Com-Pac Yacht Owners Association

I have a 1990 CP19 and I dropped the mast today to checkout the lightbulb that's mounted on it.

I did this on the water and it would have been okay, but a speedboat making waves in the lake gave me a bit of a tough time. Got the mast back up after some effort!

Anyway, I should've kept the bulb out, but it looked good. Now I am thinking (after I did the work to check it) that I should replace it with an LED. It's a short, fat, and squat little bulb with two contact points on the bottom. Anybody know of a source for this truncated size? I did take a few pics while I had it out.

Sorry about the hairy leg...   ;D

From the side:
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8498/8368614899_21ea4a7a3d.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/esler/8368614899/)

From the bottom:
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8090/8369681370_57db166f61.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/esler/8369681370/)

The cover it must fit under:
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8183/8369681424_a536061210.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/esler/8369681424/)

AutoZone sells a 12 volt white LED that if used, will make it necessary to whittle up a new teak wooden base simply because the $11.00 LED automotive bulb is so tall. It will fit inside the lens [you should polish the yellow out of the lens with tooth paste] but that new wood base will be necessary. The fourth wood base I made is the one used. The others broke apart or just did not fit well enough so they became 'bobbers' floating away. The 'nubs' on the side of the bulb are ignored as is the socket. Just the bulb sitting in cured silicone. The wood base is screwed back onto the mast. The bulb is good for 10,000 hours which is longer Than I am going to live to sail.

Oh and the + and - wires are soldered to the bulb's contact points. The most problem occurs at the pronged plug on the cabin top, usually a bad contact. Test the system with a battery charger/or volt meter for continuity or test light. The last two are always in the tool kit on board the boat.

This is a forward facing horizontal 225 deg 'Steaming Light' only to be used when the engine is pushing the boat, with or without the sails up. It's not an anchor 360 deg light a-top-o-mast. I should mention the bulb is not Coast Guard Approved. But neither are 'blow-up' PFD's unless your wearing them.

skip.

Ted, a few options for swapping out and changing to an LED.  It appears you want to replace an anchor light, something to be seen from 360 degrees for several nautical miles.

The body style of bulb you are looking for is either an 1142 or 1157.  The main difference in the two bulbs are the little prongs on the sides, are they offset (indexed) or at the same height from the base of the bulb.  The body style may also be listed as bayonet base with dual contact points on the base.  This may be shown as something like BA15D (for bayonet 15mm dual contact).

From this you can do a search at a variety of locations online or at local stores as they are not too different from automobile lights.  I've had good luck ordering items from www.superbrightleds.com (http://www.superbrightleds.com) and they have a few items that could fit.  They make bulbs with both top and side firing LEDs.  Some examples:
(http://d114hh0cykhyb0.cloudfront.net/images/specs/other/1142-x15_mm.jpg)

(http://d114hh0cykhyb0.cloudfront.net/images/specs/other/1142-x18-T_mm.jpg)

If these are too tall for your fixture, they make adapters for other types of bulbs (like the wedge below):
(http://cdn5.superbrightleds.com/timthumb.php?h=230&src=http://d114hh0cykhyb0.cloudfront.net/images/uploads/led-wedge-base-bulb-wled-xhp5-side.jpg&trim=1&w=300&zc=1)

I can't help with the "certified" nature of these bulbs, for USCG or COLREG or whatever.  I can tell you that they are definitely brighter (with the "dot" version brighter than the LED "bulb") to my naked eye than the incandescent bulbs they replace.  There is some discussion about the legality of these lights both on this forums and others.  

-Justin

Ted,

Why do you think you want to change to LED?  Is your cruising profile such that you do not get enough battery life?

The last time I had my mast down, I went through all the bulbs on my boat and recorded the size/type.  The plan is that if I cruise in such a manner where it is appropriate for battery discharge rate, or if the cost of the LED replacements drops to something reasonable, I will replace as they go out.  The bulbs in the nav lights on my boat are the original, have lasted for almost eight years, and I can't see spending a couple of hundred boat bucks to replace en mass. They probably don't have 10 total hours of use on them.   I rarely use the anchor light as such and do keep a cheap LED lantern aboard to hoist for that purpose, throwing away the cheap batteries after each cruise use.  I often anchor with my masthead in the trees, so for the purpose of keeping the local bass fishermen from hitting me, that is more appropriate.

The info in JT's post is good.  there are a number of providers who will cross reference incandescents to LEDS by base and give dimensions to see if they will fit in your lamp enclosure.

Additionally, there is no such thing as a USCG or COLREG certified bulb.  The regs are written to indicate direction, distance, and color (very non specific).  All bulbs, with comparative wattage designed for your lamp should meet those regs.

When I cruised in the Keys a few years back my battery didn't last into the third day. Now I have a solar panel and assume it will, but the LEDs seem more prudent. I do you an anchor alarm program on my iPhone so I like to plug that in all night. I am sure that's the main culprit.

Thanks for all the info here on bulbs. This has got to be the best user group support site on the Internet!

JTM:
   That looks like a steaming light to me. I use mine very little. I'd go with an LED anchor light only because it's on all night long. That being said, I cheat with this little Walmart LED lantern.
Sure, it can't be seen for 2 nm but in my situations, that's not a factor. I will be changing my anchor light to an LED just for the heck of it.
(http://i617.photobucket.com/albums/tt260/Bob23_photo/Walmartanchoringlighton.jpg)
Bob23

Bob23,

Yes, I believe it is a steaming light as well, as it's not possible for it to have a 360 spread.

- Ted

Just a note, I had a lot of trouble this year suddenly with that light not working. Ended up being the piggy back connector that my boss calls a suitcase connector and my automotive buddy calls it yet another name (that is probably the correct name....but I cant ever remember it) and it is  blue in color and located under the right hand starboard side storage cutout in the V berth section.

That on mine is tight but is causing headaches for the ground which causes it to go out.

I am going to rework my wiring this year before I put her back on the water. But if the bulb is good, then chase down the wiring for sure as that could be a problem.

Mac

I USE A  BATTERY POWERED ANCHOR LIGHT, ALSO DOUBLES AS A LIGHT IN THE CABIN IF NEEDED., I ALSO HAVE A SOLAR PANEL , WHICH KEEPS MY BATTEREY CHARGED ALL SEASON.

I keep a small LED battery powered lantern that I hoist up the mast once the sun goes down. And last thing I do before bed, I switch to the anchor light. That saves a few hours. And if you are doing any extended cruising you could just stock up on AAs.

I do think that LEDs are ridiculously over priced.

hi ted, if you want the rudder blade call me , ed 610-657-9076

Billy, no doubt the pricing is high.  I think I paid something like $18 a bulb.  But they should last forever, are a little brighter, and use a lot less battery juice.  I like that they are solid state and not dependent on the fragile filament and gas seal for reliability. Not that it's a huge problem, but add some moisture and the normal bulbs are prone to failure.

I've changed most of the bulbs in the house to LED.  14 watt bulbs instead of 65, and shouldn't need to ever replace them.  Multiply by about 16 can lights, a few fixtures, about 6 lamps, outdoor lights and the savings can be seen on the electric bill. And in the summer, there will be a lot less heat to remove by the A/C as the LED lights run quite a bit cooler.  Will make a big difference over the long run. Plus I shouldn't have to buy light bulbs again. 

For casual daysailing without a lot of battery use, there is little need for them.

Quote from: Ted on January 12, 2013, 09:05:56 AM
Bob23,

Yes, I believe it is a steaming light as well, as it's not possible for it to have a 360 spread.

- Ted

You can find replacement incandescent at auto store, probably cheap LED ones there too, I forget the size though. While I spent a good chunk of change converting lights on my boat to LED, I left the steaming light incandescent, how often are you motoring at night? My guess is not much. Though I suppose if you are in other reduced visibility (fog, rain) situations often it might be worth it.

Not much, but since the current bulb isn't working it just made sense to change it out for an LED.

I think for the anchor light I am going to buy this:
http://www.bebi-electronics.com/owl.html (http://www.bebi-electronics.com/owl.html)

One often overlooked negative aspect to LED's is that they are sensitive to lightening. A nearby strike can fry the circuitry in an LED. There was an article in a recend Good Old Boat magazine about this. And we're not talking about a direct hit, just a strike in the vicinity can do it. I'll probably switch my anchor light over anyway.
Bob23

That has to be true that, "One often overlooked negative aspect to LED's is that they are sensitive to lightening. A nearby strike can fry the circuitry in an LED."
At the airport where I work in Sturgeon Bay, everyday the runway, hi~low approach lights, lighted wind direction arrow, flashers and AWAS are checked and often our electronic boards are fried so these are routinely replaced. Funny the bulb never burned out is our 47 year old Cross Hines rotating green/white search light.

We collect a five gallon pale of burned out boards, solder in new ones, and make an insurance claim. It's just part of running the airport.

skip.

For an idea of cost, this is from my May 2012 superbrightleds.com invoice for all CP-19 LED bulbs.
(My CP-19 is circa 1982 - not sure if the newer ones use different bulbs.)

Jon

Original:

Qty   Class      Description   Manu   Model   Base
1   Navigation   Mast      Stanley   90 12V6CP   
1   Interior                   Cabin      GE   1141   BA15S
2   Navigation   Bow Red/Green   GE   1416   BA9S
1   Navigation   Stern      Norelco   212   
1   Navigation   Stern-pole      S90   

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Super Bright LEDs, Inc.
4400 Earth City Expressway
St. Louis, Missouri 63045-1328
Tel:(314) 972-6200 Fax:(314) 972-6202

QTY DESCRIPTION PRICE AMOUNT
1 BA9s-xHP9: 9 LED High Power Bulb - BA9S-GHP9: Green 9.95 9.95
1 BA9s-xHP9: 9 LED High Power Bulb - BA9S-RHP9: Red 9.95 9.95
1 4410-x9: 9 LED Festoon bulb - 4410-CW9: Cool White 4.74 4.74
1 1156-x45-T: 45HP-LED BA15S Tower Bulb - 1156-WW45-T:1156 Warm White 24.95 24.95
1 1142-x45-T: 45HP-LED BA15D Tower Bulb - 1142-CW45-T:1142 Cool White 24.95 24.95
SUBTOTAL: 74.54
SALES TAX: 0.00
SHIPPING: 2.99
TOTAL PAID: 77.53

Great list. Not as expensive as I thought it would be.

Is it possible to get LED bayonet style bulbs for nav. lights(Perko) or a bad idea ?

I think superbrightleds has 'em. Again, Nies- welcome back.
Bob23

Nies, I highly recommend the Dr. LED 41mm Nav LED lights (festoon style).  Defender.com has them.

It's critical to get the "warm" color light for the multi-color fixture rather than the "cool" style.
The warm color outputs a better color spectrum for the red/green lens to shine brightly.
The defender.com item number for the warm bulb is 701285

You can get the cool color for the stern white light.  I don't see that part on defender anymore but it's probably available elsewhere.

I also use an LED in the cabin.  Our cabin fixture uses the G4 style connections, which are basically two metal prongs.  had to search to find one with the pins mounted on the back of the LED array, rather than the sides, so the light pointed down properly. 

They are very bright, so far reliable but it's only been one season of use (we do use them!).

Thanks everyone for the info, well try in the gargage some combos if the temp. ever gets back to 32. 20 below this week.............nies

20 below? Nies, where do you live?
bob23
and I thought the 18 we have now was cold...I have no room to complain.

Hayward, Wi, 50 miles south of the north pole or Duluth,Minn...........................every year about now we wonder what we are doing here , but to cold to leave and then spring arrives and we know why............living on a lake in the summer is what life on this earth is about............nies

Indeed. Cold! Too cold to be messing around with light bulbs. Do these things even work this cold?

Our city switched over to LED in the stop lights to save juice only to realize that the lamps won't heat up enough to melt the snow or ice off the lens. And now were spending more money for weather shields and installations. Ahhhhh the marvels of the Liberal mind. No money in 'Going Green'.

Another frigid night is in store for Door County. And there's enough wind to go along with it to prompt the National Weather Service to issue a Wind Chill Advisory to be in effect from 9 p.m. Tuesday to 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Wind chill values will drop to 20 below Tuesday evening and fall to around 25 below by Wednesday morning. Wind chills in this range can produce frostbite in 20 to 30 minutes.

Temperatures are expected to warm into the mid teens Wednesday with a chance of snow showers Wednesday afternoon.

In Hibernation to be sure. All projects on hold 'cept cleaning up my desk. skip.

Quote from: nies on January 22, 2013, 05:22:55 PM
Thanks everyone for the info, well try in the gargage some combos if the temp. ever gets back to 32. 20 below this week.............nies

.....................FYI......................found on Defender-Dr. LED the following which might be useful to someone....White LED bulbs should not be used behind colored lenses in nav. lights, only the corresponding colored LEDs should be used in nav. lights with colored lenses. Red LEDs with red or clear lenses and green LEDs with green  or clear. Do not use white LEDs behind colored lenses as they will not produce required brightness.....................thanks to salty 19 and bob 23....................nies

To be clear, white/cool color for stern light, warm color for the bow nav light. If you have two fixtures from port/starboard bow lights, you can either use warm color in both or red in the red lens, green in the green.    Just don't use the white/cool in colored fixtures.