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LED Bulb replacement F-32

Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 8:21 pm
by sforgey1
I am finally looking at replacing the multitude of hot bulbs in the cabin of my boat with LED "bulbs."

Does anyone have any suggestions? Anyone converted them? Any tricks to figuring this out quickly? Sourcing bulbs?

Thanks

Scott
s/v Girlfriend
Hoyt 32

Re: LED Bulb replacement F-32

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2022 6:42 am
by Flying Dutchman
No answers yet, but I do have the same question ... recently bought an F38 and really want to switch to LEDs. preferably a warm color for the spots and maybe a bit brighter for the overhead double ceiling lights. Any suggestions?

Re: LED Bulb replacement F-32

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2022 9:44 am
by dwight
Imtra.com
https://www.imtra.com/products/lighting ... e-lighting

Many types of high-quality LED lights for the marine industry including LED replacement bulbs for existing fixtures.

Re: LED Bulb replacement F-32

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2022 6:09 pm
by RadioZephyr
I really like these red/white switching LED bulbs from Marinebeam. When you switch the light on they're red, then if you turn it off and immediately back on it's a nice warm white. They make them in a few sizes, including ones made to fit the original 6-3/4" dome lights in the ceiling of my galley and head. They work great, and the fact that they default to red light is really nice for preserving night vision. Prior to getting these, I would always forget which switch was the red side whenever I needed to use the head at night.

Their LED nav lights are also decent, but stay away from the tricolor! It lasted two seasons before it started switching itself from anchor light to flashing SOS in the middle of the night. I learned this the hard way—at 3:00AM anchored outside Cuttyhunk harbor, when I awoke to a concerned harbormaster knocking on my hull.

Re: LED Bulb replacement F-32

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2022 6:10 pm
by BillSmith
Are you referring to the old standard, 12 volt bayonet style bulb? Used in automotive industry as well. The first replacements were unwieldy. Disks of multiple LEDs that wired to a bayonet connector. I passed on that iteration. Newest are a few LED emitters on stuck into a brass bayonet connector.

Just have to know your volts, amps and the layout of brass nubs on side and bottom of original.

Something like this...

Image

Re: LED Bulb replacement F-32

Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2022 11:27 pm
by Mark K.
I did the low budget conversion where I just bought LED bulbs on Amazon and so only swapped out the bulb but not the whole light fixture. Cheap and easy upgrade. You want the bulbs that emit light 360 degrees for good cabin illumination. The ones that just shine top and bottom don't disperse the light enough. Also even at 12 volts these cheap LED's can case Radio Frequency Interference (RFI). My FM stereo has a buzzing noise in the background while the LEDs are on. I'm going to try some ferrite suppressors on the electrical wire to see if that cures it. If you can find LED bulbs with RFI shielding/suppression of some sort it would be worth a little extra money.

Re: LED Bulb replacement F-32

Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2022 12:48 pm
by Clemson
RadioZephyr wrote:
Mon Mar 21, 2022 6:09 pm
I really like these red/white switching LED bulbs from Marinebeam. When you switch the light on they're red, then if you turn it off and immediately back on it's a nice warm white.
This item is perfect. My sailing mentor recently told me to get a red light for the cabin, which made complete sense to me, and I had put it on my list of things to do before I launch.