Problems with Dr. LED ?

[Sven]

Since we just bought a few this thread is a bit disturbing:

http://tinyurl.com/yedwjqw



-Sven

 

[Maine Sail]

Don't forget this thread:

http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=110436&#post644036

Or this one:
http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=108212&highlight=LED+Burned

The owner of Dr. LED also misleads customers in to believing his replacement nav light bulbs are USCG approved/certified, which they are technically not. I personally asked him to stop doing this and to change his web site over a year ago to be more honest to his customers and he has done nothing.

 

[Sven]

Main Sail,

Thanks for those links. I just read all the posts and they are enlightening.

After reading them all there seems to be only one thing for sure, Dr. LED's bulbs design is defective but it is not clear if it is power spikes or thermal management that is the problem.

How much do we have invested in Dr. LED so far ...



-Sven

 

[ted_reshetiloff]

This is a shame. I am using the Aquasignal tricolor and anchor light bulbs and I have a friend cruising in the caribbean with the same setup. Neither of us have had a problem yet but I guess its coming....

Damn and I thought I was saving some money by not buying that OGM light too.

 

[Greg Ross]

Sven, Ditto to your Sentiment

I unfortunately found this thread 2 days after placing an order for 3 of his replacement LED Bulbs. I placed that order based on "Practical Sailors' Feb. 2010 "PS Budget Buy among LED Bulbs for conversions"
Strongly suggest we alert PS @ PracticalSailor@Belvoirpubs.com
I'm forwarding the included "links" to them. Practical Sailor promotes the fact that they accept no "commercial advertizing", by including Dr. LEDs' product it appears they have done their subscribers a distinct dis-service.

Here's the text of my email to "PS";
Subject line;
Your Feb. 2010 Article Replacement LED Bulbs‏
To;
Practical Sailor Editor(s) and Staff;

I placed an order for Dr. LED replacement "Polar Star 40" bulbs for all my Nav. Lites a few days ago based on your "Budget Buy" recommendation. Then had the distinct dissapointment of noting a recent thread/ update on the Ericson Owners' Site;

http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?p=55445#post55445post55445

Therein are a number of web links to other Boards indicating an exceedingly elevated bulb failure rate, and a correspondingly low level of support/ warranty from Dr. LED

http://tinyurl.com/yedwjqw

http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com...36&#post644036

http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com...ght=LED+Burned

A simple Google search yielded this result;

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f124/problems-with-dr-led-lights-36083.html

Another Dr. LED product, MR-11 interior Bulb didn't perform either;
(Great/ informative article though)
http://forums.pda.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=103101

I chose their (Dr. LEDs') product because it appeared to be the most suitable bulb for large Wilcox Crittenden/ and Perko freznel lens Nav. Lamp Fixtures.
Boat Bucks are always particurlarly "hard earned" and the prospect of low reliability and ultimately premature replacement expense is disheartening.

Otherwise, one of your faithful subscribers,

et al

 

[Tom Metzger]

That's why I gave up on Practical Sailor a few years ago. When they went to the glossy format they gave up on accuracy and integrity. Some of their articles showed some extreme ignorance of the topic and no willingness to publish corrections.

 

[Sven]

Reading about a Panama Canal crossing and one of the album pages once again highlight (pun intended) Dr LED problems: http://tinyurl.com/ylgb95m



-Sven

 

[toddbrsd]

Time to Update this Thread????

Started looking into LED and came upon this "white paper". It is a pretty easy read for someone like me not really intimate with all things electrical, so I thought I would post it FYI.

 

[mherrcat]

I replaced all my cabin bulbs with Marinebeam LEDs and like them. The only thing I didn't like was the color temperature of the light; it made my interior woodwork look a little sick. I think that may be common with LEDs. I fixed that by using some photographic color correcting gel cut to fit inside the plastic fixture cover. I found that a combination of 1/8 Minus Green and 1/8 Color Temperature Orange (CTO) brought the light back to just about incandescent temperature.

The only problem with using the gel is that it cuts down the light output slightly. When I originally bought the bulbs I bought a 140 lumen 15 LED G4 side pin bulb and some 120 lumen 10 LED bulbs. The 140 lumen bulb works a little better with the gel material because it is putting out more light, but it looks like Marinebeam now only carries the 120 lumen version.

Their white/red switching bulb looks cool.

 

[Greg Ross]

I bought 1/2 a doz. of the Marinebeam LEDs and do not like them comparitively.
For interior lighting Sensibulb (Sailors Solution) make a tremendous product now, warm white just like the color of incadescent.

http://sailorssolutions.com/index.asp?page=ProductDetails&Item=SEN10W

And a closeup Photo;
http://sailorssolutions.com/ProductImages/SEN10W_2.jpg

They're a peculiar looking little gizzmo but they do put out nice light. No long term service to report as of yet, we'll have to do a follow-up.
I am not affiliated with ""Sailors Solution" yada yada yada

 

[mherrcat]

Where does Sensibulb list the light output in lumens of their bulbs? They say it is the brightest, but I don't see a figure. The testimonials list a few magazine articles; one says 45 lumens and one other says 40 foot-candles.

 

[Greg Ross]

Copied from;
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=174000

There is no direct conversion. They are physically different concepts.

Foot-candles are a measurement of light intensity - how "bright" is the illumination striking a particular object or surface. It is a measurement that is taken at a single point. If you have a large surface, you need to take a whole bunch of individual foot-candle measurements at different points in order to get an overall average. It is common to find foot-candle recommendations in the field of ergonomics and industrial engineering, where people need to be provided with adequate light to perform certain tasks. Foot-candle measurements obey the inverse-square law: if you double the distance from the light source, you will find the intensity is now 1/4 as bright.

Lumens are a measure of total light output from a source. If you could take a foot-candle measurement at every single point in the entire beam pattern of a particular source, and multiply by the total area of the beam, you would end up with lumens. Distance from the source makes absolutely no difference.

Hope that helps. You mention you are trying to light a workspace - care to describe the situation in greater detail?
__________________
Steve Offiler
Central Tools, Inc.
www.centraled.net

"mherrcat"
I've satisfied myself with the comparitive self test, 10w incadescent vs MarineBeam vs Sensibulb 2
For both general area lighting/ Cabin overhead fixtures and our area reading lites the Sensibulb gave the brighter (brightest according to Practical Sailor Jan '09) output.
My 80's era fixtures with the "diamond tread" glass diffuser lens appears to compliment the Bulb? output.

 

[Loren Beach]

Thanks!

A big thanks for the reference material from up here in the (poorly lighted) peanut gallery.
I learn new stuff almost every day from this site!!


LB