Glass globe removal

[wanderer03]

Does anyone know how to remove the glass globe on hanging pendant light fixtures?
I have a 2013 forest river sandpiper , the heat from the light bulbs has cause the section of the light fixture to melt so bad that the light bulb can’t be removed from the fixture , I want to remove the bulb and see if I can replace the bulb holder , has anyone had the same problem and if so how did you fix the problem ,
I’m to the point that I might remove the fixture itself and replace the. , but at over $100 each , I have two such fixtures ,
Any suggestions ?

[NMWildcat]

I would suggest replacing the entire fixture and use an LED bulb. Do a search on Etrailer as they have lots of options for RV pendant lights. As with everything, you can spend as much, or as little as you wish on the fixturure.
I would probably replace the pendant fixture with a regular fixed fixture. Everyone I know with pendant lights in an RV has either replaced them with a non-pendant fixture or goes through a PITA routine to secure them for travel, even with the solid tube type.
And yes, I realize there will be folks who never have problems traveling with pendant lights, I'm just telling you what I know first hand from my group of RV friends.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

I would suggest replacing the entire fixture and use an LED bulb. Do a search on Etrailer as they have lots of options for RV pendant lights. As with everything, you can spend as much, or as little as you wish on the fixturure.
I would probably replace the pendant fixture with a regular fixed fixture. Everyone I know with pendant lights in an RV has either replaced them with a non-pendant fixture or goes through a PITA routine to secure them for travel, even with the solid tube type.
And yes, I realize there will be folks who never have problems traveling with pendant lights, I'm just telling you what I know first hand from my group of RV friends.

Some LED lamps, particularly the "corncob" style with 50-60 LEDs and a series resistor for each one, run hotter than the incandescent lamps they replace.

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

Some LED lamps, particularly the "corncob" style with 50-60 LEDs and a series resistor for each one, run hotter than the incandescent lamps they replace.

Luckily, all the LED bulbs I have used in my RV and shop run very cool. If they ran hot I do believe I would find another solution
In my shop I did replace/rewire all the fixtures so I could get rid of those buzzing ballasts

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

Luckily, all the LED bulbs I have used in my RV and shop run very cool. If they ran hot I do believe I would find another solution
In my shop I did replace/rewire all the fixtures so I could get rid of those buzzing ballasts

LEDs are natively DC current-mode devices.

The LEDs for AC use contain mini-converters similar to cellphone chargers. They can be power-efficient and not emit too much heat.

LEDs for DC use need current limiters. Inexpensive ones use current limiting series resistors which consume eight times as much power as the LED and dissipate it all as heat. More-expensive devices include electronics to do the current-limiting. They are more efficient, but the conversion can produce audible noise or Radio Frequency Interference that interferes with Wi-Fi, cellphone, radio, or television.

[Bob K4TAX]

Be advised that LED bulbs are strictly to be used on pure DC. Now by that, if one operates their rig without a battery, the converter 12-volt output may contain a significant quantity of AC voltage. This is referred to as ripple and thus is not pure DC. This ripple is an AC component that will make LED lamps run hot. The battery serves to filter the DC output of the converter thus mitigating the ripple. Thus the reason for NOT operating with the battery disconnected or removed.

We had a Magatec converter in our previous trailer. We changed the lamps to LED bulbs to save energy. While sitting having dinner one evening, the light above the table got very hot. In fact, hot enough to cause one of the many LED units on the bulb to unsolder itself from the module and it fell onto my dinner plate. I'd estimate the solder melt point at 400 degrees F or higher.

I have checked our present trailer converter output to assure that it is producing pure DC. Being an electronics engineer, with a shop full of test equipment, I used my oscilloscope to do this.

Bob