Aqua Signal LED nav lights

[Troy Scott]

Folks,

This may not be new, but I've just discovered it. here is the bi-color light:

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?pat ... id=1210812

Here is the stern light:

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?pat ... &id=935686

These lights are said to have the same footprint as the Aqua Signal nav lights that seem to be original to my CD36. I had been strongly considering the OGM LED nav lights, but this seems like a no-brainer. Does anyone have experience with this light?

[Steve Laume]

I had changed the bow light 5 years ago when I first got Raven because it was very faded.

Last year I switched to bulb to an LED for about $50.00. If your fixture is in good shape it is a great way to go.

The bulb I used had red and green LEDs, Steve.

[Troy Scott]

Thanks, Steve.

My fixtures do not look good. The lenses are faded, and apparently someone had a collision which made a small hole in the bi-color..., so there are reasons to change.

There are several LED lamps available for converting older nav lights. Some are Coast Guard approved and some are not. Not having Coast Guard approval does not, of course mean that they don't work perfectly well. Everything would be fine unless you have an incident. Dealing with legal issues following an incident is where a problem might develop. But I don't want to send this thread down that path. I just want to learn about others' experience with these new Aqua Signal LED nav lights which are supposed to just fit where our old lights were.

Nick Cancro has suggested that even these Aqua Signal lights may not have full USCG approval. I'm usually very careful about these things, but just looking at this offering, as presented by Defender, I would assume that they are approved. I've written for clarification.

We're off to Havre de Grace early friday morning!

[Maine Sail]

The Series 43's are indeed USCG and ABYC approved BUT they are very expensive. I would seriously consider the Aquasignal Series 32 Bi-Color as a bow light model (32100). Even at West Marine they are only $99.00 vs. the nearly $300.00 for the Series 43..

http://www.westmarine.com/1/1/28017-bla ... nal.html

I have a Series 32 bi-color on our boat and it performs wonderfully and is very, very bright. It also meets USCG and ABYC as well as other international standards.

P.S. I got my series 32 from Defender for $36.00 in the close out dept..

They still have some series 31's (1 nm vs. series 32 @ 2nm) for $29.00!!

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?pat ... id=1068726


The AS Series 32 Bi-Color lights are currently undergoing a re-design because the diodes they used are no longer available and they can't just change the diodes as they would lose all their certifications. WOW what a PITA for AquaSignal...

AS still has a LOT of Series 32's in the warehouse and Defender CAN order them though they, Defender, are currently out of stock.

[Jim Cornwell]

I don't know about the situation on a CD36, but my 31 and I suspect others among the smaller boats were set up for Series 25 fixtures. I think Series 32 is physically bigger and may not fit on the pulpit and stern rail mountings. A swap of lamps is easy enough, though. A replacement LED lamp I've installed in the stern light is much brighter than its incandescent predecessor and at a pretty reasonable price, too! The USCG can't complain about extra brightness can they?

[Carter Brey]

I just replaced the original 27-year-old Aqua Signal 25 nav lights on my Sabre, because the lenses were completely crazed. These were the bicolor bow light and the white stern light.

The new Aqua Signal units are absolutely identical except for the LED bulbs which I bought separately. The have festoon ends which fit perfectly into the contacts inside the lens units.

Carter

[renmihalov]

What brand LED bulbs did you use as replacements in your old Aqua Signal bow and stern lights?

I saw a bunch of them at the Annapolis boat show, but wasn't sure if one brand was better than another. Their packaging all seemed pretty amateurish and inspired little confidence.

[hughesw]

I was looking at replacement Dr LED bulbs for Aqua Signal Series 25 lights and was a bit confused whether or not a singal white LED could be used in a Bi-Color bow light bcuase of the following:

Note: Use White LED's in White lights only. There is not enough Red, or Green light energy to shine through colored lenses. Red, and Green LED's are available.

Iis this an issue?

Warren H.

[Bob Brown]

A few things to consider when using LED lights.

1. LEDs are rated for a specific life in hours. LED tail lights in cars are designed to last about 2000 hours. Some commercial products are rated for 50,000 hours. Temperature and Humidity can play a role in the rated life as can the quality of the system and the brand of the chips used. I don't belive any manufactures do any type of humidity life cycle testing.

2. LED lights don't burn out, they just keep getting dimmer. They are at 70% light output when they reach their rated life. Mariners will have to keep an eye on these products when used for navigation purposes. There are discussions about having having timers or light output sensors on commerical products to shut the system down when the chips reach their rated life (70% light output). This is critical for areas or applications where light levels must be met for safety reasons.

[Carter Brey]

What brand LED bulbs did you use as replacements in your old Aqua Signal bow and stern lights?

I saw a bunch of them at the Annapolis boat show, but wasn't sure if one brand was better than another. Their packaging all seemed pretty amateurish and inspired little confidence.

They were Dr. LED Polar Star 25's. They come sealed in a cylindrical, water-resistant housing with dimpled festoon contacts on the top and bottom.

I bought the all-white for the stern and the bi-color for the bow unit.

http://www.doctorled.com/p22.htm



I just noticed that they've already come out with a new model for the all-white light:

http://www.doctorled.com/f16.htm

Good luck,
Carter

[Steve Laume]

I also did the Dr LED, Polar Star 25s for my running lights.

They seem brighter than the original replacement bulbs. I will now know to watch for dimming over time. I imagine it will take a very long time and they seem to have started out pretty bright.

The big advantage is that I do not hesitate to turn them on and leave them on all night if the need arises. I keep spare incandescents in my bulb bin if a problem should occur.

I also did my dome and reading lights in the cabin. Once again I tend to use the lights more. I used to use an LED headlamp for reading. Now I use the cabin lights. I can turn on every light in the cabin now for the same energy usage as one used to cost me.

Anybody have a brilliant solution to the rather troublesome Aqua Signal deck light? I have been to my spreaders a bunch of times coaxing and coarseing that silly little thing to give me some light.

Maybe abandoning the entire combination fixture would be the answer. Mount a steaming light to the mast and then a couple of small LED clusters to the spreaders.

There re times when it would be nice to have reliable deck lighting. I use a headlamp now most of the time. Decks lights would give a more general illumination. They are also good if you are now sure weather another boat has seen you.

Whatever problems LEDs might have they are far better than the bulbs we are replacing, Steve.

[Maine Sail]

Just be aware that simply replacing an incandescent bulb with an LED bulb, in an older existing fixture designed with an incandescent bulb, changes it from being USCG certified to being USCG non-certified.

For me this matters as I was involved in a night time boating death, friends father was run down and killed, and I sat through almost two days of nav light testimony.

If it is not a concern of yours, having USCG certified lights, it's no big deal but I feel it is something folks need to at least be aware of.

Also, Dr. LED is quite dishonest, and very misleading in his advertising. The ONLY bulb he has a USCG certification on is the PolarStar 40 when used in an Aquasignal Series 40 All Round 360 degree fixture. NONE of his series 25 stuff is certified though he will mislead you into thinking they are USCG certified. Buyer beware! There are also numerous complaints on the net of Dr. LED bulbs NOT LASTING and then Dr. LED NOT standing behind the product. Be careful..

You should also use a red LED behind a red lens and a green LED behind a green lens other wise your color temps can be way off.

[Troy Scott]

Maine Sail and Everybody,

My CD36 (actually almost 40 feet with the bowsprit) originally was equipped with Series 41 nav lights, for which the Series 43 is a direct replacement. I suspect the Series 32 and 31 are too small (maybe not?). The current price at Defender for the Series 31 is certainly attractive:

http://www.defender.com/category.jsp?pa ... id=1120148

[CruiseAlong]

I had changed the bulbs on my CD31 (Aqua Signal Series 25 fixtures) over a year ago to Dr LED white and bi-color DR LED POLAR STAR 25 navigation bulbs which are made for the Aqua Signal Series 25 bulb replacement. For 2009, it appears that the POLAR series 25 all white and all red or green bulbs will become the FESTOON STAR series. Will still fit the Series 25 fixtures. My bulbs have worked out very well with <1W power draw or about 10% of the power that the former bulbs drew. I.E, 10 hours vs 1 hour of equivalent power operation. They appear to equal or better as far as brightness. If the lens are getting old and cracked, replacements are available directly from Aqua Signal.

[Troy Scott]

Another possibility, although probably NOT certifiable, would be to buy NEW incandescent nav lights, then convert them to LED and install them. The only reason for considering this is that it can be done for less money than buying all-new certified LED-based units. As I understand it, the traditional problem with Aqua Signal lights is the seal. Considering that this seal is even more critical with LEDs, I would think that part of the conversion should include a total seal of the unit. I wonder if anyone has considered this obvious alternative. I'm NOT seriously considering it.... I want new, certified LED nav lights, but OUCH! The prices!!