I received the LED lights today and like an excited child on christmas morning, I opened the packages and examined the lights. I'll review each of them in this post on a very subjective basis. I hope to be able to do a more in depth review that would include actual power draw at several voltages and an AB type comparison of the actual light intensity...
I ordered each of the three bulbs on the same night, 1-30-10 and received all three today, 2-5-10.
LEDWholesalers.com shipped via USPS and charged $7.92 shipping and handling for the two bulbs. The package was a padded envelope about 4"x6". The two bulbs were further wrapped in a foam padding and each was in an anti-static bag. The envelope also included a packing list.
Command Electronics shipped via UPS and charged $8.50 shipping and handling. The package was a small box about 4"x6"x2.5" filled with packing peanuts. The "bulb" was also wrapped in foam padding and packaged in an anti-static bag. The packing list was found on the outside of the box.
The first bulb I installed was from LEDWholesalers.com. It was the 18 LED bulb in the link in the post above. It is rated at 3.6Watts, 252 Lumens and cost $16. I installed it in one of the double fixtures in my coach without any issues. The color of the light was very close to the incandescent bulb I had removed. It was not harsh and I found the color to be very acceptable. The amount of light given off was slightly less than the incandescent bulb, but not at all too little light for my tastes. I personally feel that this bulb would easily replace the bulbs in a single or double fixture and most people wouldn't notice a thing.
I also have a couple reading lights above my couch. The fixtures have a very deep style and a standard bulb is very difficult to insert. The bulbs that are in the fixture are a spot light type bulb and are very bright for a reading light. The fixture fits the bulb very closely, and being brass, gets very hot. I've burned my finger on the fixture adjusting the light to aim at my book. The LED bulb was easy to install in the fixture and provided plenty of light to read. A good portion of the light was lost due to the style of construction of the fixture and the bulb. If you look at the link, you'll notice that it has 3 LEDs on the end of the bulb. I think the 3 LED's would suffice for this application.
The second bulb was the 60 LED bulb from LEDWholesalers.com. It is rated at 5W, 300 Lumens and cost $19.50. I installed in the same double fixture as the first bulb. This bulb is about 1/2" longer than the first one, and it made contact with the plastic cover of the fixture. In spite of this, it was very easy to install the cover. As far as my eyes can tell, the color of the light was identical to the first bulb and only very slightly different than an incandescent bulb. This one was brighter than the first, but only slightly. I also installed it in the reading light. This bulb has no LED's on the front surface and as a result, the light seemed dimmer than the first bulb. I believe I could have easily read by the light though. I found nothing wrong with the amount of light nor the color, but I would probably go with the first light in my fixtures instead of this one. The 1.4 watt penalty and slight additional cost (it adds up when you consider how many bulbs you'd have to replace) for only very slightly more light give the first bulb an edge in my book.
The third light came from Command Electronics. I didn't provide a link before, information can be found here;
LED Lights of all types manufactured by Command Electronics
This "bulb" is actually a array of 30 LED's that are mounted on a flat PCB. It is rated at 0.47 amps (@12V that is 5.64 Watts), 510 lumens and cost $22.95. I again installed it in the same double fixture. The large PCB that the array of LED's are mounted on would not fit in the fixture without bending the socket away from the mount slightly. Even still, there was barely enough room to fit the light in and install the cover. An inductor on the board was in contact with the socket, and I decided that for purposes of the test, it was OK. Like the first two lights, the color of the light is very close to an incandescent bulb. This bulb was very bright. To my uncalibrated eyes, it appeared to be as bright as 2 incandescent bulbs. I feel like this bulb could easily replace 2 incandescent bulbs.
I found two things that detracted from the bulb. The first thing I noticed upon taking the light from its anti-static bag was that the two wires for power are surface mount soldered to the board. There is no relief from the bending forces on the actual conductors, as a result, most of the conductor wires in the multi-stranded wire were broken. There were clearly enough wires to carry the current to the bulb and it did function well. This connection appears to be very fragile and I worry that it wouldn't stand up well to the vibration and jolts that are common without some type of reinforcement. I will likely remove the wires, add some of my own and use a blob of epoxy to hold them in place. The second thing was the fit in the existing fixture. While it would be very nice to have the bulb fit with out trouble in the existing fixture, I also understand that making something like this fit in every available fixture is impossible. Command electronics does offer a full replacement single bulb fixture and light for only $12 more. In my case, I'd likely replace the double fixture in my coach with a single Command Electronics fixture.
It was interesting to note that based on appearance only, the 18 LED bulb and the 30 LED bulb used the same surface mount LED's.
One more point that I'll mention. The lights from LEDWholesaler.com are rated at 8-30 volts DC and 12V AC and the one from Command Electronics was rated at 10-30V (no mention of AC or DC) on the packaging, and 12-30V DC in the online literature. I'll verify operating voltage and current demands in the near future.
In summary, all three bulbs were the "right" color for my tastes and all three were plenty bright given the right circumstances. The first 18 LED bulb from LEDWholesalers.com would and will work very well for me in a single bulb fixture. At a slight cost savings and a small power savings, I believe it is the "right" bulb for me where a single fixture is mounted. The Command electronics bulb, in my eyes, is a replacement for a double bulb fixture, but due to the fit problems in my existing fixtures, I'll likely replace the entire fixture in the three locations I have a double bulb fixture. All three would save substantial amounts of power over a standard incandescent fixture. I dry camp most of the time in my coach, so power saving is a major consideration for me.
»
Recent Discussions
Larry Cary
Linear Mode
Chevy Camaro Forum
Ford Mustang Forum
Jeep Wrangler Forum
Volkswagen Touareg Forum
Land Rover Defender Forum
