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Old 03-07-2015, 03:09 PM   #1
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Lightbulb Porch Light - LED Conversion

Last year I converted some of my interior fluorescents to LED and had some of the LED strips left over. Recently the bulb blew in my porch light so decided to retrofit it.

I removed the socket for the conventional bulb, glued in a mounting surface cut from sheet plastic, glued in the strips and did a somewhat messy job of soldering the connections. Not pretty, but works. Haven't tried it out at night yet but if my information correct, at 900 lumens, those LEDs should be around 3 times brighter than the old automotive-type bulb.





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Old 03-07-2015, 09:19 PM   #2
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Oh my. That's bright!

Whoa!

That is some kinda bright! As I said, the LEDs are putting out 900 lumens - about the same as a 100 watt incandescent. Man, seems way beyond that! I might have to snip leads to one or two of the strips I put in there!

I don't really use this light much, but at least now I will be able to see!



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Old 03-07-2015, 09:30 PM   #3
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And how much would a new light have cost?
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Old 03-07-2015, 09:43 PM   #4
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And how much would a new light have cost?
Leftovers=free!! Can I copy!!!
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Old 03-07-2015, 10:08 PM   #5
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Red face

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Leftovers=free!! Can I copy!!!
Thanks for coming to my defense, stink! Seems the newb is getting an early start on his snark.

But as you suggest, replacing a blown bulb based on 19-century technology was not the point. That thing never put out much light anyway, but did put out heat, and had a tendency to blow. The energy it wasted in generating heat melted the original lens on the fixture and I replaced that - don't recall how much that cost. You can see the top of the fixture is a bit deformed from the heat from the original bulb.

These LEDs don't put out that much heat so that will never be a problem again. They also take much less energy and will not burn out like the bulb that was replaced.

And actually, those strips came from the first roll I bought with a 6000k-7000k color temperature that I found too "cool" for replacing the cool white fluorescents inside. So I bought a strip of warmer LEDs (4000k-4500k temp) for the interior lights and slowly using the leftover cool ones to retrofit closet lights, etc. As you can see, they put out so much more light.

Hopefully "stink" and others interested in retrofitting their rigs with LED will find this post useful. We'll see how it goes, but the 900 lumens is pretty bright. Half that might be better in this application.
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Old 03-08-2015, 12:26 AM   #6
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I paid $9.00 for an LED bulb that fit the socket. I think it was a 1081...

Sure isn't as bright as yours though!!

I had problems with the lens melting too. I switched to the LED after buying my third lens cover.

Looks like a fun project.
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Old 03-08-2015, 09:10 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tkcas01 View Post
Last year I converted some of my interior fluorescents to LED and had some of the LED strips left over. Recently the bulb blew in my porch light so decided to retrofit it.

I removed the socket for the conventional bulb, glued in a mounting surface cut from sheet plastic, glued in the strips and did a somewhat messy job of soldering the connections. Not pretty, but works. Haven't tried it out at night yet but if my information correct, at 900 lumens, those LEDs should be around 3 times brighter than the old automotive-type bulb.





What LED light strips are those? I want to do that to my porch light. (maybe not quite so many). I just don't know which LED's to get that can be cut and spliced like that. Thanks
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Old 03-08-2015, 09:15 PM   #8
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Another advantage of using an LED outside is that they don't attract bugs.

I have three outdoor LED lights on my sticks and bricks that I leave on all night and they never have bugs flying around them.
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Old 03-08-2015, 09:37 PM   #9
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What LED light strips are those? I want to do that to my porch light. (maybe not quite so many). I just don't know which LED's to get that can be cut and spliced like that. Thanks
As I mentioned, the ones I put in the porch light were left over when I found them too "cold/blue" for my LED retrofit for the living area, but this is where I got them in fall 2013:

12V White 5630 SMD 300LED 16 4ft 5Meter Flexible LED Strip Light Un Waterproof | eBay

I ones I ordered instead to replace the fluorescent bulbs inside where warmer and very happy with them:

12V Nature White 4000K 4500K Un Waterproof 5630 300SMD 5Meter Flexible LED Strip | eBay

One thing I realized afterwards - these are not waterproof, so I might have trouble with the porch light. They do have similar strips that are waterproof. I should figure out if there is a way I can do something to these to reduce the chance moisture will be a problem.

While at it, I will probably snip the leads on a couple of the strips. I was really shocked how bright they turned out to be. They'd be great for security lighting, but a bit harsh for RV parks!
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Old 03-10-2015, 10:24 AM   #10
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I attempted to make some strip LED lights water proof by inserting them into a clear tubing and sealing the upper end of the tube on a deck step railing.

So far it has worked through several rain events this year.

I suspect your fixture is or can be made water proof with a bit of silicone caulk.
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Old 03-10-2015, 12:41 PM   #11
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I suspect your fixture is or can be made water proof with a bit of silicone caulk.
Thanks - that is what I was thinking of trying. There really wasn't any evidence that it gets wet inside anyway, so a little protection will probably fill the bill.
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Old 03-10-2015, 01:33 PM   #12
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I did the same thing with 5630 panels with socket adapters and they work great. I figure the fixture is waterproof enough already. Did my microwave the way you did your porch light, with leftovers. I had to cut strips out also! Was just too bright for cooking!

I love these DIY solutions to everyday problems. And money is not the issue, its a self reliance kind of thing!

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Old 03-11-2015, 10:13 PM   #13
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I paid $9.00 for an LED bulb that fit the socket. I think it was a 1081...

Sure isn't as bright as yours though!!

I had problems with the lens melting too. I switched to the LED after buying my third lens cover.

Looks like a fun project.
I didn't have any throw aways from another project either so I did the same. Quick and easy bulb change and if it fails a regular bulb can go back in a moment to be used until a new LED can be procured. Been working fine for about 5 or 6 years now.
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Old 03-15-2015, 07:42 AM   #14
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Another advantage of using an LED outside is that they don't attract bugs.

I have three outdoor LED lights on my sticks and bricks that I leave on all night and they never have bugs flying around them.

Would this be regular white LEDs that don't attract as many bugs?


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