KronoReview: TomTop Blue Marine Light (Currently on sale).

KronoReview of the LED Marine Light- Underwater Boat Light. This item was provided by TomTop for review.


^ Marine Light LED product page/website pic ^

INTRO:

I haven’t used or seen a light like this, but thought…wow…this looks like an interesting idea. Instead of drilling a hole(s) in your boat to install an underwater light system, this thoughtful option allows you to use your existing drain plug as the mount. Pretty cool, but does it work? Is it practical? We will look at that in this review. For now, let’s check on TomTop’s published specs for this no-name light:

Regular price: $62.99 (current sale price $41.49).

Features/Specifications (From TomTop product page. NOTE: The broken English is just as it appears on their website :wink: ):

This marine light is made to make your sea travel at night more secure and more charming.

Features:
Super-class material: aluminum alloy, highest waterproof standard, makes the light to use in sea water freely.
Usage of Cree LED chip to ensure the high brightness.
Projection ingress IP68, waterproof, shake-proof, lights can work underwater for a long time
Working hours above 50000 hours.
Recommend using low DC12V voltage, secure and reliable.
Highest Waterproof grade IP68, good for underwater boat lights, as well as Docks, ponds, fountains, swimming pool, aquarium, artificial waterfall, surfboat, and any other underwater lighting application.

Specifications:
LED brand: Cree COB
Voltage: DC11-28V
Power: 27W
IP rating: IP68
light color: blue
Luminous flux: 300lm
Wavelength: 470-480nm
Viewing angle: 180°
Material: aluminum alloy
Lifespan: over 50,000 hours
Item weight: 170g / 6.02oz
Item size: 4.6 * 4.6 * 6.6cm / 1.81 * 1.81 * 2.59in ( L * W * H )
Package weight: 233g / 8.22oz
Package size: 14.5 * 14.5 * 10cm / 5.7 * 5.7 * 3.93in ( L * W * H )

Package list:
1 * Marine Light
1 * Fuse
1 * Instruction ( English )

MY ADDED SPECS:

Lens OD: 39mm
OAW/Wrench size: 45mm
OAL: 65mm
Length of Cable: 210cm
Length of fuse section: 32cm
Weight with fuse assembly (w/o battery): 188gms

KRONOREVIEW:

This No-Name LED Marine/Boat from TomTop operates off of a 12V or 24V power supply. It has a total of 9 XP-E blue-tint emitters in a 3s3p circuit. It is listed at 27 watts (3W/emitter). The specifications call it an Aluminum Alloy case, but it appears to me to consist of brass or bronze bolt, bezel, and hollow nipple…all of the same material. There is a Stainless Steel fitting where the wire/cable exits the housing. The installed wire/cable is a 5mm thick cable with red and black wires inside. The wire/cable has a water-tight, O-ring sealed plug/screw-down in-line connector which allows you to remove the plug/light without laboriously having to detach all your cables from the power source. Covering the LEDs is a thick, clear plastic, domed-shaped lens. There is no reflector, and the emitters are mounted to a white MCPCB.

HI-LIGHTS:

●Large, watertight brass or bronze housing.
●Connector (polarity protected) allows easy pass-through of light/plug without having to remove from power source.
●Genuine XP-E Blue Tint emitters.
●Stainless fittings that are also sealed where cable exits housing.
●Variable voltage operation, from 12V to 24V.
●English User Manual.

LOW-LIGHTS:

●Only lights-up rear of boat.
●Internal wires are very thin.
●Available only in blue.

UI:
No separate modes…it is either off or on. Appears to be direct drive.

PICTURES


^ Packaged in white bubble-wrap envelope. ^


^ Standard White Cardboard Box. ^


^ Contents inside box. Boat light and cabling inside sealed plastic wrap. ^


^ Contents un-wrapped. ^



^ Side views. ^


^ Emitter view. As far as I can determine, these emitters are genuine CREE XP-E. ^




^ Mounted to boat. ^




^ Watertight connector with red O-ring, and notch for polarity protection. ^

BEAMSHOTS/NIGHTSHOTS:





^ Light hooked up to 12V car battery, inside my open (unfinished) hydrostatic pressure chamber. ^


^ Light set on truck engine compartment at night. ^





^ Finally light in the water. Will get additional pics later. ^



^ Light mounted to boat and lit up using 12V marine battery. ^

SUMMARY

This is an interesting niche light. I seems to compete with other boat-plug lights, like the ’Diablo’ brand, but I do not have a Diablo to compare this one to. The build quality is nice, and the output is an intense blue. It is watertight, although it still needs to be tested in lake conditions, subjected to motor vibrations, etc (see note below). Whether it will attract fish or not remains to be seen, as my boat is currently out of commission. :frowning: Edit: While writing this review and taking pics of light mounted in the drain, I figured out what was wrong with my boat (a loose battery wire…derp). :slight_smile: It will still be a few days until I can get out on the water. I will update this review when I can attest to how this marine light operates in real-world conditions.

Edit/Note: I was able to get the light out on the lake for some limited testing. Due to some other issues I was having with my boat, we only had a limited amount of time. Light performed flawlessly and looked pretty nice as it lit up the water behind the boat. Our fishing time was very limited due to the mechanical issues with the boat. I will update this review once again after another trip out on the lake/river.

In conclusion, this light looks lake a reasonable and capable option for someone that doesn’t want to alter their boat. The main drawback is that it will only light up a pattern projecting from the rear of the boat. However, I can also see hanging it freely over the side to illuminate directly beneath the boat.

KRONOMETER patented rating: 3.75 out of 5.

Hmm…

Looks more like 3S6P to me

:wink:

I tried to take my boat out last evening, but there was a massive wreck on the highway and I couldn’t get to the lake. No traffic was getting through…they were waiting on Life Flight to arrive. :_(

I’ll try again sometime this week and post the results soon after.

These are neat as they make your engine wake and airated water behind a boat glow when running at night. Seen these in use on the lake nearby at night.

Could be aluminum bronze?

How well does it seal the drain hole? It'd be embarrassing to draw a crowd to watch you sink. Is it easy to open the drain hole when you need to drain?

I'd be afraid of drawing schools of fish into the prop. :Sp I wonder if it will draw mosquitoes to the boat. Don't they use blue light for bug zappers?

I have not had it in the water yet, but it installs like a regular boat plug, except you use a larger wrench. Also pretty easy to hand-tighten since the ‘nut’ is 45mm.

The light would be used when fishing, so that means the prop would be up out of the water.

When testing in the near future, I’ll try to determine how bad the mosquitos are, which are always bad in TX…lol

TomTop advised me that this marine light is on sale for $41.49 ($62.99 at time of my review). This looks like a pretty good deal, especially compared to the competition out there. Price good through the 26th.

On a side note, I used the light this past Wednesday and it worked flawlessly at the lake. I didn’t get to use it well into the night as I was having other issues with my boat, but I did get some additional pics. I will post them this weekend when I can find the time.

Cheers,
kronos

Looking forward to the pics! :-)

Don’t get too excited 8)

Here’s one. I will post more in the OP in due time.

Boat/lake pics just added to review/OP. More to come later on my next river trip. :slight_smile:

This light is still on sale now for $41.49 for a limited time (normally $62.99).

kronos

Don't have a boat now, but our's had a drain plug that didn't require tools, just a lever that expanded a rubber seal from inside the transom. so you could drain the boat while underway. It seems inconvenient to lose what I grew up as thinking as the normal operation of the drain plug for an underwater light, pretty as it may be. Is it practical at all or just a gimmick?

I have an 18’ VIP Fish & Ski. It has a threaded brass plug at the rear for draining, so this light is not any extra effort to use.

If anything, it is easier to install/remove. Since it is much larger than a standard brass plug, it is quite simple to tighten/loosen by hand, whereas you have to use a wrench with the much smaller brass plug The massive 45mm ‘bolt’ is chunky enough to grip it quite tightly.

If that doesn’t work for you, then it could always be hung over the side. This might be the better way to do it as more people on the boat would be closer to the light for fishing purposes.

I'd have thought you'd need a larger boat for fishing porpoises.