May 16, 2022
The new LED lights are installed in the engine room and I am quite pleased with the result. This is just a short update on the install with a photo. The things to note about the install are that the lights leave a LOT more headroom in some pretty important areas, and the brightness is much higher than it was with the fluorescent lights.
One of the more bizarre issues when taking out the old ballasts was that some of the screws used were modest 1″ screws, but some were 4″ screws. The working load for a screw is about 80-100 lbs. and 4-1″ screws is a lot of strength for a 5lb light fixture! All good, they are now all the same size at 1″ and these new fixtures weigh about 2 lbs, so lots of grip on the ceiling.
I failed to test the power draw for the fluorescent ballasts but I estimate that the draw was around one amp per ballast, so about 4A to run the lights (that’s a big draw when the engine isn’t running). As predicted, I have dropped my energy needs by 90% as these lights draw 0.4A when turned on and they are much brighter.
Given the boat hasn’t moved yet, I have yet to see if they will stay mounted when the boat is being tossed around at sea. But as an install for < $150, so far it looks like a good choice. For those that are interested in what the lights are, here is the listing on Amazon.
With all four lights installed there is time for a bike ride prior to my travel to Miami and that is a happy thing.