RVdaytrader Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 http://cgi.ebay.com/...=item27b5740117 these LEDs that krilov posted about are really nice imo...here are some pics, led is in one and incandescent in the other....which one is led?? I metered them for amp draw, the led pulled .24 amps, the incan pulled 1.38 amps...so u can use 6 led lights for the amp draw of 1 incand !!...so u can sit on the sofa with 1 incan or have the whole rv lit up with LEDs for the same amps!! the only fault with them is the base does not fit socket so I had to solder the adapter to the switch...but for $5 a bulb I will do it! double click pics to enlarge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 A picture is worth a 1,000 words, OR, in this case, $49.90. I just ordered 10 of them. Very, Very nice. I'm going to say the one on the left is the LED. BUT I'm not saying that because of color (I can see a slight difference in color) The light on the left looks more dispersed and even than the right. If these are standard lenses (light covers) then have like a magnifying lens in the center to give it a focused beam. You can see this on the right, but its not on the left. Anyway. I'm looking to keep coach battery amps to a minimum while parked, these lights look like they're worth the effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking66 Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Those do look real nice, and very easy to install. Got those on my list now!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVdaytrader Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 Those do look real nice, and very easy to install. Got those on my list now!! viking 66...the bayonet base they give you does not fit fixture socket (it is too small), so u have to solder it in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84TOYRV Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Would soldering the "adapter" to the switch be reasonably easy for a beginner to do? I'm sure that I can solder. Just not sure about the rest. Maybe some pics? I have leds in my new car and fridge and like em. Sure would help cut back on battery use, when boondocking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Sure, Buy a 30 - 50 watt soldering iron, A small spool of Resin core Solder (NOT ACID CORE) and you should be OK. Keep the tip clean, wipe it off with a damp rag or sponge. Hold the tip to the wire, touch a little solder just where the tip and wire meet, when it starts melting, touch a little more solder on the wire. The Solder will always flow toward the heat source. A little practice and you'll be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Got a hand full of LED's from super brights and made flush mount housings got rid of the ugly plastic ones. Actually I'm trying to make an Air Stream out of a Toyota but still have not perfected it yet. The LED's are 10 chip ones they are selling them with 15 chips a fair amount brighter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 We found that in the late evening when we are winding down, sipping a glass of wine or whatever that our LED's (smd type) are too bright. I am eventually going to build something like maneah but also have some single lens type leds in the housing that can be turned on by themselves. In our past rig I had just that shining down on the table. Sure its dim at first but after awhile your eyes adjust and its plenty enough light to play a game or just sit back and relax without having a bright glaring light in your eyes. When I say a lens type led I am talking of the normal led everyone is familiar with. Looks like the bottom of a drip. That's actually a lens that focuses the light in one direction, or a beam. The LED's in maneah and my assemblies I believe are the SMD technology and are more omnidirectional, much brighter also. The other option would be to incorporate a dimmer in the circuit, but not all SMD assemblies will allow that as they have regulators and drivers built onto the oc board the leds are mounted on. Such as in this photo. It is one of the ones from superbrightleds.com. This is what we have for our led lighting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wistoy Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 I like the look the look of your flush mount leds! Do you think light cover (defuser) is needed or does this work good without?[ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 I really don't think you would need a defuser I think are 120 degree so they are fairly wide in their pattern. I just looked on the super bright page and did not find them but have a look around and see what you can find there are other suppliers that handle them. There are two colors one is bright white (6500K) that is close to day light and a cool white (4500K) that is like house hold light. The bright white is brighter but has a more blue hue to it. Here are two mounted over the table they are cool white. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 http://cgi.ebay.com/...=item27b5740117 these LEDs that krilov posted about are really nice imo...here are some pics, led is in one and incandescent in the other....which one is led?? I metered them for amp draw, the led pulled .24 amps, the incan pulled 1.38 amps...so u can use 6 led lights for the amp draw of 1 incand !!...so u can sit on the sofa with 1 incan or have the whole rv lit up with LEDs for the same amps!! the only fault with them is the base does not fit socket so I had to solder the adapter to the switch...but for $5 a bulb I will do it! double click pics to enlarge I think the one on the right is the LED. The light looks more directional. The incandescent light throws light around in all directions where as the LED just throws it downward. Also the color in the right side seems like it has less bandwidth. Not as warm as the left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Would soldering the "adapter" to the switch be reasonably easy for a beginner to do? I'm sure that I can solder. Just not sure about the rest. Maybe some pics? I have leds in my new car and fridge and like em. Sure would help cut back on battery use, when boondocking. I took my old bulbs and broke the glass out then soldered in the new wires. My LEDS are from superbright and they are NOT polarity specific. In other words positive can be connected to either terminal. I think the eBay ones I believe do have to be connected correctly, positive to positive and negative to negative. I bring this up because I have seen a few RV's where the polarity of the socket (the light itself) were opposite of what they should have been, in other words wired backwards. So check with a voltmeter before you do anything. Normally the center is positive and the outer bayonet barrel is negative. My pics do not reflect this because my LED's do not care. If yours do not light up it might just be that you have the polarity backwards. Note that I removed the pins and soldered directly to the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Here is another eBay item. They are LED tape strips. They can be cut into groups of 3 then soldered together to distribute the light. I have some in my cabinets and under my range hood. They have a self adhesive backing to stick just about anywhere. Here are some pics of them. I used the small gauge wire in cat5 cable for the interconnects. Also you have to solder them on the LED side, not the tape side. The tape side has too much glue to get through in order to get to the solder taps. The cabinet lights are set up with micro switches on the doors. When the door is open the led's are on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVdaytrader Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 http://cgi.ebay.com/...=item27b5740117 these LEDs that krilov posted about are really nice imo...here are some pics, led is in one and incandescent in the other....which one is led?? I metered them for amp draw, the led pulled .24 amps, the incan pulled 1.38 amps...so u can use 6 led lights for the amp draw of 1 incand !!...so u can sit on the sofa with 1 incan or have the whole rv lit up with LEDs for the same amps!! the only fault with them is the base does not fit socket so I had to solder the adapter to the switch...but for $5 a bulb I will do it! double click pics to enlarge OK...the led is the light on the left........and I got the new order delivered today from china...only took 8 days thinking I will do like Greg did and break the glass on my 1141s and solder the leds to the socket rather than to the switch like I did with the 1st one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krilov Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 Glad they worked out for you! A few things about these bulbs. 1) They get hot and the sticky tape on the back starts to warp 2)The seller deals with different manufacturers and the color can vary. 3) If you don't want to solder, you can do the lame thing I did. I switched the adapter to the festoon end (The bulb comes with 3 adapters) and just wedged it in my fixture. Works for now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrgizmow Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I am a new guy and inclined to 'give' before I take. Recently purchased an 88 Dolphin and am getting it shape for our driveway camping adventures ( :-) ) as gas prices seem to be going UP. As for LED's, I purchased a number of 'surface mount' units from a Chinese Vendor for $1.00 a piece. The Vendor was exceptional, but the 36 LED array's got "very" hot, drawing it seemed, 300milliamps (to much). I contacted the vendor and within hours a refund was offered. During the interval, I experimented with dropping the voltage with some resistors (simple). With a 61OHM 1/2 watt resistor from Mouser, the array dropped 7.75 volts ( instead of the entire 12v), the resistor dropped the rest. The array was still bright but much cooler. My advice (new Guy) if you are a do-it-yourselfer, do not assume your Import LED's will be cool upon "your" conversion. Watch to see if the double sided tape melts before you venture off. Not sure what the issue is, likely a 'low-cost' curcuit design. For me, the 1/2 watt, 61 OHM resistor made all the difference. With a bit of work on my part. Take care, Gerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I installed these in mine (I think they are from the original post) They took several weeks to show up, but were worth the wait. http://tinyurl.com/4745j5x Brightness and color are very close to that of the bulb they replaced. I carefully broke several 1147 bulbs, cleaned the bases, and then soldered the LED wires to these bulb bases. I didn't specifically check for temperature, other than I didn't notice anything peculiar (running hot). I Also replaced the bulb in the Range Hood Vent with one of these, Works Great. JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrgizmow Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 As did Waiter, I cracked some bulbs, cut the original filiment and soldiered to metal filiment holders. I did not do this with the stock bulbs. I purchased some cheaper license-plate bulbs and kept the much brighter (more expensive) bulbs for those 'just-in-case' situations. Gerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 Gerry; DARN, I didn't think of that. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Here's another source for LEDs I just came across. Might contain some useful info for the LED-geeks. http://www.prudentrver.com/store.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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