Red LEDs vs. Blue LEDs

J

JustJeff017

New Member
Jan 29, 2012
103
Maryland, Chesapeake Bay and Potomac RIver
Boat Info
1988 340 Express Cruiser
Engines
2 454s.
I changed out my cockpit lights and the three under the radar arch from the old white to red/white/off switched led lights. My bud who has his boat down the pier went with all blue.
What we found this weekend was pretty cool and wanted to hear it from the forum.

The blue led lights were covered in bugs swarming all around. I switched mine from red to white and within a minute, bugs. Went back to the red and they left, all of them...no bugs on me.

The summary was the red LEDs actually kept the bugs away while the blue and white did the opposite .
Thoughts.........?
 
I can vouch for the red lights. No bugs! That is why I use them... be prepared that there is a great devide on CSR on the use of them. If you're running at night do not leave your red leds on! It is confusing to other boaters.

Like I said I love my red leds good choice!
 
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Pyrojodge said:
I can vouch for the red lights. No bugs! That is why I use them... be prepared that there is a great devide on CSR on the use of them. If you're running at night do not leave your red leds on! It is confusing to other boaters.

Like I said I love me red leds good choice!
Click to expand...


The red lights do help reduce the bugs, make it easier to see while underway and... If you happen to be a pimp, they attract customers!
 
It's all about the wavelength of light. White and blue are closer together than red. We found out a couple of years ago the blue LEDs suck, they draw bugs like white lights. I put red LEDs in the arch and no bugs, seriously no bugs. Unfortunately, they are not as bright unless you can avoid white light and let your night vision develop, then they are awesome. Currently, we have green LEDs in the arch and they are a good compromise. Bugs are somewhat attracted, but no where near like white or blue.
 
I know this is an old thread, but I'm wondering if anyone has the parts info for the LED's they used in the arch. I believe the OEM are 2" Perkos.
 
Mine are i2Systems Tri-Color LED's. They're slightly larger than the Perko's, but it's not difficult to make them fit, and they use the existing wiring & switch.

My experience echoes the comments above: Blue looks great, and attracts bugs like crazy. Red attracts only a fraction of what white and blue do.
 
Pretty damn neat fixture, thanks. I'll have to look into them some more. The 2" hole could be massaged to fit the 3" fixture.
 
I use reds in my cockpit area.... Old photo, we added four more lights. Two in the arch up top and two cats eyes down lower
654b3614.jpg


Blues in the cabin area, which I love.... They do seem to bring the bugs to the side glass but those are closed at night and the AC is on
0EB9914E-D91C-42B2-9376-9C5D900A3519-1702-00000397A1FD5C98.jpg
 
JustJeff017 said:
I changed out my cockpit lights and the three under the radar arch from the old white to red/white/off switched led lights. My bud who has his boat down the pier went with all blue.
What we found this weekend was pretty cool and wanted to hear it from the forum.

The blue led lights were covered in bugs swarming all around. I switched mine from red to white and within a minute, bugs. Went back to the red and they left, all of them...no bugs on me.

The summary was the red LEDs actually kept the bugs away while the blue and white did the opposite .
Thoughts.........?
Click to expand...

+1 and :-(. I went gung ho and went all blue. After 2 seasons of not using them because of so many bugs, and part of a frienly pier bet among boat club memebers who have blue lights, I broke down and bought two red LEDs for my arch and left the blue in the cockpit seating lights. My friends who have blue lights in all the fixtures in their boat and dont get bugs, while I did while tied up next to them. They said it was it was the waxing/cleaning products I use which was drawing them. End result for me ... Red lights, no bugs. Blue lights, bugs. I have 2 spare blue 4210 High Power festoon leds for the perko fittings from superbrightleds up for sale if anyone wants them. I still have the blue in the cockpit lights, but if you want those I'd switch them out too! :)

I'm still baffled. If I didnt sit in their cockpit with the blue lights on, and not be swarmed with bugs, I'd call "BS" on their argument. Not sure what the deal is.
 
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wileecoyote said:
I know this is an old thread, but I'm wondering if anyone has the parts info for the LED's they used in the arch. I believe the OEM are 2" Perkos.
Click to expand...

I just did this but it took some modification. On my 2008 330 DA I have the Perko 2NM round stern anchor lights in the arch and around the cockpit. I wanted red/white switchable but didn't want to pay a bunch of money and have to enlarge all of my cockpit light holes. I finally settled on using the existing fixture but replacing the bulb socket with a G4 bi-pin socket. I used a glue gun to attach the G4 base where the bulb socket was. This provided enough clearance for a G4 back pin led. Marinebeam.com sells a G4 switchable red/white led that works with no wiring changes.
Bottom line is for about $25 per light I have switchable red/white cockpit lights in the factory fixtures. If interested I can post parts and maybe a couple pics of the G4 socket mounted in the fixture.
 
White light actually contains the wavelengths of all colors in the visible spectrum, including blue at about 380-460 nm. White is not a color unto itself. Bugs are attracted to Ultra Violet (<380nm) lights, and other wavelengths close to UV, as in Bug Zappers, and this explains why they also like white light. I always go with RED lighting on a boat, mainly because it helps with your night vision, as the human eye does not respond to red wavelengths as it does to other colors, and can still maintain a larger iris opening after exposure to red. Also the retina does not get "blinded" by red as with other colors, and retains it's sensitivity to light after exposure to red.
 
RollerCoastr said:
I'm betting that their garbage bags are full of empty cans of RAID. :grin:
Click to expand...

After taking enough ribbing about the whole thing... I finally had to go for the throat. Told them that even bugs prefer to hang out on a Sea Ray when given the opportunity! :grin:

Not that I'm a boat snob, but I knew that would shut them up!
 
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I'm partial to the blue lights and I don't sit long enough for the bugs to swarm onboard. Maybe that's why I stay pumping fuel into her. :lol:
 
I would think the best location for the blue lights is underwater. I feel bad for people who don't consider insect attraction when selecting led cockpit lighting. Seems they figure it out quick. Underwater blue wavelengths penetrate deepest. I have read that fish are most attracted to green light. Not sure if its true or not but I want to get some surface mount underwater lights and am unsure which to choose.

In my 205 I have a cool white i2systems led, and it works great for my needs. I don't use it all the time but the stern light attracts more bugs than it does.
 
I'm attracted to blue lights and shiny objects. I also like glitter.
 
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