LED Bulb Replacement for Bow Chock

[jackryan]

I'm sure this has been covered in detail before, but I was trying to remove one of the bulbs from my bow chock to get some replacement bulbs and the glass globe on the bulb broke. The bulbs were so old, I couldn't make out any #'s on them, so I had to guess on the size and type of bulb. I went to West Marine and bought a 2 pack of incandescent bulbs that looked similar, and the one that I put into the starboard side burned out within a day.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a good LED replacement bulb for the bow chock? I found this one at Defender marine, but I would rather not pay $44.00 X 2 for light bulbs:

https://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?n ... id=1212927

I would like to get the red and green colored led bulbs, as the lens in green side of my chock has faded and the light looks white instead of green now.

I talked to several people about bulbs and apparently all LED's are not created equally as far as the electoral usage (draw) and electrical interference. I think that may be why the DR. LED bulbs are so expensive, because they are very good. The above bulb draws approximately 1 watt.

If I have to pay nearly $90 for two bulbs, I may just go back to several packs of incandescent bulbs. What do you guys think??

Thanks in advance for any help with this!

JR

[Tony Meola]

Jack

Dam I just left the boat and will not be back until Saturday. I think they might be 1157 / 1156 which should convert to a BAY 15D or a BA 15S. I could be wrong but I can confirm until the weekend. They is also a Red and Green that is numbered B15D that might also work. The old part number for that was 1142.

Scary how this stuff stays with you. When I was 15 I had all this ingrained into my head from working for my father. LOL

[jackryan]

Hey Tony,

Not a problem, I probably won't be back out to the boat till early next week. Thanks for the lead on bulbs!

It's funny, I just checked out the 1157/1156 LED bulbs on Amazon and I can buy 20 bulbs for about $1 each. One of the Dr. LED bulbs on Defender.com is $44. I didn't know what the difference was between the 1157 and 1156 or the BAY15D or BA15S, so I googled it and found this description: https://www.bulbamerica.com/pages/what- ... d-base1157

The 1157 are a double contact bayonet base, and I think the bulb I removed from the bow chock was a double contact bulb.

I found these green/red 1157 bulbs on clearance at West Marine: https://www.westmarine.com/buy/west-mar ... cordNum=10

I think I will give those a shot. They're on clearance. I'll let you know how they work out.

JR

[jackryan]

Here's another website that describes the different bulbs and bases:

https://m4products.com/identify-bulbs-bases/

[Tony Meola]

Jack

I am thinking about changing mine over to LED's. I know they are more expensive but they generate less heat and I am trying to not ruin those lenses. Can't be replaced. I had to jury rig how the socket is held in place as my original thin brass holders were shot. I used lexan to make the holder and some times the bulb tends to lean over.

I need to work on that a little more.

[jackryan]

Tony,

I'll let you know how the West Marine LED's work out for me.

JR

[jackryan]

Wondering if anyone found a good LED replacement bulb for the bow chock? Since my lenses have faded, I was hoping to get bulbs that emit colored light-one red and one green.

I ended up ordering a green and red LED bulb from West Marine. They are BAY15D-1157 Double contact Index bayonet bulbs. They look great and I'm sure they work great, but they don't fit into the sockets in the bow chock. They appear to be quite a bit taller than the original bulb that come out of the chock. The bulbs from West Marine have an offset pin arrangement as well. Just checked West Marine and they have 1142 and 1156 LED replacement bulbs an aligned pin arrangement.

Hopefully someone has found a good replacement bulb. If not, does anyone know the correct bulb # for the old filament bulbs that fit the bow chock?

Thanks,

JR

[Amberjack]

Jack-If you decide to stick with incandescent bulbs be careful about sizing. Years ago when replacing mine I decided more was better and installed higher wattage bulbs. Turned them on and left them for a systems check. About 30 minutes later I happened to put my hand on the bow chock and it was HOT to the touch. Possibly why your replacement bulbs burned out.

[jackryan]

Thanks Doug,

I noticed that my one incandescent bulb was very hot yesterday. I ended up finding two LED bulbs (for $25 each) that work in the chock. They were a bit too tall and hit the roof of the lens when I screw down the top of the chock, but they still seem to work. They are white bulbs, so the starboard "green" lens is so faded that the light almost appears white. Since the LED light does not get hot, I was thinking I might try a bit of green cellophane to enhance the greenness of the light?

JR

[Tony Meola]

Jack

Don't remember where I found them, Maybe it was Sherwin Williams paint store. But they used to make a see through green paint tray that Joe F suggested I use to make a green lens. Just cut out the piece you want and insert it inside the current lense.

[Tony Meola]

Jack

I saw an add today that gave me an idea but you need to move quickly. Sprite is changing their bottle color. The current one is green. Get a bottle of sprite and you have your green insert.

[Joseph Fikentscher]

The green paint tray worked great. Not sure where to get red ones though. I have seen red see through tape stuff at Autozone to repair a broken car taillight.

[Rawleigh]

JSprite is changing their bottle color. The current one is green.

Are they going to the rainbow theme to be Woke???

[Tony Meola]

Rawleigh

Close. Going withdome multi colored label. But good news, I realized Myt. Dew bottles are green also. Then there is always ordering a set from Danny at High tide.

[Marshall Mahoney]

I cut 1-1/2" diameter clear acrylic tubes and coiled up red and green LED waterproof light strips inside of the tubes. No more issues with the light sockets getting wet and corroding. Looked great in the garage with the lights out. Will see how bright they are on the boat. There is a fine line between custom and home-made...

[CamB25]

I cut 1-1/2" diameter clear acrylic tubes and coiled up red and green LED waterproof light strips inside of the tubes. No more issues with the light sockets getting wet and corroding. Looked great in the garage with the lights out. Will see how bright they are on the boat. There is a fine line between custom and home-made...

That's a great idea.

My chock uses 1004 lights, but I don't remember if that is the OEM size or if I re-designed it. I just replaced my incandescent bulbs with 1004 LEDs, but corrosion will eventual require maintenance. I keep snap ring pliers onboard now.