LEDs for your interior/exterior applications, COOL!

FIRE UP · 06-07-2011, 01:48 PM

Ladies and Gents,
I've been dabbling in LED applications for quite a while now in my cars, trucks and motorcycle etc. We just purchased a new to us '04 Itasca Horizon 36GD with the 330 CAT. Well, this coach, needless to say, has a serious amount of lighting in and out side of it. That includes all interior ceiling lights, wall lights, cabinet lights, aisle lights etc and, all exterior compartment lights, step light, and porch light. Oh, and the handle light for the entry door.

Now, almost all of the interior lights use a quite a bit of D/C power for each bulb and, they get considerably hot when on for even a small amount of time. I've replaced many bulbs in my motorcycles due to heat damage of the surrounding housings. Well, I decided to experiment a bit in and outside of this new coach. I've dealt with this site on most of my occasions for the purchase of LEDs for auto applications:

www.superbrightleds.com

They've been great to deal with. As normal, most specialty LEDs are a bit pricey but, with all the bennies that accompany the change, in my opinion, well worth the cost and effort. This site has just about every type of LED bulb alternate for all of your present bulbs. And, many have different versions and brightness's for altering your lighting situations. For instance, in our new Horizon, we've got the little round ceiling lights in the kitchen/living room area and two of them in the ceiling in the bed room. Those bulbs are the Halogen 10 watt, 12V G-4 base, (two pins) Those put out some serious heat.

I ordered up some "Disc" SMD LED G4 base bulbs for them and what serious difference. NO HEAT WHAT SO EVER!! Now, the wife's not too keen on my choice of "color temp" which, is how the LED bulbs are rated. The ones I received are "Cool white" and 7500K. WAY brighter than the 10 watt halogens that were in there in the bed room. But, the wife wants a little softer effects. So, you can get the "Warm white" versions too. I'll make the change.

In the outside compartments, I've got two different types of bulbs for different compartments. The two types are: 1141 and 1414. The 1414 are somewhat hard to find in the normal replacement. The 1141 bulbs are basically a "back-up" , single filament, single contact bulb. Easy to find. I went on their site and found what's called SMD LED Tower bulbs with 18 LEDs on each bulb. Wow, some really nice bright light in those compartment lights now and NO HEAT! It's now way easier to check at night for an item in those compartments.

Not to mention, the wattage/voltage use is cut by over 90% You could leave all my compartments open for days, and not have any effect on the batteries. Yes, the cost of the nicer LEDs is up there some but, like stated, the bennies are pretty superior. The replacement frequency is almost completely GONE! Now, I will say, that in some applications, there WON'T be as much "Broadcasted" light with an LED as there is with the original bulb it replaced but, you'll have to determine if that's important to you for that particular application. For well over 75% of the multiple types of bulbs in our coach, the change is warranted for less heat, less wattage/voltage consumption a better light in most cases and way less replacement frequency.

Many of today's automakers are now installing LEDs in the tail lights and marker lights. Many of the coaches have come out with those too. Typically LEDs don't broadcast light all that well but, they get seriously bright to look at in terms of brake lights etc. So, it's something to think about if you'd like to dabble in a change, partial change or just experiment in an application here and there. PM me if you're interested and I'll give anyone what ever other info I have. It's fun doing this. I did our porch light with a SMD 45 LED Tower light bulb and wow, a way better light than the 1141 that was in there.
Scott

"007" · 06-07-2011, 02:44 PM

Thanks for the link Scott sounds like your on to something that can help cut down on discharged batteries.

FIRE UP · 06-07-2011, 09:54 PM

You're welcome Sir, it's kind of a hobby to figure out which bulb will work as not only an equal but in many cases, i.e. outside compartment lights, most of us might like them even brighter without the cost of heat or more amp draw. Like stated earlier though, because most of these are specialty bulbs, (1) you won't find them at your local Auto zone or Car Quest Auto parts store and (2), because of that, they will cost a bit more than a simple replacement bulb. Many guys will not spend between $17.00 and $22.00 for one bulb and, I don't blame them. They will last for ever though and won't melt the covers over them and you can leave them on for eons without fear of dragging down the batteries.

There are multiple sites on the net that one can find most of the LED bulbs I used but, that site always has what I want, no matter what ones I choose for what ever project I'm on at the time.

Scott

LandHo · 10-27-2011, 08:29 PM

I just got a new Adventurer and plan to replace most inside lights, especially the ceiling halogens with LEDs. Ceiling first, then the spots.

FIRE UP · 10-28-2011, 12:20 AM

Landho,
As stated in my original thread, you'll encounter some "pricey" bulbs but, again too, in my opinion, in the end, you'll be pleasantly astounded at the not only the temp of the bulbs which, will reduce indside temps, (if desired) and the overall reduction in battery drain is quite the reward. As you delve into that site, if you haven't already, any time you find a bulb or series of bulbs, you click on the tab "more info" and it will bring you to the specs on each of the bulbs you're interested at the time. It will also give you the dimentions of the bases too.

Each time we go in an out of our coach and turn those LEDs on, we're knowing it just saves that much more battery life for other important ops in the coach. If I can be of further assistance in choice of bulbs, surely let me know.
Scott

Belgique · 10-28-2011, 07:21 AM

I went this route and was not happy with the light...worse Mama wasn't happy and you know what that means! Now I have a drawer of expensive bulbs. I'd like to switch since we dry camp a lot but until I can get reference material that instills confidence of the brightness/warmth equivalence, I'm holding off.

Please understand that I'm not trying to bash your post. I'm hoping it will result in my being able to find that "chart". Thanks for posting. Steve

Pogo · 10-28-2011, 08:03 AM

I see that electronic items drop in price a LOT over time.
And, I keep looking for LED bulbs to drop in price too. But, so far, that isn't happening. When it does, a lot of us will be buying LED bulbs.
Instead of selling a few at a high price, suppliers would sell a LOT at a lower price.

Dacotah · 10-28-2011, 08:39 AM

I just finished re-doing the interior lights in our 2001 Sportscoach and used a combination of LED's and Xenon lights. We broke down our requirements into task lighting and affect or mood lighting. On the ceiling, we built mirrored panels with plastic mirror and wood trim moulding and installed recessed LED's in mirrored housings. There are 10 round fixtures with 5 LED's in each one 3 inches in diameter all 10 are controlled by a remote control 12 volt LED dimmer switch. The affect is great and the mirrors make for a very high end look. When we tried to use LED's for task lighting under the kitchen cabinets and over the recliner, the light color was to blue grey. This is not a problem on the ceiling, so we used xenon 12 volt recessed puck lights with 20 watt bulbs. We also tried to use LED rope lights under the corian counter tops but they would not work on the dimmer system so we used 110 volt regular rope light and three way touch dimmers to control them. I realize we are not getting the lowest power usage that all LED's would give but the use of specific lighting for each requirement works great. DACOTAH

wa8yxm · 10-28-2011, 11:19 AM

One (Well two) Words of caution. First: Light quality... When you first order from ___led's order just one or two lamps.. If you don't like the light,, Cross them off your supplier list.. I have some leds from a "Recommended" company I'll not re-order from ever... I have also purchased a LED lamp off the rack at the Truck Stop (Barjan) That frankly was amazing.

NOTE: Barjan does not sell the kind we normally need.. This was a special fixture thing not for the RV.. but it was, if anything, brighter than the original 1157 that was in that socket.

Now the word of real warning: Another poster tells of using a 120 volt LED night light.. No problems on Shore power.. Likewise I have no problems with mine on shore power, Or on my True Sine Wave inverter.. HIS inverter however is an MSW and when he switched to inverter power the thing promptly caught fire... I do understand why (I studied electronics in college after all) but be warned.. 12 volt LED's you won't have this problem.

And of course not all 120 volt LED's will either.. and never with a True Sine Inverter.

FIRE UP · 10-29-2011, 07:43 PM

While it is true that the light quality will in many cases be different, in my case, I read the all the tech info provided on the superbrightleds.com and came to the conclusion that the ones purchased will work. And, as yet, they've all been just fine. LEDs in general, do not "throw" or broadcast light as well as incandescents of halogens do but, they're making them better all the time. I calculated the lumen's and color temp of all the bulbs purchase and, based on the areas they were to service in the coach, it's almost like I didn't change bulbs in terms of how well any given light lights up it's area and or surrounding area.

I certainly like the "Daylight" color temp bulbs. It's a far whiter bulb output than some of the Halogens they replaced. I too have some LEDs that did not do the job and are sitting around but, that's the price of trying to improve your coach/camping longevity/battery duration.
Scott

MntDriver · 10-30-2011, 07:54 AM

The OP's site for LED bulbs is fine, but alot of us RVers have been buying LED bulbs from RVLEDBulbs.com - RV LED Bulbs, RV LED Lights and Light Accessories which produces LED bulbs that are produced specifically for the RVer in mind, and they are much less expensive than the OP's site for led bulbs.

Belgique · 10-30-2011, 09:55 AM

I remain gun shy, give the drawer full of LEDs. Task/Reading light is what we were disappointed in since DW, esp, reads a lot.

The bullet/spot kind of light over the sofa: 1383. The replacement I bought from somewhere were useless. Anyone found a good replacement?

The bedroom has 2 wall fixtures for reading. Each contain 2 1076 - 320CP bubs. Again the replacements were useless. Any suggestions...for reading (by geezers).

I like the idea of getting 1141 replacements that are dimmable.

Thanks, Steve

Doug Sage · 10-30-2011, 10:22 AM

Interesting thread. I hope to learn from it.

MntDriver · 10-30-2011, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Belgique

I remain gun shy, give the drawer full of LEDs. Task/Reading light is what we were disappointed in since DW, esp, reads a lot.

The bullet/spot kind of light over the sofa: 1383. The replacement I bought from somewhere were useless. Anyone found a good replacement?

The bedroom has 2 wall fixtures for reading. Each contain 2 1076 - 320CP bubs. Again the replacements were useless. Any suggestions...for reading (by geezers).

I like the idea of getting 1141 replacements that are dimmable.

Thanks, Steve

Steve, what were the "Lumens" of the replacement LED bulbs in your bedroom? Revolution Double Contact Bayonet RV LED Bulbs has two different lumen bulbs, a 205 and a 255.

Belgique · 10-30-2011, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MntDriver

Steve, what were the "Lumens" of the replacement LED bulbs in your bedroom? Revolution Double Contact Bayonet RV LED Bulbs has two different lumen bulbs, a 205 and a 255.

Well, I just went to the rig and dug out the bag. The biggest problem was operator headspace (me.) What I bought to replace the 1076's were not the right kind for a sconce and they were only 50 lumens. I went to the website I used and see that there was a more appropriate bulb there. My bad.

The ones I bought to replace the spot 1383's were also only 50 lumens. That might explain why they were useless to read by!

Time to do some research. Thanks all.

FIRE UP · 10-31-2011, 12:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MntDriver

The OP's site for LED bulbs is fine, but alot of us RVers have been buying LED bulbs from RVLEDBulbs.com - RV LED Bulbs, RV LED Lights and Light Accessories which produces LED bulbs that are produced specifically for the RVer in mind, and they are much less expensive than the OP's site for led bulbs.

MntDriver,
It's always nice to find alternate suppliers of LEDs. I checked out that site you relayed and, while it is sponsored by an RV system, I'm not too sure they're "designed" for any particular RV use. Not being argumentative here just saying that to me, they, (all their bulbs) they simply look like almost the same exact ones on other sites, including the one that I've used many times.

And I tried to compare bulb for bulb in a few applications and for what I was looking at, they were not any cheaper at all. Again, not trying to downplay your link, I just couldn't find any real values on their site. They don't say how many LEDs are mounted on some of their tower bulbs so, I can't really get down to apples for apples sort of thing on a couple I was looking at. I'll try again later to find an equal for what I usually buy on my site. Thanks for the link.
Scott

swreeder70 · 11-03-2011, 08:47 AM

A friend just bought a few of these to experiment with. Ebay LED lights For 5 bucks a pop, and free shipping he figured it was worth it to try a few. I got a chance to see them and they seem pretty good and ship with three different connector types.

I'm not sold on replacing my lights with LED's but I did order two of these as "spares" to test the technology. Prices will continue to drop as more of these flood the market from overseas, mostly China.

FIRE UP · 11-03-2011, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swreeder70

A friend just bought a few of these to experiment with. Ebay LED lights For 5 bucks a pop, and free shipping he figured it was worth it to try a few. I got a chance to see them and they seem pretty good and ship with three different connector types.

I'm not sold on replacing my lights with LED's but I did order two of these as "spares" to test the technology. Prices will continue to drop as more of these flood the market from overseas, mostly China.

swreeder70,
I certainly don't blame you for being cautious in a change-over to LEDs. Without actually seeing a result, in your own coach and your own back ground colors/upholstery/floors etc. to reflect the lighting displayed by the LED for a given area, it's hard to commit upwards of $20.00 or more, for ONE bulb as an experiment.

I started my LED experiments on motorcycles quite some time ago. First it was tiny 3mm LED bulbs that I had to solder resistors onto the negative lead and place them in tiny spaces to get them to work. It grew from there. So, when it came time to change to them in the motor home, I'd already had great results from previous try-outs. While LEDs are forever improving, they certainly are not in the position to be an EXACT replacement bulb just yet for just about any application.

As stated in one of my previous threads, LEDs are, that is QUALITY ONES, very bright to look at but, DO NOT broadcast light all that much. That's why one must really study the intended application area, type, color temp and lumens of a possible LED replacement bulb. Not many folks here on the RV forums are willing to pop over $20.00 for ONE BULB. I for one, certainly don't blame them. I happened to be making a little extra money from side jobs when I purchased most of mine so, it was not such a hard hit for us. The more I did my side job, the more bulbs I could buy, SHE SAID IT WAS OK!

Scott

KIX · 11-03-2011, 07:16 PM

I just ordered some LED's for the house from LED Wholesalers (Google them). They had a tab for LED Automotive Lighting that may have some good prices.

docj · 11-03-2011, 07:31 PM

We just bought and installed some under cabinet lights that we got at Lowes. They are similar in shape and size to the ones we've all used for years that had fluorescents in them. The LED ones are very thin and can be linked together. The light quality is very "white"; not blue at all. We have 10" and 18" fixtures with a total energy consumption of ~13 watts. They replaced 30 watts of built-in incandescent lights and are much brighter. They weren't cheap (~$100 total) but the they are impressive.