Community Forums

Johnontheroad · 01-02-2015, 12:54 PM

Two years or so ago there was a long thread on replacing halogen bulbs with LEDs. I bought 40 or so of these LEDs only to find that they were not bright enough to comfortably use. All 40 are in a bin somewhere.

A year or so ago there was a long thread on how to modify the fluorescent light fixtures with strings of LEDs. I did that, and in general it worked, but my wife complains that they are too dim.

Has the technology progressed enough that LEDs are bright and usable? Any suggested sources for current technology LEDs?

== John

bruceisla · 01-02-2015, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnCamelot

Two years or so ago there was a long thread on replacing halogen bulbs with LEDs. I bought 40 or so of these LEDs only to find that they were not bright enough to comfortably use. All 40 are in a bin somewhere.

A year or so ago there was a long thread on how to modify the fluorescent light fixtures with strings of LEDs. I did that, and in general it worked, but my wife complains that they are too dim.

Has the technology progressed enough that LEDs are bright and usable? Any suggested sources for current technology LEDs?

== John

Though this one is not a replacement for fluorescent fixtures, I bought a few of these Thin Lite fixtures and they are VERY bright ... almost too bright. They are white (not blue or warm yellow).

If I decide to change my fluorescents I will probably use a Thin Lite product (if available).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4k23NEEhfAE

jacwjames · 01-02-2015, 04:22 PM

I changed my fluorescent light to LED about 3 years ago. One thing that I did was strip out the guts of the fixture including the ballast a and circuit board. I added 3 strips of LED lights. I also put the center strip on a separate switch that allows me to have 1, 2, or all 3 strips lite.

Attached are 3 pictures of what I did, there is one picture of a converted light with the older fluorescent in the background. My LED lights are brighter then the old fluorescent bulbs. In most cases we only power 2 of the 3 strips. I can't remember what specific LED strips I purchased but I am more then happy with what I did

I know that they do make different levels of LED in regards to brightness and color.

.

If you only added 2 strips of LED you could try to add a 3rd and see if that helps.

jacwjames · 01-02-2015, 04:40 PM

I went back and found the order that I had for the LED lights. I believe I bought 3 rolls, at the time they were ~$18/roll, may be cheaper now.

New 12V 5m 300LEDs Flexible 36W SMD5050 White Light LED Light Strip White Lamp

I bought a small round toggle on/off switch that I mounted next to the original on/off. I just drilled a ~9/16" hole and pushed the switch in.

I had an enclosed light above my kitchen counter top area that contained 2 light fixtures. Instead of putting these back I just mounted 6 strips of the LED lights on a piece of plexi-glass cut to fit into the opening. Since there is a cover over this you can't even tell that I did it that way.

To date none of the LED's have failed.

Hope this helps

jlturner · 01-06-2015, 10:18 PM

Contact Joe at CabinBright!

Excellent product, great prices and customer service.

Www.CabinBright.com

Sent from my iPhone using iRV2 - RV Forum

YC1 · 01-07-2015, 05:51 PM

I installed 5 strips of leds in place of my fluorescent bulbs. Not one failure and they are very bright.

wa8yxm · 01-08-2015, 09:20 AM

They have gotten better yes.

I replaced a pair of 10 watt Halogen puck light lamps with Eco-LEDs these are a disc shaped LED (Fit perfectly) with a brightness closer to a 1141 or 1156, they are much brighter than the 10 watt lamps they replaced, I went with cool White (Very white) as opposed to Warm White (more yellow).

They are expensive (like 19 bucks at an RV store or CW).

But they are good

I also have a bunch of Warm White LED "1156" replacements.. 1141 perhaps but no way do they match 1156.. Still, I like 'em They are Made in china though. About 2 bucks each on E-Bay.