Navigation Lights

[commanderpete]

Punch out the plastic bottom of the socket. You might be able to pry some of the old brass socket out of the bronze housing, but its probably fused in there. Have to grind it out.

I found some grinding attachments at the Dollar Store to use in a drill.

Or else they might have a dremel attachment of the right size, maybe something like this

[Sprite]

Commander Pete

Fortunately I have the tool which you attached.

To everyone, I have found that if you go to Perko or West Marine for LEDs you will pay top dollar speaking in hundreds for the unit. and forty to seventy for special bayonet bulbs. 8 dollars at superbright. and guys I got it from Boat Works.

John

I thought we were trying to keep things on the cheap!!!!

[Hull376]

Gang, I've been absent from posting. Sorry.

I replaced the bulbs in my Running Lights with double contact bayonett LED bulbs purchased online from www.Superbrightleds.com (see previous posts) I have the original Bronze / Chrome hardware that is pictured way up in the front of this thread. Some tips for those of you contemplating this:

I found that although the Superbright LED #1142 wide angle bulbs fit just fine within the glass colored lenses, they could not be depressed quite far enough into the socket bases to allow me to twist them and lock them in place. So, I had to buy new bulb base inserts, remove the old ones, and install the new ones inserted slightly farther into the fittings. The old bases were soldered into place too low in the sleeve-- ok for a GE-90 bulb, but the collar on the 1142 LEDs bottomed out too soon when pushing them in.

I found that the easiest way to get the old bulb base sockets out of the fitting was to soften the solder, heat up the fitting on the gas range (please hold with pliers or something) until toasty, then put the fitting on the vice and hit the edge of the bulb socket from the inside with a flat blade screwdriver (move around the bulb base edge from the inside). All other methods I tried just wasted time. The stern light was fused together and it still parted fairly easily after the heat treat. Heat is the ultimate. I polished the inside of the fittings after taking the old bases out to make it easy to insert the new ones and allow me to adjust them. And BTW, the old silicone gooped on these fittings was still soft. That stuff will outlast any dinosaur fossil.

I used a little Gorilla glue to hold the new bases in place at the right position (Double contact bases don't need electrical contact from the base itself). Make sure that when the bulb is inserted that you can still put the lens cap in place all the way until it seats with the gasket, that you can still depress the bulb and twist it into place, and that you can still access the two set screws in the bulb base that hold the wires in place.

These lights are very bright and cost $6-$9 depending on the type. Worth it if you need to conserve power and do a lot of sailing at night. Otherwise, buy a subscription to a good sailing magazine and stick with the GE-90s for a buck apiece.

[commanderpete]

Excellent Kent. I'm going to go this route. Those incandescent bulbs are a terrible drain on the battery. What bulb sockets did you end up using?

Anybody have an idea for gasket material? I need something for under the globe. Also under the stern light fixture itself (I notice the steaming light has a gasket under it).

[ebb]

Major marine catalogs think that real sailors don't need to make their own gaskets.
Auto supply has only engine related gasket sheet.
If you invent a company name for yourself (SV Bluenose, eg) I bet you can order from McMasterCarr. They have miles of foam and rubber sheet in all kinds of thickness in synthetic and natural rubber, much of it potential gasket material.
Much you can get in one foot squares, sometimes you have to get a square yard. Some of it is pricey, some very cheap.
High strength Weather Resist 40A (relatively compressible) EPDM rubber 12" X 12", $5.24. might be useful.
EPDM is an inexpensive outdoor rubber. It does not come closedcell foam by itself, but blended with other rubber.
Blends of neoprene,SBR, EPDM is the most common commercial closed cell gasket material with moderate resistance to fuels and weather. EPDM holds up better outside than neoprene (door gasket) but should not be in direct sunlight.

ECH, epichlorohydrin, is a closed cell rubber that will do moderately well with fuel and has excellent resistance to sunlight, heat, oxidation, weather, ozone. Gets my vote for all-round versatility.


Ionomer foam sheet reads good. Doesn't come thinner than 3/16" and they make buoys out of it. You want weather (Ozone, UV) resistant. Closed cell foam would give a firm more compressible gasket. But you have to get rubber that is rated for compression recovery. In other words, material that won't easily take a set and get tired while sealing a fitting. Don't want to compress any foam gasket more than 20% to 30%. MCMCarr has good charts and a bit disappointing explanations of uses.
And its a trip. You can start it on Page 3316!

HYLOMAR UNIVERSAL BLUE is a polyester-urethane gasket dressing that is a NON-SETTING compound you can use around the boat for other things you need to take apart later, and galvanic separation.
Idea is to fill the mini imperfections between the gasket and the fiberglass and/or metal surface. Better leak insurance than just depending on tightening up a dry gasket joint.

Believe it's distributed by Permatex and available in Permatex displays at the auto supply.
It's good for water and fuel and is NOT SILICONE based.

Don't have to scrape this dressing to get it off - easily removed with acetone.
As I see it, while synthetic gasket rubbers are getting longer lived, they still have to be replaced once in a while, especially electric fittings - so why not make it easy on ourselves.

Cut out thinner gaskets with X-acto knife and cardboard patterns. For round gaskets I just got a General gasket cutting tool that does inside and outside diameters at the same time. Some rubber like EPDM slithers around under pressure. You will notice in the online McMCarr catalog that some sheet is textured - this obviously is to create some tooth and to hold gasket dressing better for watertightness.
Foam stays put better for a seal. Dressing helps. You can get some dressing that acts like an adhesive and keeps the gasket from moving. May be necessary on freestanding fittings that capture the gasket only with fastening holes. Want the flange of the fitting to create a groove in the gasket, so some set is needed, that's why I lean toward closedcell foam material.

[Hull376]

Pete,

I used the generic WM bases---- might have been anchor. Try inserting the LED before replacing the bases--- you may get lucky with one being in the right position. Be sure to use a red and a green bulb / port stb, not white. Finally, LEDs are doped semiconductors "P and N" doping material, the electrons jump only one way to product the light. This means that it matters which way the wires are hooked up. Put the LED bulb into the base, then test the wires to see which way will light up the bulb. Switch the wires if it doesn't light. It won't hurt the LED if you get it wrong first try. And be carful you don't drop anything taking things apart---- those little screws will easily find their way into the drink.