LED's installed in my trailer!

[JoeR]

From our recent two week trip, the best benefit I noticed was how cool the fixtures were. And being down south in the summertime, keeping cool inside was a must.

And the three bulb fixtures over the dining table and couch look fantastic with the cool white panels and tower bulbs inside.

I've been trying different type bulbs in different areas. The panels work great over the stove, the discs in the overhead pan type fixtures and the towers in the multi-bulb units.

Your mileage may vary.

JR

[10x]

Originally Posted by JoeR

From our recent two week trip, the best benefit I noticed was how cool the fixtures were. And being down south in the summertime, keeping cool inside was a must.

And the three bulb fixtures over the dining table and couch look fantastic with the cool white panels and tower bulbs inside.

I've been trying different type bulbs in different areas. The panels work great over the stove, the discs in the overhead pan type fixtures and the towers in the multi-bulb units.

Your mileage may vary.

JR

Originally Posted by Dabmeb

Went with the 36 led panels out of china, two years now and only one replacement. We camp about 40 days a season so they get used a lot as we are on the morning side of the mountains and lose our sunlight at 3 pm

Attachment 35843



Attachment 35844



Attachment 35845

Do you happen to have a link where you ordered them from?

[Dabmeb]

Some I have bought from, powerlightings, dayxmas, beyondcyy, usewsmile. All good sellers. I buy and sell to friends and other campers I meet so that's why so many sellers.

[DKListul]

The Chinese LEDs arrived the other day. I put the 10 bulbs into 5 overhead light fixtures. All bulbs work fine. We're off on our first trip with it and as soon as the sun goes down, we ll know if they're bright enough or not.

These are the ones with 26 small LEDs per lamp. I've ordered 20 more that have fewer, but larger (5 by 5 mm) LEDs. It was about $18.50 for 20 and again, free shipping.

More data to follow.

[rbneron]

Thanks for the update and please keep us posted.

[Wildwood Danny]

Sounds great, keep us posted.

Great price, do you know what lumens they are?

[DKListul]

The bulbs I just installed have 28 small LEDs, 3 by 2 mm each. 6 on each side and 4 on the end. Last night, there seemed to be adequate light in the front of the trailer where I installed them. I was pretty happy with them. The 3 by 2 mm LEDs are called 3020.

The ones I now have on order have 13 LEDS each, 2 on each side and 1on the end, but the LEDs are larger at 5 by 5 mm (5050)..

[DKListul]

Just got home from 3 days in the mountains and I have NO complaints about the LED lamps I installed before we left.

Here's a picture of the lamp I put in the ceiling light fixtures (2 per fixture, 10 total):



Here's a picture of the ones I have ordered but haven't yet received:


Notice the difference. The first one has a total of 28 LEDs, 3 by 2 mm each. The ones I've ordered have 13 LEDs, 5 by 5 mm each. It'll be interesting to see the difference between the two types.

Right now, I have half of my fixtures yet to retrofit ("retrofit being an extreme overstatement; these things are plug and play, thought they ARE polarity sensitive).

This is a modification I think is very much worth the minimal effort.

The light is a bluish white. It's different, but we actually like it. They also make these things in Warm White if you prefer the same color temperature of an incandescent.

Tonight I hope to get out to the trailer and actually measure the current draw of the old and the new lamps.

[10x]

Originally Posted by DKListul

Just got home from 3 days in the mountains and I have NO complaints about the LED lamps I installed before we left.

Here's a picture of the lamp I put in the ceiling light fixtures (2 per fixture, 10 total):



Here's a picture of the ones I have ordered but haven't yet received:


Notice the difference. The first one has a total of 28 LEDs, 3 by 2 mm each. The ones I've ordered have 13 LEDs, 5 by 5 mm each. It'll be interesting to see the difference between the two types.

Right now, I have half of my fixtures yet to retrofit ("retrofit being an extreme overstatement; these things are plug and play, thought they ARE polarity sensitive).

This is a modification I think is very much worth the minimal effort.

The light is a bluish white. It's different, but we actually like it. They also make these things in Warm White if you prefer the same color temperature of an incandescent.

Tonight I hope to get out to the trailer and actually measure the current draw of the old and the new lamps.

Awesome, let us know which one put out enough light the 28s or 13 lite bulbs. Do you have a link to where you ordered them from?

[DKListul]

eBay.

Here's the first set I ordered:
T10 194 168 501 921 W5W 28 LED 3020 SMD Car Side Wedge Light Bulb Lamp White 12V | eBay

And the second:
Wholesale 20x T10 194 168 921 Bulb 5050 13 SMD LED Wedge Car White LED Light | eBay

These are all the "corncob" style lamps. I haven't ordered nor have I tried the "pancake" style lamps. I figure the light fixture has a reflector in it for the normal incandescent style lamp, so the omnidirectional "corncob" style would work. Like I said, I'm really happy with the results. Best part is that the first 10 lamps only cost me $19.40, and the second set of 20 is only $18.98. So, for less than $40, I have 30 light bulbs to try.

[rbneron]

Thanks for the update. Had you considered panel lights rather than the bulb type? Link to where you ordered?

[DKListul]

See my last post for answers to those questions.

[DKListul]

Just checked the current draw on the new lamps and the old (incandescent) lamps. My meter is a 30-year old Fluke 77 but it's still accurate. The numbers are eye-opening, to be sure.

The incandescent lamp numbers are:
1 fixture (2 lamps) = 2.78 amps
2 fixtures (4 lamps) = 5.37 amps

So this is an average of 1.36 amps PER BULB. And a large amount of that energy is given up (wasted) as heat.

The LED lamps:
1 fixture (2 lamps) = .22 amp
2 fixtures (4 lamps) = .45 amp
3 fixtures (6 lamps) = .69 amp

This is an average of 115 milliamps (.115) amps each.

The difference is a staggering 1 and one quarter (1.25) amps PER BULB!

If you are counting on your battery for lighting, this will give you nearly 12 times as much life for lighting just by putting in these cheap lamps (disregarding any other DC loads on the battery, of course).

I knew the numbers would be good; I didn't know they would be THIS good.

Now, if I could just get my pickup from drinking so much fuel . . . . .

[rbneron]

Our mails crossed; I asked my questions before I saw your answers. Thanks for the links. Since no specs, would love to see your comparison if the two types ordered before I make a decision. Impressive difference on the current draw!

[DKListul]

Yeah, I figured they passed each other on the interwebs somehow.

I have no idea when the new lamps will arrive but will keep you posted on what I think of them. I realize that I'm a newbie here and also just another faceless, unknown voice in the blogosphere, but maybe there'll be a big difference.

Or maybe not. We'll see. But I think LED lighting is the future.

[BigBaron]

Here's a pic of the aluminum foil I put behind my tower-style LED lights. It acts as a reflector. I re-did it because it was so messy! The light is nearly omni-directional.



During daytime!

[Yol Bolsun]

Originally Posted by DKListul

Here's a picture of the ones I have ordered but haven't yet received:

Tks! Ordered a set last night. Now the wait.

[garbonz]

My Wife HATED the blue color so I went with 15 SMD towers in ALL my fixtures (19 total).

[Netriggen]

Are the lights softer as well. My current lights are extremely harsh.

Originally Posted by BigBaron

Here's a pic of the aluminum foil I put behind my tower-style LED lights. It acts as a reflector. I re-did it because it was so messy! The light is nearly omni-directional.



During daytime!

[grayfox]

Originally Posted by Netriggen

Are the lights softer as well. My current lights are extremely harsh.

I thought I read somewhere on the forum there are two different types of Leds. One I believe gets somewhat hotter than the other. Something about resistance in the internal part of the lights. Does anyone have the answer?