New Flood Lights
The “INXS” is a 1995 47ft Viking Convertible with a Pipe Welders Tower. I needed to replace the very hot and tired halogen flood lights located just under the tuna tower floor. There is a molded light holder there that the Halogens were recessed into. When I was at the Tampa IBEX show I was in the hunt for replacement LEDs. The Lumitec Maxillume H120 were a direct replacement for this retro fit. So I went forward with the project and installed them. Yes, they were expensive but, Like with all things especially in the marine world you get what you pay for and I have learned this to be the standard in lighting for sure.
The Halogens were using AC 120 power run up from my fly bridge off a dimmer, breaker and auxiliary switch. The Lumitec Maxillume H120 is a DC 12 or 24 volt light. I was going to rewire the entire set up to run off of 24 volt. The run would have been almost 35 ft there and back to source. This would have required a large DC cable like a 4 or 6 Ga Each as the H120s pull 10 amps at 12 Volts. I needed to rethink this.. So.. I used a AC to DC converter. Just like the one listed below that I got from Amazon. The converter turned my AC to 24 Volt DC and works perfectly.. I also included a link to the actual Lumitec Maxillume light I used through Amazon.
I also included a link to the actual Lumitec Maxillume light I used through Amazon.
I put the Ac to DC converter in the little compartment in my tuna tower. This was super convienient as this little compartment is also where the wired for my flood lights went through.. I hooked the AC current to the AC side of converter and then the lights to the 24 volt side of converter. Used heat shrink connects and walla.. Then I screwed them down. I will add photos when I get them for that.
Because the H120s would not exactly fit in the holes that the halogens came out of. I had some help holding them in perfect place while I used the supplied ss screws to mount them. After they were secure I put Sika 295 sealant around them to make it pretty. Worked like a charm. The screws that came with the Maxillume H120s were also equipped with a little plastic shroud to keep the powder coat in tact.
Now my mate has all sorts of daylight to use when rigging baits for our day of fishing on board the “INXS” here in Key West.
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My Review / Recommendation
I do many reviews for different things I use in my carreer as a Key West fishing guide. One of my rules is that I never review anything that has not been used enough to get my honest feedback. These Maxillume H120 Flood lights have been in service on my boat since Sept of 23′
As anyone knows there are a metric ton of LED lights out there for marine use – or at least they say they are for marine use.. Many are regular LED lights that have the words “Boat” or “Marine” on them and they are able to jack the price accordingly.. I have honestly looked at all of them. After visiting Miami Boat show, Ft Lauderdale boat show and IBEX in Tampa studying all the lighting available. I had to fine tune this project and make sense of the expense to go with what I considered the best and landed on Lumitec. My criteria was longevity, esthetics, performance and cost in that order.
I have 11 boats 6 of which are Yellowfin Yachts and they are all equipped with Lumitec lighting. I have never had an issue with any of those products on my current boats. Most notably is my 2017 36 Yellowfin Center Console. This boat has the orriginal OEM Lumitec lights on it and they look / function like brand new.
The Lumitec lighting Maxillume h120 were by and far more expensive than the alternative. I looked at alternatives that were priced near 100.00 each. After experiencing the less expensive lights I found that the Lumitecs were far superior in light with 12000 lumens each as compared to the nearest competitor at 400 – 600 lumens. So they have more performance.
The Build of the H120s has some robust powder coating that has proven itself in the elements on my other rigs. The wiring was very good and well mounted.
The other brands I compared Lumitec Maxillume H120 to seemed a bit dim or off white. I want a flood light to be like daylight. Heat was another issue , there was no heat per se’ from the H120s. Looks was the last thing and these lights look great. They look their price and I think it would be a travesty to put a low budget light on such a proud boat as the Viking 47 C.
Side Note : I have several other brands of boats in my Key West fishing fleet ranging in size from 17 – 47 ft. The off brands use other LED lights.. My Lumitec stuff is all OEM and working great. The off brand has either stoped working or I have replaced it several times. There is a Huge difference.
All in all I have to say I am very happy with the Lumitec H120 Maxillume Flood Lights