Replacing fluorescent light?

[user11]

I too have started to convert any florescent lights that fail to LED. But, my philosophy is “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” That said I too use the existing fixture and rewire them with LED lights, But, I also remove the dead ballasts. They are useless why carry around the extra weight no matter how small. I also use Anderson connectors on the wires so I can replace them should they also fail (one has already) in the future

Mike
BIANKA
1986 30U
Long Island
biankablog.blogspot.com

Hi All -

I took a somewhat different approach to replacing all of the florescent lights in my 30U…

The florescent fixtures were all in good shape, the lenses weren’t yellowed, and I knew that the wiring was going to be tight and hard to pull thru the headliner… but I really disliked the power consumption and harsh bluish light the fluorescents put out, not to mention the mosquitos they attract.

I bought LED bulbs (fluorescent style) from Marine Beam. I selected the ‘Warm White’ color, and they are warm white, not bluish or harsh. They are brighter than the old fluorescents and make it easy to see into the fridge, and the light in the head is now much more pleasing to view one’s reflection!
12" for all of the smaller fixtures, 18" for the one long fixture over the saloon table. Not inexpensive, but now that they are in place, well worth the price.

There is a bit of re-wiring needed with these - mainly the old florescent ballast needs to be cut out and a couple of wires re-connected, and the extra wires just need to be taped off. Marine Beam has a very clear an instructional video on their website, and once I figured out which wire corresponded to which in the video (the colors were a bit different) and then did the first unit, the others were all relatively quick and easy. And the fixture over the fridge hadn’t been working for the last season (I put in fluorescent bulbs I knew worked and still no joy), but when I cut out the ballast and put in the LEDs, presto! The fixture works!! so it was just a bad ballast, and the fixture didn’t need to be replaced.

The only ‘eh’ in all of this is that the bulbs for the 18" long fixture actually direct their beams sideways - the light strips face outward along the headliner when the bulbs are turned into place, but it doesn’t really make that much of a difference… and these bulbs seem slightly less warm than the 12" bulbs. Good thing is that I use this fixture the least.

Very happy with the results! No more harsh lighting, no more “please turn those lights off!!” they draw too much power - I do not have shore or solar power (yet)… only way to charge my batteries is run the engine… The boat was bright and cheery in the evenings on this last trip!

Peter Grabow
S/V CAKE WALK III
1987 30U 430
Jersey City, NJ

[system]

Mike,
What type of Anderson Connectors did you use? The smallest that I can find are the 50 Amp Connectors, that seems like over kill.
Tim in STL
White O’morn NS26U #216
Harbor Point Yacht Club
West Alton, MO

[user11]

Tim
Yes 50 amp Anderson connectors are very much over kill with the current draw of LED lights. Even the 15 amp Powerpole pins the smallest available are over spec. I used the small Anderson Powerpole connectors with 15 and 30 amp pins for most of my wiring projects on board:
https://amzn.to/3RYv6az

Here is a link to how I replaced the head florescent light with an LED technology around nine years ago:
https://biankablog.blogspot.com/2013/07/rewiring-head-light-part-one.html

Mike
BIANKA
1986 30U
Long Island

[system]

I replaced mine on my 30U with these.
BlueFire 700LM RV LED Interior Lights, DC 10-30V 3000-6000K Dimmable RV Ceiling Dome Lights, LED RV Lighting Fixture with Dimmer Switch for RV Camper Motorhome Caravan Trailer Boat (2 Pack), Lighting - Amazon Canada

They are working great so far. The only issue I found was making sure there was enough clearance in order to stuff the wires and connectors behind.

Andre Lirette
S/V Mawingo NS30U #344
Shediac Bay YC
Shediac, NB Canada

[system]

I previously suggested that the LED lights that Joe posted about putting on Seahorse would make excellent engine room lights. I acted on my suggestion, installing a pair of lights - one over the forward end of the engine and the other over the stern, wiring them to a switch that is outside of the engine room. I attach the results - it is pretty bright in the engine room now. Unfortunately, the lights are no longer available on Amazon (a friend wanted to use one on his Catalina and I would have taken the other for the forward hanging locker to replace the light in it). Not sure if there is another source for them.

The switch is mounted next to the port side hanging locker with the wires going into the locker and then into the engine compartment. The switch was originally designed for an off-road truck light bar and I suspect will hold up to an interior marine environment. When the lights are on the switch lights up, but is not bright enough to be seen in daylight.

I used two separate terminal blocks attached to the bottom of the cockpit sole for the wiring, separating the positive from the negative. Need to make a cover of some sort for at least the positive block to make sure I or others get no shocking surprise.

It will be interesting to see what they look like if turned on at night with the engine room all closed up - they will probably shine up through the grate at the foot of the ladder. Might make for an interesting photo.

lloyd herman
Rendezvous, 30U
Port Washington, NY

(attachments)

[BRIAN_CAYER]

lloyd herman

Your engine compartment is not only well lit but worthy of being lit.
Brian,
Boat-less in New England