# Safety light



## Ubolt

Looking at getting a new light for night time fishing just hunting on eBay and found some 12 volt led lights supposedly waterproof marine proof blah blah blah. The question is I know nothing about led lights can I run the light of 8 AA batteries like my sounder. What is the deal with the number of led's more is better ?
Thanks for any help


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## kayakone

Forget LED's. Flouros use heaps less power over a few hours (apparently).

viewtopic.php?f=95&t=30328 and recent topic viewtopic.php?f=14&t=60318&p=633034


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## Squidley

http://camping.anaconda.com.au/adventur ... ck%20Light
Runs on 3 AA batteries allegedly for 100 hours, you can unscrew the suction pad from the body and gaffa tape it to a bit of PVC pipe or an old rod butt. It's bright enough to make you quite visible, but maybe not on a foggy night.


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## Dodge

Ubolt said:


> The question is I know nothing about led lights can I run the light of 8 AA batteries like my sounder. What is the deal with the number of led's more is better ?


Mate during a blackout about 6 months ago I put a 12 x LED camping lantern in the bathroom powered by 4 x AA batteries.

It throws a light much like a 60w light globe [guess] and was so successful we left it there and often leave it on for a couple of hours some nights, but of course use the fluoro 240v light when showering/shaving etc.

I am guessing a battery life of about 50+ hours using NiMH Eneloop rechargable batteries, but have never timed the life as only replaced them once, and the first use involved old batteries already in the lantern.


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## solatree

Euan - LEDs are the way to go and will be the lighting fixture of the future. I'll have to disagree with Trev's opinion regarding Fluoros.
LED bulbs will last around 10 times longer than a Fluoro and use around 1/3 of the power for the same brightness (measured in lumens).

Like many things, you get what you pay for. Call into Kathmandu during one of their sales. Their LED head lamps tell you lumens and power consumption. Better quality LEDs are brighter (more lumens) and last longer than lower quality LEDs.

I'd recommend you get two lights - a all around light on a pole, like squidley recommended (so you can be seen) plus a good quality head lamp (so you can see) - Both LEDs. The quality of the head lamp you get will determine the ease with which you fish at night. I upgraded to a better head lamp last year and it helped amazingly. Kathmandu currently have a sale and you can get a good head lamp for under $40 http://www.kathmandu.com.au/accessories ... &offset=96
This is what I got http://www.kathmandu.com.au/accessories ... l?___SID=U
_Cree XP-C Q4 bulb producing up to 80 lumens (measured)
Four lighting modes - low (1x wide angle LED), area lighting (3x wide angle LED), high (main beam), white flashing (main beam)
Tilting head
Water resistance
Separate battery pack
Three x AA 1.5V batteries included
On high
Beam distance 78metres
Light intensity up to 80 lumens
Battery life 10 hours
Bulb never needs replacing_

You can get better if you want.

Hope this helps.


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## Ubolt

I have a decent head torch but my safety all around light took a swim and I didn't realise it got water inside until next time I went to use it. Am considering an upgrade to a led lenser head torch. May get one of the lights on eBay my mate is keen to get one too and makes the postage cheaper still cheaper than the last one I bought at bcf


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## mangajack

Get one of these and mount it on a piece of PVC conduit and bracket it to your cube or stick it in a rod holder.
http://activelights.com.au/collections/ ... laser-stik
Amazingly good lights.


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## Ubolt

They look cool manga jack you got one your self?


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## bildad

Build one.
viewtopic.php?f=95&t=60220


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## mangajack

Ubolt said:


> They look cool manga jack you got one your self?


Yeah mate the older version they had similar in asll aspects but the battery type and battery compartment......mine takes standard AAA batteries. Get close to a season out of one battery with two launches an hour before first light each weekend.
Visible at two miles on a measured test via gps.


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## snoop75

Thanks for the pointer. Got this yesterday. Used it today. Seems to do the job. It is simple in design and appears like it may last a while without suffering from water ingress. Time will tell I guess.



Squidley said:


> http://camping.anaconda.com.au/adventure/Seak%20Kayak%20Deck%20Light
> Runs on 3 AA batteries allegedly for 100 hours, you can unscrew the suction pad from the body and gaffa tape it to a bit of PVC pipe or an old rod butt. It's bright enough to make you quite visible, but maybe not on a foggy night.


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## GlenelgKiller

I bought a waterproof LED lantern from BCF a couple of months back for around $50. Has 3 light settings and I have attached to half a surf rod and secured into a rod tube. Combined with a cheap LED head torch it is doing the job beautifully at the moment.


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## kayakone

solatree said:


> Euan - LEDs are the way to go and will be the lighting fixture of the future. I'll have to disagree with Trev's opinion regarding Fluoros.
> LED bulbs will last around 10 times longer than a Fluoro and use around 1/3 of the power for the same brightness (measured in lumens).


Hey Andrew

Just re-read this. I was merely reporting what AJD said in his thread. Check out Al's thread. Why does he say flouros have less power drain than LED's? One thing is for sure ... Al has had this set-up for a long time, and done heaps of night fishing. So has it changed? I'd love to know, because I have been thinking about starting night fishing, and would really like the correct info.

One thing is for sure, I'm old and blind at night, and will need very bright lights for 6 + hours, at least equivalent to what Al has achieved for years with his set-up.

Cheers


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## vermiculite

kayakone said:


> Why does he say flouros have less power drain than LED's?


I tried to find some answers when I first read that thread and it is hard to find a clear answer. From what I found LEDs may be more efficient than Compact fluorescent lamps (and also way more expensive) but not better when it comes to the baton lights. Note that I couldn't find any info on lower voltage florescent lights, most comparisons and research I could find were for household lighting. I think LEDs have other advantages such as instant on, less heat, easier to waterproof and easier to source parts (china). Heaps of places selling LEDs say they are more efficient. 

See here for some info
http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulleti ... vings/6918 
http://www.p-2.com/helpful-information/ ... echnology/


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## CET

Hi Ubolt

It is not the voltage that will determine how long your batteries will last for it is the Amps. So, you will need to find out what amps the lights will be drawing and then look at the amps of your sounder. This will give you an idea of how long a battery pack will last for. Another option is to buy a larger battery and run both your LED lights and your sounder off them.

A motor bike battery would be a good size for a kayak.

I was looking at replacing lights in our factory and looked at LEDs. Although they sprout about how long they last, they haven't been on the market long enough to establish an average working life. There is also a variable, LEDs need a circuit to run them ie other electronic components and it is these that can fail, not the light.

Pete


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## solatree

kayakone said:


> solatree said:
> 
> 
> 
> Euan - LEDs are the way to go and will be the lighting fixture of the future. I'll have to disagree with Trev's opinion regarding Fluoros.
> LED bulbs will last around 10 times longer than a Fluoro and use around 1/3 of the power for the same brightness (measured in lumens).
> 
> 
> 
> Hey Andrew
> 
> Just re-read this. I was merely reporting what AJD said in his thread. Check out Al's thread. Why does he say flouros have less power drain than LED's? One thing is for sure ... Al has had this set-up for a long time, and done heaps of night fishing. So has it changed? I'd love to know, because I have been thinking about starting night fishing, and would really like the correct info.
> 
> One thing is for sure, I'm old and blind at night, and will need very bright lights for 6 + hours, at least equivalent to what Al has achieved for years with his set-up.
> 
> Cheers
Click to expand...

I don't know where AJD got his information from Trev but I do note that his thread is nearly 4 years old. Development in LED technology continues and much has improved over 4 years. It might be that for his particular application, a fluoro suited better at the time but in general, these days, you get more lumens per watt out of good quality LEDs than other light sources.
This may help http://www.designrecycleinc.com/led%20comp%20chart.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LED_lamp


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## Ubolt

I bought the light mangajack recommended hopefully it will be in the post in the next day or two. Thanks for all the help


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## solatree

Ubolt said:


> I bought the light mangajack recommended


Euan - this is a "be seen light" - not a light to see by. Will give out good all around white light for your safety from passing power boats at night. I reckon best used in flashing mode to distiguish between background lights. To activate flashing you need to flip the bateries - see http://www.adventurelights.com/industri ... 73&pid=461
You might find you still need a good quality head lamp, if you don't already have one, so you can see to bait up, change rigs etc.


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