifically states that a third party replacement lamp will remove the certification of the fixture. It doesn’t matter so much with the anchor light but replacing the thin filament lamp with a fat LED bulb will result in incorrect angular cutoff of the colored lamps. Have a collision at night and the lawyers will take you apart.
Good point, Jim. However, I recollect that the German manufacturers used a bulb identical or quite similar for some of their automobile lighting years ago.
Joe Valinoti
S/V IL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
Thanks for your input. The LED bulb that I used for replacement has 30 LEDs in a cylinder pattern that provide 360 deg. light so I’m of a different opinion as to any change in lighting capability whether on the mast head or midmast. I’m taking my chances.
Hi Todd, I tried to put a replacement LED on my masthead anchor light last spring. It didn’t fit quite right and I ended up separating the glass from the metal and wasting the $40. it cost.
John Ferrero
NS 30 Ultra #297 Puffin
Northport NY
I haven’t been up the mast yet to put in the new one but I’m optimistic that I’ll get a good fit. The old and the new seem identical in the crucial dimensions. The only thing that holds it in place are the dimples on the ends and there seemed to be all kinds of room for the slightly larger cylinder size. Wish me luck.
Chris,
I came across several sources for this low cost festoon bulb but all of them had the wrong ends on them. Mine needed dimpled ends. The only place I could find them were the marine sources mentioned in earlier posts. The one I bought had 30 LEDs in a cylindrical pattern and the one shown on your link has only 3 LEDs and a 120 deg. viewing pattern vs 360 deg., which could lead to a circumstance that Jim Bemiss is describing.
FYI You need to make sure any LED’s you buy have Buck (Current) regulators on them. Otherwise transients from your alternator can blow the junctions. If you see a small little ic circuit on the board it is probably regulated.
What was operative in my search for your bulb was the barrel end, (dimpled). Glad to hear you found what you were looking for!
As for my own setup, I used BEBI Electronics Co LEDs for all nav lights when I refit about 10 years ago. BEBI was a quirky little company that operated out of Fiji and, at the time, their factory was a wee table beneath a teak tree. The LEDs were fit into PVC plumbing fittings. I had to rebuild the lighting housing interiors to fit these monsters BUT they are still working and tough as nails. Regrettably, BEBI stopped production in 2013 and the reason given is the political environment in Fiji.
Here’s a BEBI 360 and a pic of their state of the art production facility in Fiji.
Chris,
I came across several sources for this low cost festoon bulb but all of them had the wrong ends on them. Mine needed dimpled ends. The only place I could find them were the marine sources mentioned in earlier posts. The one I bought had 30 LEDs in a cylindrical pattern and the one shown on your link has only 3 LEDs and a 120 deg. viewing pattern vs 360 deg., which could lead to a circumstance that Jim Bemiss is describing.
One thing to think about regarding using an LED bulb for the steaming light is that this light is only on while the engine is on, and so there is little incentive to use fewer amps. The higher cost may not be justified. As far as alternative sources (non-marine), just make sure the bulb you use meets Coast Guard requirements for visibility.
Our masts are down for winter, so it’s easy to replace these before spring.
It’s been about 10 years since the last chat on this subject.
Does anyone have a good link for an LED replacement that has lasted through alternator surges and any other paranoia we may have?
Cheers,
Mike and Ashley Read
NS 26C #120 Nauti Girl
Bath, Ont.
“Waiting for the yard to install our swim platform”
Mike - the white Anchor light at the top of our 26C mast was replaced as described in the INA newsletter and on nonsuch.org - have a peek at the members tips and projects page in nonsuch.org and see if that approach suits. The Anchor Series 25 light at the top needed replacement. It’s globe was brittle, cracked and crazed, and, for anchoring overnight, it was my #1 LED replacement priority.
The other lights (series 25 from Anchor) about half way up were in good shape, and LED specific replacement bulbs ordered, but not yet received. The Anchor series 25 white one on the stern same thing. The stern one is a bit of a problem, being tucked into that aluminium casting where the mainsheet ties in to, so I decided to keep it as-is. The half-way up by-colour has a nice stainless guard over it, and retaining it means no new holes in the mast.
Here are the LEDS as ordered:
DR.LED #8001122, POLARSTAR S25 LED BI-COLOR
DR.LED #9000241, 39-44MM FESTOONSTAR S25, WHITE
Each are about 60 bucks Canadian each. I PRESUME these numbers are correct; I did find them on the Dr. LED website, but please check in case of an error on my part.
One has to be careful replacing incandescent with LED - the angle of coverage is pretty exact in the regulations, as is the intensity and colour. IMHO, not the place to cheap-out and get generic LEDs from the cheapest online place, but maybe I’m being over-cautious.
Just the path I’m following, not likely the optimal one for everybody.
That’s probably a good idea just to replace original with identical.
Something to note - I got the base dimensions of the Anchor series 25 from a website a while ago, and they matched the holes on the mast top casting diagram that I got from a fellow in Port Hope, who had some drawings on his website. (Now, thanks to the efforts of our Ted Eedson, nonsuch.org has the drawings - thanks for following up, Ted).
Anyway, the actual holes did not match that well (lets say, an “artistic impression” with either Hinterhoeller nor Anchor drawings; when you do go and do the replacement, maybe bring something along to widen the plastic holes in the base of your new light, just in case yours is as far off as mine was. Don’t worry, enlarging the holes will match Hinterhoeller standard practice for this item. (smile)
