ARE YOU SURE DHAYS???
DR. LED has a long track record of obsfucating what lights/fixtures are actually USCG certified and does not mention that most of theirs are NOT CERTIFIED.
Their website makes it very difficult to determine what, if any light/fixture combinations are actually USCG certified and purposely worded to make it sound like all their lights are USCG certified, when in fact, most are not.
Please note, the USCG certification is for a specific bulb in a specific fixture, not for bulbs alone.
If you read the press release you linked to CLOSELY, you'd realize that their bulbs are only USCG certified in the AquaSignal Series 40 ANCHOR, GREEN SIDELIGHT and RED SIDELIGHT fixtures.
If you're using them for the sternlight or steaming light, or in any fixture other than one of these three Aquasignal Series 40 fixtures, they are not USCG certified.
Here is the text I am referring to from the Dr. LED press release, with comments:
Quote:
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Dr. LEDTM Introduces its 1W High-Flux 2nm Certified After-Market LED Replacement Bulbs for Aqua Signal series 40 Anchor, Port, and Starboard Lights.
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This describes what was certified—
AQUASIGNAL SERIES 40 Anchor, Port and Starboard sidelights—not the steaming light, not the stern light, not the bicolor—but Dr. LED doesn't mention that little fact anywher in the press release.
Quote:
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The New and Only 2nm Certified After-Market LED Replacement Bulbs for Aqua Signal and Other Navigation Lights from Dr. LED Reduces Power Drain for Boats.
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They don't mention that the bulbs are NOT CERTIFIED FOR ANY FIXTURES OTHER THAN THE AQ Series 40s... and certainly seem to imply that they're certified for use in other navigation lights.
Quote:
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Seattle, Washington, 25th February 2010 – Dr. LED today announced that it’s White Polar Star 40TM, Red Polar Star 40TM, and Green Polar Star 40TM after-market replacement LED light bulbs for the Aqua Signal series 40 navigation lights have been certified by a U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) accepted independent laboratory as compliant with the USCG COLREG 1972 (International Maritime Organization, “IMO”) standards and verified to be in conformance with the navigation light regulations of ABYC A-16. These are the only after-market navigation replacement light bulbs that have received such certifications.
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The only three products that DR. LED sells that are USCG-certified are the
White Polar Star 40 but only for use in an AQ series 40 anchor light fixture;
Red Polar Star 40 but only for use in an AQ series 40 Port sidelight fixture; and
Green Polar Star 40 but only for use in an AQ series 40 Starboard light fixture.
They do not ever state that the bulbs are NOT USCG CERTIFIED in any other usage—even though they clearly offer bulbs for use in Hella, Perko and other AquaSignal fixtures.
If you look at the two pages that mention the Marine LED Replacement Navigation bulb products—the
cross reference guide and
the product page—
they do not specify which product/fixture combinations meet USCG certifications ANYWHERE.
Also, my experience is that DR. LED does not stand behind their products the way a reputable manufacturer would.
Between the two issues mentioned above, I would not buy or use Dr. LED products. I prefer to do business with a more ethical and honest manufacturer that stands behind their products. YMMV.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dhays
The LED replacement bulbs that I just put on Legacy have been certified. Take a look at this link.
However, that is a relatively recent press release, only 6 months ago. |