Replaced the fluorescent porch lights with a pair of LED tubes (Revolution T-5 LED tube lights from Star Lights). Had expert help from Jim Frerichs, who has been a neighbor for the past month. They're MUCH brighter than the fluorescent bulbs. Thanks Jim.
Don, where did you get the bulbs and cost
Howdy Jimmy, I also replaced the fluorescent porch lights with a pair of LED tubes several years ago with Star Light product.
Here's a link to the tubes I used: http://www.starlightsinc.com/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=36&idcategory=2 (http://www.starlightsinc.com/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=36&idcategory=2)
Bought them from this company: Revolution F8T5-12, LED Replacement for Fluorescent Lights (http://www.rvledbulbs.com/product-p/18-0117.htm)
Saved a few bucks.
I just removed the old fluorescent tubes, wiring, and ballast. Used the existing tube holders to hold the new LED tubs and wired to the porch lite 12v..Works great..As Don indicated, it's much brighter..
Good Luck, Dave A
Thanks Dave, I will check it out. If you come thru Ardmore, give us a call
Howdy Jimmy,
I will give you a call. Love those Arbuckle Mountains..
BTW, I replaced all the fluorescent lites in the coach with LEDs from Star Lite and the same source to purchase.. Revolution F15T8-18™ RV LED Replacement Tube for Fluorescent Lights (http://www.rvledbulbs.com/product-p/18-0125.htm)
Kind of pricey, but an easy and very worthwhile upgrade.. The quality/amount of lite is much better with the LEDs, not to mention the less energy (battery) used. By using these LED tubes, able to re-use the existing tube holders, which makes for an easy upgrade/mod. Again, just remove the old fluorescent tube, internal wiring, and ballast and wire to existing 12vdc wiring.
Good Luck, Dave and Nancy A
Dave, are those American-made or Chinese-made?
Here is another link for the LED tubes. They were $29.70 per tube or about $60 per pair, but an entire new fluorescent fixture cost about $80. The final result is MUCH brighter and should last a lot longer. Here is the link:
Star Lights Revolution T5-12 Fluorescent Tube LED Bulb (http://www.rvsupplyparts.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=10391)
Hope this helps.
@kb0zke, I don't know the source. Its been several years since I installed so I don't have any of the packaging. IMHO, they are a good quality product.
@Don, That's a very good link and price for those tubes. I've bookmarked for future reference.
Dave A
Just found a LED tube that I think is a good replacement for the fluorescent tubes in my coach. I have the ballast of two of 18" fluorescent tubes on one side of the bedroom that have failed. Found Tri-Chip LED Tube - Amazingly bright & economical - LED Home Lighting (http://www.oznium.com/tri-chip-led-tube) and they come in 20" tubes, where three 20" tubes are perfect for replacing the two 18" and one 12" tubes in the 64" housing. They are also available in 9".
(https://www.foreforums.com/imagecache.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi.ozcdn.com%2FwLL5.jpg&hash=44d12627648a4205ba4075bed96cb612" rel="cached" data-hash="44d12627648a4205ba4075bed96cb612" data-warn="External image, click here to view original" data-url="http://i.ozcdn.com/wLL5.jpg).
Will post pics when I get everything replaced. Got the warm white. They warm white spec at 149.6 lumens per tube and measure 3363 Color Temperature (deg. K). Price at $14.99 per tube. Hook directly to 12 volt with no regulator. Don't know if I'm going to use the old defuser or not.
why buy tubes when you can make your own LED strips from coiled led. 15ft for $25. I redid all mine for $50 and they work fine and bright. Pierce started it and I followed. Simple and the way to do it was posted by both of us
John H
I agree with John.
I de-soldered an LED G4 bulb which had four sides and installed 3 of the four (8 LED) circuit boards in the outside porch light. I did not want it brighter because bright attracts bugs (even yellow).
My cost, $ 3.00.
I bought strip LED's as Pierce reported and converted a Thin Lite fixture by putting three strips in but the light was not bright enough for me. Thanks to Gary O he gave me an old fixture and I put it in. I may try to convert Porch lite with LED strips.
Gary B
That is why I picked the ones I did - after reading the many reviews on them. The reviews say that they are as bright as the fluorescent tubes that they replace! Like I said, will post pics when the get here and installed.
Gary, did you buy the 600 ones or lower light ones. I find 2 strips in each is plenty but have 3 in the kitchen ceiling one as Ruth likes that area brighter. The vanity lites in Bathroom I designed and made to replace the 4 bulbs on each side have only 2 strips in each and Ruth says they are way too bright for her!!
John H
Just completed conversion of our six Thinlight ceiling lamps to LED's. Removed the sides of the fixtures and mounted three 13.5" strips in the large lamps, two 13.5" strips in the small lamps. The lamp assemblies were mounted on 1/4" plywood. I installed six 3/4" thick blocks in each enclosure. The entire assembly was installed on the blocks and all wiring was tucked into the cavity. The interiors were painted black so nothing is visible with the lamps off and only the individual LED,s are visible when powered up.
Purchased LED's from Super Bright Leds, P/N NFLS-WW300X3 NFLS-X3 series High Power LED Flexible Light Strip | LED Strips | LED Light (http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/flexible-strips-and-bars/nfls-x30x3-series-30-high-power-led-flexible-light-strip/874/245/) Warm White. The Beam Pattern is 180 degree. One roll did the entire project.
Bob, Did you put a difuser or some other cover over the lights or just leave the black open?
I used the original covers.
When we first looked at our coach the bedroom lights all worked. When we picked it up, though, the lights on the street side didn't work. Tonight I started working on the lights. The little one was just loose, and works fine, although the bulb looks dark on the ends. The other two bulbs wouldn't work no matter what I did, so I'm assuming that they are just burned out. At this point I'm thinking that I'll replace the bulbs with LEDs, but haven't decided whether to just pull all the "guts" out and put in the longer LED strips or the LED bulbs using the same tombstones.
Found one other small problem. The switch in the bathroom that turns on the lights by the toilet will turn them on IF I hold it almost on. Looks like I need to replace a switch there.
Hard to go wrong when a 5 meter roll of LEDs is only $17 or so delivered. It's a lot of fun replacing the old florescents from interior lights to the outside entry light. Do search for detailed instructions and photos.
Pierce
That's kind of what I was thinking. I noticed that a couple of the diffusers have some small cracks in them, so I'm thinking that maybe there will be a bit more work involved. There are some other things I'm thinking about for this, too, so this could end up being a thread on the renovation part.
Lenses are also available at trailer/RV supply discount stores. The Thin-Lite body has a model number on it and all the lenses can be ordered or are in stock. I replaced the outside entry amber lens with a clear version for about $9. If you get rid of the starters, you have to order another clear lens and use a fine saw to cut it to length.
Pierce
Good pri - where are you getting them...eBay? What listing? Jim
2002 U320
Oops, I'll try this again...
Good price on the roll of LED's for $17. Did you find them on eBay, at what listing?
Jim
2002 U320
Ebay. Once on the site, use the search feature with "led strips" in the box. I would suggest spending a day getting familiar with all the sizes, terms, features, etc. A lot of the suppliers are based in the U.S. so delivery is faster for only a couple of bucks a roll more. Since I installed mine, everyone has gotten into the act with switchable colors, clear silicon waterproof cover, other features.
I would recommend the warm white. One of our members pointed me in the right direction here. I used the 8mm wide LEDs (3528) with 600 LEDs/5 meters. One strip for each light with the exception of the exterior light and the light over the sink. I removed one of the two lights so doubled up on the LEDs in the remaining fixture. My previous posts show how to solder the connectors on, etc. Was a fun job and if not an expert, it will bring you up to speed and give you confidence in other electrical coach work. LED lighting on an older coach, or Thinlite vs MarineBeam (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=14690.msg86512#msg86512)
Two years later, they all still work without any failures.
Here is a link to LED strips on ebay: led strips | eBay (http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313&_nkw=led+strips&_sacat=0&_from=R40)
Pierce
David,
Replacing the worn out light switches is no big deal. Most RV places will have identical switches. Safest bet is to remove the bad one and take it with you to the RV parts place. That way you'll be sure to get the right one. About once a year a different switch craters, so I keep several as backups. Don't forget to turn off the 12V coach switch by the door first.
Thanks, Don. I'm getting quite a shopping list already. Should be fun working on the lights with trifocals.
I just ordered some of these LED's. I am very CURIOUS as I spent considerably more for the same strip length (5 meters). As the price I paid was almost ten times the price of these I am wondering just what the difference is. I can't believe it is all greed.
Roland
Last fall, after retrofitting the entire 12 volt system with a solar powered array, I saw how quickly the incandescents ate up the juice in the AGM's. Went on a research spree and found every bulb was easily replaceable. Also, if you look hard enough, you will find replacements for the fluorescent tubes that require NO rewiring of the ballast. Just plug & Play. The cost was steep, and you have to pay close attention to which frequency range ( blue, white, or yellow ) you need in any given area of the coach. It took 4 different buying sessions to obtain the various bulbs and tubes, but when we took an extended trip without the benefit of shore power hookups, we found that we never ran out of juice from the batteries, even on nights that we were up late running pretty much all the equipment that we would carelessly have on if we were running through the converter from the 30 amp shore line. Coach started on first twist of key the next day!!!! These lights last longer than your coach will. For the steep initial expense, we are assured that we have already paid for the LED lighting over the last 7 months, and are now recouping the cost of the new AGM's and controller(s). Very much worth the effort.
Roland,
Sorry to say that the LEDs I used were $12 to $17 a roll. Having been in the import/export business for many years, I know first hand that the middle man can take a little or a lot. Most of the time, they take a lot. Foreign exchange has a lot to do with it, but it's great for us as consumers buying from China now. Not so good for the jobs we have lost and factories that have closed. I use Manufacturers, Suppliers, Exporters & Importers from the world's largest (http://www.alibaba.com) for a lot of stuff.
I bought yachts for a short time from ROC (Formosa). A forty one foot fiberglass sailboat would cost a bit over $40K with teak everywhere including the decks. Buying from Finland, the teak deck was optional and an additional $40,000 "upgrade" over the stock glass deck. Traveling to Hong Kong, factories produce designer jeans for the major high end stores like Nordstrom. After they finish their production number for the day, they continue to produce the same jeans and sell them for a bit over $5 each on the street. Airline flight attendants are a great source for the hot deals when arriving in Asia cities.
When I was in Manila, across the street from the yacht club, the firemen were celebrating their pay raise from $1.86 to $2.50.......a day. They had the exact same uniform on and drove the exact same American LaFrance firetruck that I did. The yacht club in Santa Barbara cost thousands to join. In Manila after you had been a free guest for a month, it cost $30 to join. We hired two full time boat boys to varnish, polish, etc. for $3 each a day and they were delighted.
So, no, in most cases you don't get anything better or that lasts longer if you pay more. You should see what WalMart pays when they buy in Asia.
For anyone not familiar with that part of the world, I would suggest Thailand. Really friendly people, lots to see and do, plus prices that make Mexico look like Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles.
OK, I got a bit carried away typing.
Pierce
I forgot to post my bedroom LED conversion. The first pic is the left side with new LEDs and the second pic is the right side with fluorescent. The LEDs that I used are the ones I mentioned in previous post. Tri-Chip LED Tube - Amazingly bright & economical - LED Home Lighting (http://www.oznium.com/tri-chip-led-tube). Used the gutted Thinlite 64" housing and origional switch and three of the 20" Tri-Chip tubes and telephone type electrical connectors I purchased off their site. Next time I will buy connectors from a different web store that I found. They are very handy working with thin wires and are pre-greased!!!
Both pics taken without flash and no other lights on. When the LED side was taken, the right side fluorescent was off, and when the right side was taken the left side LED was off. Thinlite diffusers are in place on both lights.
Camera Canon Power Shot SX230HS.