Fluorescenct to LED lights

[Onthehunt49]

Have 2005 holiday rambler.
Thinking trying LED.
Are there direct replacements or do I have to change ballast ?

Are they 12 volt or 120 volt bulbs ?

Thanks for any education.😎

[Alpine36]

I replaced our single fixture 120v 4' T8 standard fluorescent bulbs (two bulbs) with LED bulbs, no ballast change was required. Power consumption is about 35 watts total @120v. Just make sure you look for LED direct replacement bulbs that are compatible with standard ballasts. I bought them at our local Ace Hardware. There are also conversions available that completely eliminate the ballast. I went the simple route since we're normally on shore power. The LEDs are instantly bright and never flicker when cold. Many light spectrum choices are available.
I'd recommend the soft (warm) white 2700-3000k.

[Dutch Star Don]

On my 2005 Monaco Diplomat, sister to your coach, I upgraded the puck lights in the ceiling. I took the halogen bulb and metal ballast out of the puck and discarded them. I replaced them with a round LED similar to the one below. They use the same pin connection as the halogen. Make sure you buy dimmable versions if you want to dim the lights.

https://m4products.com/g6-35-18-5630...ick-pin-g6-35/

[doorguy]

Ditto on m4products, been using them for years, very fast shipping and good c.service.

[shootist]

I've read more than once if you use ballast fueled led replacements they draw more than the florescent tubes did. Just remove the ballasts and stick on the led strips. It's pretty simple.

[Tha_Rooster]

Originally Posted by Onthehunt49

Have 2005 holiday rambler.

Thinking trying LED.

Are there direct replacements or do I have to change ballast ?



Are they 12 volt or 120 volt bulbs ?



Thanks for any education.[emoji41]

If they work with no 120 power they are 12 volt.

I disconnected the ballast in mine and installed led strips. 2 strips are brighter than 2 bulbs. You can add as many needed.

[Bigd9]

I walked into Walmart a couple years ago and in their lighting section I saw 12 volt LED fluorescent type tubes that looked just like the tubes in my 2006 coach. I bought two and they were a direct replacement. Boy what a difference they made. My wife like them so much I went out and bought two more for the other light.

One picture is close up of the new tube, the other picture is showing the fixture with one original tube and one new tube.

[n2zon]

There are two kinds of LED replacements for fluoresent bulbs that fit into your existing fixtures, assuming both are available in the size you need.

1. Direct replacement ballast-compatible LED "bulbs" (actually, a strip of LEDs in a plastic tube with a voltage converter) that works with your existing ballasts. Despite the ballast consumption being nonzero and the additional converter loss in the "bulb", they should still generally use only about half the power of fluorescent bulbs for the same amount of light, yielding about a 53% savings.

2. Ballast bypass bulbs are really the way to go if you want to keep your fixtures. You have to remove the ballasts to use them, which is not particularly hard, and wire the "tombstones" to 12V as directed by the manufacturer. These bulbs will use a few percent less power than the ballast compatible bulbs, offering about a 56% savings.

These numbers are out of a study I did for a local nonprofit in a commercial building. I would not expect them to vary much for 12V, but the actuals might surprise me, I suppose. If someone's done the research I'd be fascinated to learn what they are for 12V lighting.

Now, enter dimmers. PWM (phase width modulation) dimmers reduce power consumption. If you choose a dimmable LED solution with PWM dimmers, you can save considerably more power. We rarely turn the lights all the way up unless we're doing something that requires a lot of light. We probably run them at 30-50% brightness most of the time and use task lighting for reading and such. I've not put an ammeter on a lighting circuit to see how much it cuts down power consumption, so I don't have actual numbers.

Personally, I would convert to puck lights. Make (or have someone make) some wood panels the size of the fluorescent fixtures, stain to match your woodwork, drill them for and install puck lights that will provide about the same number of lumens or more, and Bob's your uncle. I'd add dimmers as well. We have them for the main cabin and bedroom lights, and the ones over the fridge. Our puck lights make more usable light than the halogens they replaced, so having them dimmable is really great. When comparing the lumens for fluorescent bulbs vs. LEDs, remember that the LEDs have no reflective loss. All the light goes in one direction (really a cone-ish shape from reach emitter). The fluorescents make light in 360* and rely on reflectors to redirect a lot of it.

Ballast compatible bulbs probably won't be dimmable. Ballast bypass ones might be. Dimmable puck lights are definitely out there (we and other posters here have them).

Also, consider using warmer light for the bedroom. We have 4000K lights in the main cabin and 3000K in the bedroom. 4000K is better task lighting and 3000K (close to "soft white") is better bedroom lighting IMO.

HTH...

[Onthehunt49]

Tried to look at Lowes.
Clerk couldnt tell me if 12 volt or not ?
How did you know they were 12 volt?

Originally Posted by Bigd9

I walked into Walmart a couple years ago and in their lighting section I saw 12 volt LED fluorescent type tubes that looked just like the tubes in my 2006 coach. I bought two and they were a direct replacement. Boy what a difference they made. My wife like them so much I went out and bought two more for the other light.

One picture is close up of the new tube, the other picture is showing the fixture with one original tube and one new tube.

[Gary RVRoamer]

You don't actually have to remove the ballasts - just disconnect (bypass) them. It's a wiring change, but a trivial one and most led replacement tubes come with pictures and simple instructions.


The type that leaves the ballast in the circuit should work in either 12v or 120v fixtures. They are running off the ballast, not direct from the power source. The ones that re-wire around the ballast have to match the source voltage & current (12vdc for an RV fixture).

[Bigd9]

Originally Posted by Onthehunt49

Tried to look at Lowes.
Clerk couldnt tell me if 12 volt or not ?
How did you know they were 12 volt?

On the box it indicted that the LED Tube was a direct replacement for the 5W-F15T8 tube that was original florescent tube I was trying to replace. In my picture you can also see those words on the tube.

[bruce91]

3 of my 5 floresent ceiling light ballast failed and I'm going to replace with warm white LED strips. I've bought 2 different ones from amazon that weren't the right item. One was weatherproof that had a silicone covering over the strip that needed to be stripped down at the end to expose the contacts. Difficult to do and returned to amazon. Second strip bought was only 1/8 wide and didnt make contact with the connector clip with wires below. I've searched high and low on amazon and not finding what i think will work.
I'm open to other vendors. Please help with some links so this time i get the right strip TIA

I still have this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DM7EXX2...roduct_details

[Bigd9]

I bought the water proof LED tapes (strip) for various projects in the motorhome, like wet bay, bathroom, under the kitchen sink etc. I easily removed the sealer just far enough to be able to solder wires to the strip. In the bathroom I used just one LED from the strip, and mounted it under the medicine cabinet. Its perfect for a night light!

Anyway, if you can solder it is another way to connect the strips to your switch or power source.

[Arch Hoagland]

Originally Posted by Bigd9

I walked into Walmart a couple years ago and in their lighting section I saw 12 volt LED fluorescent type tubes that looked just like the tubes in my 2006 coach. I bought two and they were a direct replacement. Boy what a difference they made. My wife like them so much I went out and bought two more for the other light.

One picture is close up of the new tube, the other picture is showing the fixture with one original tube and one new tube.

I did the exact same thing on my 2004 Monaco.

The Walmart LED lights work fine just as they are. No need to do anything else.