32 volt LED bulbs Cheap

[davidwigler]

Home Depot has Cree 120 volt dimable LED bulbs for $5 in 60 watt equivalent.

On a whim I tried one in a 32 volt DC fixture and it works! The warm white color is very nice too. Not sure how long they will last in that application but I will report results over time.

 

[davidwigler]

The Phillips 120 volt 10.5 watt dimmable LED bulbs work too on 32 volts DC. Nice warm light and only $3 at HD.

I'll be replacing all the standard incandescent bulbs and looking for nice standard bulb fixtures for the 32 volt overhead lights in the heads.

 

[MikeP]

I don't know anything about LED lights as far as how they react to lower voltage. So how bright are they in that application in comparison to the standard 50W 32V incandescent light that most of the fixtures were originally supplied with?

If I put a 120V incandescent light bulb in a 32V receptacle, it just produces a red glow. Do those 120V LEDs react the same way, producing low illumination compared to the correct 32V bulb? IOW, can you replace the 32V incandescents with those 120V LEDs and get the same (or more) illumination than the 50W incandescent? If you can, I'd say it's a great thing and I'll be buying them!

If not, then I'll just keep buying those old-fashioned incandescents!

How about posting a pic of a 50W 32V lighting in some area of the boat and then a pic of the LED in the same location. The pic would have to be taken in manual mode with the same F stop/shutter speed for both, otherwise the camera will compensate for the difference in illumination and make them appear about the same.

 

[davidwigler]

Try it Mike. Make sure you buy the dimmable LED bulbs in warm white. I really like the Phillips bulbs for $3. They have perfected the color and the 60W replacement bulbs put out plenty of light. They might be slightly dimmer than the same bulb on a 120 V circuit but it is hardly noticeable. I've replaced most of my incandescent bulbs already.

I think I'll try the daylight color bulbs for the ERs.

 

[luckydave215]

As per the above advice I scooped up some of the Cree 60W equivalent LED lights at Homeless Depot. I thried them in overhead fixtures replacing 60W 32V lamps, and the LED's were about half as bright. No bueno in the galley.

 

[MVCaprice]

Has anyone tried 120V LED in anchor or running light fixtures?

 

[davidwigler]

It seems they have to be dimmable to work on 32 VDC.

I'm considering a small DCDC converter on the nav light circuit to convert to 12 volt LED bulbs.

 

[Ted Smith]

Haven't tried the "elcheapo" 120 volts yet but have no doubt they will not be as bright at 32 volts. What I'm happy about though is there are 12 to 48 volt LED's available just about everywhere now and they have dropped significantly in price. They are quite bright. There are 3 or 4 brands out there....all made in China, but who cares...they work well.

 

[johnjen50]

David how did those Cree bulbs work out for you? Are they still working?

 

[davidwigler]

I ended up replacing all of the 32 V overhead bulbs with Phillips 120 volt 10.5 watt 60 watt equivalent dimmable LED bulbs for $3 each at HD. These are the flat funny looking bulbs. There is a three pack for eight dollars.

They work perfectly and the light is quite bright. In fact I had to replace some of them with 40 W equivalent bulbs because they were too bright for the application, such as three lights in the steps down to the companionway.

If anyone local wants my new stock and old 32 V incandescent bulbs come buy my dinner. I'll never use them again.

 

[davidwigler]

Has anyone tried 120V LED in anchor or running light fixtures?

I bought several 10 Amp converters from Marinebeam.com and put one in the 32 volt panel just after the navigation light circuit breaker and then replaced the navigation and anchor bulbs with LED 12 V. They work great. Just make sure you select Coast Guard approved LED bulbs for your vessel size.

I installed another converter in the vanity of the master head just behind the DC light switch, and installed 12 volt LEDs in all three fixtures on that circuit. It puts out much more light and uses about 6 W. I have converters and 12 V bulbs ready to install in the other heads when I get around to it.

 

[scottinsydney]

Hi Dave, How exactly did you wire the DC converter in to the Nav light circuit breaker on the DC panel? We appear to have similar boats. Is the ground wire also located in the panel? Thanks. Scott.

 

[johnjen50]

Ok, my luck. I bought a bunch of the Cree dimmables and tried them in the boat AND THEY DON'T WORK!!!!!!!! Anyone have an idea why? Tried in the ER no good. In the companion way, no good. Salon, same. Rats.......

 

[SEVEN]

I bought the dimmable LED lights at HD and found they worked well for about 10 minutes. One of them blew and it tripped the circuit. As long as the blown bulb stayed in the socket the circuit would not reset. Once I removed the blown bulb the circuit reset and I replaced them with a 32 volt bulb. Not sure if you guys left them on long enough.

 

[davidwigler]

I ended up replacing all of the 32 V overhead bulbs with Phillips 120 volt 10.5 watt 60 watt equivalent dimmable LED bulbs for $3 each at HD. These are the flat funny looking bulbs. There is a three pack for eight dollars.

They work perfectly and the light is quite bright. In fact I had to replace some of them with 40 W equivalent bulbs because they were too bright for the application, such as three lights in the steps down to the companionway.

If anyone local wants my new stock and old 32 V incandescent bulbs come buy my dinner. I'll never use them again.

Update: The funny looking 60 W equivalent Phillips bulbs are all still working perfectly in most of my 32 volt overhead fixtures. I replaced several of them with 40 W versions because they were too bright. It is strange that they work for me and not for some others. Also curious is that I tried the 75 W version, and they do not work at all.

The Cree bulbs are in my 32 volt reading lamps but I don't use them often enough to recommend them.

My incandescent bulbs are still available for local pickup but you won't want them after you see these LED bulbs working so well.

 

[davidwigler]

Hi Dave, How exactly did you wire the DC converter in to the Nav light circuit breaker on the DC panel? We appear to have similar boats. Is the ground wire also located in the panel? Thanks. Scott.

Sorry Scott I must've missed this post. The ground wire bus is located in the panel. You might want to get some help with this, but it is pretty simple for someone who's worked in an electrical panel before. You remove the wire from the NAV breaker and hook that to the output of the converter. Then you run a new wire from the breaker to the input of the converter. Then connect the input and output ground wires of the converter to the ground bus and it's done.

 

[johnjen50]

Thanks David, that's strange. There must be something different about the Phillips bulbs. I'll grab a couple of them and give it a try.

 

[jpk55]

I've tried the philips flat bulbs all over the boat (32 volt system) and cant get them to work, any suggestions ?


Jeff Kotler

 

[davidwigler]

I've tried the philips flat bulbs all over the boat (32 volt system) and cant get them to work, any suggestions ?


Jeff Kotler

Did you get the 60 W bulbs in warm white? If so I have no idea why they work in mine and not yours.

 

[jpk55]

I can only find them in soft white at HD, Where did you buy them?