Ranger Tug RT-27 lighting upgrade

[Tippetknot]

I’ve always found the reading lights in the sleeping area difficult to operate, especially at night when lying down. So here’s a mod I came up with.

https://youtu.be/xdKzuB2wc7s

Phil
Bellingham WA.


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[croakz]

Nice job, Phil. Where did you get the lights?

 

[dbsea]

Excellent work and thanks for sharing Phil! I deployed a similar light on my C30, as I also hated the rotary dial behind my head while lying in the bed. I also chose a replacement that had a gold base to match the trim on the overheads, more amber colored shade for avoiding blue light disturbance at night, and with a USB port for charging devices (never enough ports on the boat!). As an added benefit, the light switch has a very dim blue trim ring that can serve as a nightlight if needed. This was the model I chose:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R1 ... =UTF8&th=1

 

[Hamster]

Looks like, or similar to my replacement lights from Marine Beam. The LED light is dimmable and has USB. https://store.marinebeam.com/3w-led-rea ... -usb-port/

 

[jimv]

All - those are very nice mods. I really like the touch/dim features of the switches. The integrated USB charger would be a great benefit as well.
The one question/issue I have with them is that they all appear to have active circuitry onboard, the USB charger option probably having the most active circuit.
With that, I wonder what the parasitic power consumption is for these types of lamps. One benefit of the old style fixtures is that when they are off, they are off. I.E. no current draw.
So, thoughts on what these new style fixtures would do to your overall power budget? Have any of you been out of the hook for an extended period and noticed any impact. Or is the parasitic draw negligible and I'm worried about nothing?

~Jim

 

[Submariner]

With that, I wonder what the parasitic power consumption is for these types of lamps. One benefit of the old style fixtures is that when they are off, they are off. I.E. no current draw.
So, thoughts on what these new style fixtures would do to your overall power budget? Have any of you been out of the hook for an extended period and noticed any impact. Or is the parasitic draw negligible and I'm worried about nothing?

I'll report back on the electrical draw. I ordered a couple of those lamps from Marine Beam with the touch sensors.

 

[William Sanborn]

Re: power draw... Our V Berth lights are on their own Breaker, and when not using the the V Berth we can disconnect.

 

[jimv]

Re: power draw... Our V Berth lights are on their own Breaker, and when not using the the V Berth we can disconnect

William, good point! I forgot about the breaker for the V-berth lighting. 😳

Looks like yet another upgrade project to occupy my time this winter while waiting to get back out on the water.

 

[Tippetknot]

Thanks for all of your comments guys. Here are some answers to your questions.

Croakz: I bought the lights at LFS in Bellingham WA. Seadog 400710-3. $42 on sale.

Dbsea: really like your setup

Hamster: Wish I had discovered the Marine Beam lights that you installed. Love the usb port, especially for the two lights in the bow.

JimV: I measured the current draw on the lights I installed. It is 5ma when off and 208 ma when on. So for 4 fixtures in the off position we’re looking at 240 mw. That’s 0.480 AHr per day. Not negligible. Maybe Hamster has measured the draw with the usb version. I would be interested.


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[Tippetknot]

JimV: I checked out the Marine Beam usb light. According to their spec sheet those lights use 40 ma when off. So almost 1 AHr per fixture per day. 8x the draw of the non-usb version.


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[dbsea]

JimV: I checked out the Marine Beam usb light. According to their spec sheet those lights use 40 ma when off. So almost 1 AHr per fixture per day. 8x the draw of the non-usb version.


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I wish had known about the marinebeam lights - funny because I bought all my replacement bulbs from there. Mine are just amazon and i'm sure the LED's aren't necessarily "RF" friendly. Oh well, those lights are only usually on in the evening when we are on a dock / on the hook and my VHF isn't on at that point..