LED spreader lights recommendations

SmokyMtnGrady

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I just switched out my nav lights to LED and now I am looking at my spreader lights . Any body replace the halogen ones with LEDs? If so, what brand did you go with and are you pleased with the results?
 

Ky Grady

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I ran the Coastal Night Lights ones from Chris on my Seaswirl. Dave has been running them on the boat I bought from him. They are still working and they have some age on them. I ordered a fresh pair to replace mine during my boat rehab.

On a side note, I ordered some a guy was pushing on THT. Not the quality I wanted, bracket wouldn't even tighten up against the housing. Returned them and happily purchased the Coastal's.
 

Ky Grady

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Just after I got home from Florida. Still working great. Good light, no hot spots.
 

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ROBERTH

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I first purchased the Taco Marine LED deck lights. They kept losing the LED's. Returned them to WM. Purchased the Dr. Kevin LED's. Pricey to say the least, but promised quality. After 1st year, most all the coating was coming off and they were corroding terribly. Called them and they finally agreed to replace them and with the newer improved model. After 1 year, again, all the powder coating coming off and corroding. The clear lens covering the LED's is also deteriorating and has some cracking. They still work, and are very bright! I will give them that, but the coating process is not working for them.

I have asked around a while back on folks that have installed the LED Spreader lights and what their experiences were, but did not get a lot of feedback.

Have started to look at boats and see what brands they are using, but so far, not found many to look at. Will keep an eye out and make a decision at some point. I wanted to add a couple more to the front so we could see at night, but not gonna do that until I find a good one.
 

G8RDave

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Ky Grady said:
I ran the Coastal Night Lights ones from Chris on my Seaswirl. Dave has been running them on the boat I bought from him. They are still working and they have some age on them. I ordered a fresh pair to replace mine during my boat rehab.

On a side note, I ordered some a guy was pushing on THT. Not the quality I wanted, bracket wouldn't even tighten up against the housing. Returned them and happily purchased the Coastal's.

As Ky Grady said, I had the Coastal Night Lights for quite a few years (5+) and can't say enough good about them. The metal hardware showed its age (probably due to my lack of properly rinsing it after every trip), but the lights worked flawlessly. If anything they were a little too bright for my application.
 

themikehyde

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Would def like to replace the ones in my 330 as well, with LED. A neighboring boat has some, and he installed a dimmer. I like that idea.I will be following this thread!
Thanks,
Mike
 

SmokyMtnGrady

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At the moment I will run with the Tacos as they are on the boat. I will report back after my Keys trip. I have yet to use them.
 

ROBERTH

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Checked out some of the new Grady's on the lot last week. They are using Lumitec now. All the one's on the lot were flush mounted models. The lumitec's are pricey as well, so until I see some with age, will not yet go there.

Keeping an eye out on the Coastal Night Lights as well. I see they did a bracket upgrade and seems this guy is stand up as he is advising he will send new ones if your original broke. That you don't see every day!
 

Ky Grady

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ROBERTH said:
Checked out some of the new Grady's on the lot last week. They are using Lumitec now. All the one's on the lot were flush mounted models. The lumitec's are pricey as well, so until I see some with age, will not yet go there.

Keeping an eye out on the Coastal Night Lights as well. I see they did a bracket upgrade and seems this guy is stand up as he is advising he will send new ones if your original broke. That you don't see every day!

As you can see above, the Coastal's on my new to me boat have age on them. They lived in Tampa and exposed to salt their whole life. They are still working fine, just yellowed out from the sun. I didn't hesitate to order a fresh pair from Chris. Chris is a standup guy with a great product. I had them on my previous boat and will be swapping the old ones out for new Coastal's on my freshening up overhaul of my 228.
 

G8RDave

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Ky Grady said:
As you can see above, the Coastal's on my new to me boat have age on them. They lived in Tampa and exposed to salt their whole life. They are still working fine, just yellowed out from the sun. I didn't hesitate to order a fresh pair from Chris. Chris is a standup guy with a great product. I had them on my previous boat and will be swapping the old ones out for new Coastal's on my freshening up overhaul of my 228.

I just found my original correspondence with Chris at Coastal. I bought those lights in 2009. To say they have some age on them is being conservative. ツ
 

Ky Grady

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G8RDave said:
Ky Grady said:
As you can see above, the Coastal's on my new to me boat have age on them. They lived in Tampa and exposed to salt their whole life. They are still working fine, just yellowed out from the sun. I didn't hesitate to order a fresh pair from Chris. Chris is a standup guy with a great product. I had them on my previous boat and will be swapping the old ones out for new Coastal's on my freshening up overhaul of my 228.

I just found my original correspondence with Chris at Coastal. I bought those lights in 2009. To say they have some age on them is being conservative. ツ

Yup, and they are still working. Good testament to the quality of them.
 

ROBERTH

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Was just reading about the Lumitec. They are dimmable and also in either white or red or white or blue, both dimmable. Nice feature.
 

themikehyde

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Robert, yes, I see the Caprera2 supports dual color, and dimmable, without a special dimmer switch. I think I may have to try a pair of those. Got them on my Amazon list.
Thanks,
Mike
 

ocnslr

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ROBERTH said:
Was just reading about the Lumitec. They are dimmable and also in either white or red or white or blue, both dimmable. Nice feature.

I replaced the big halogens with these a few years ago. Got them in the white/red combination, and it's great to be able to have dimmed red when fishing at night. Or for that "red light district" look at the dock... :D

I also placed the strip version of these under the gunwales, so the same dimmable red or white capability.
 

Fishtales

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I went with powder coated metal ones and the powder coating is starting to come off. I think I will go with plastic housings from a reputable dealer.
I used the Lumitec light bars under the gunnel and they are great. White or blue and dimmable via the switch. Check them out. Much nicer and an easier install than a lot of light strips out there.
 

ROBERTH

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Fishtales, was it the lumitecs that the powder coating is coming off?
 

Fishtales

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no. I can't remember the manufacturer. I used Lumitec light bars under the gunnel after messing with cheaper options and only having them last a couple of years. The Lumitec bars are great.