I had a little time while visiting my son in South Dakota, and wanted to replace the florescents in the coach. I read many projects posted here and elsewhere before and had a good idea of what needed to be done and what to order. I also decided against soldering all the strips, since there are a lot of connectors out there that work just as well.
Before the project, I took stock of what I was replacing:
10 15W 19" bulbs @ 150W total
10 F13T5 13W bulbs @ 130W total
8 F8T5 8W bulbs @64W total
For the project, I used the following:
Warm White LED's (16' strip) X3 (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JQV6NNC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1) $28.77
Double-ended Strip Connectors (X2) (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YPW3Q4G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) $16.82
Single-ended Strip Connectors (X2) $17.40
JVCC Double Sided Tape (3/8 X 50 yds) (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000SZ3RES/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1) $15.50
Wire strippers
Wire cutter
Crimp-on double end connectors (X26) $12.80
Removable battery from my portable drill
Light-up magnifying glass (My eyes aren't too good)
Screwdriver (for removing the 2 fixtures I pulled the ballasts from)
Drill (for the 2 above pop-rivets)
THAT'S IT!
I started by removing the covers (working 1 light at a time kept things clean). Then remove the bulbs. At the center or end of the fixture there are 2 power wires feeding the ballast (blue and white on mine). Close to the ballast, cut the wires and strip the ends. I left all the ballasts and associated wiring in the fixture for all but 2 (wanted to see what it was like with and without, no difference).
Next was cutting the strip into the proper length. There is a cut line every 3 LED's, so sizing was no problem. For the center lights, I cut 24 LED-long strips to replace the F13T5 bulbs, 27 LED long strips for the 19" ones, and 15 LED long strips for the 8" bulbs.
Connections: I connected 2 strips through the double-end connectors (center fixtures), and a single-end connector on one end. Be sure to pay attention to the + and - marks on the connectors and on the ends of the strips. To connect the ends, peel back the tape on the back of the LED strip enough to expose the end, slide the connector under the contacts, and close the end over the strip.
Once the strips were connected, I tested them on my 18V drill battery. You can only put the contacts to the battery one way to work, so remember where the red terminal goes when testing. After testing, I crimped on the connectors to the wires. Once the strip is assembled, I measured the appropriate length of double-sided tape, peeled back all the tape on the LED's (laying LED's down flat), and attached the double sided tape. DON'T peel the blue backing until ready to install! I chose to use the double-sided tape after reading that the glue on the back of the LED's is inferior.
Now you have a strip (or chain of strips) to install. I used the same location the bulbs were previously at in the center of each section. With the ballast cover reinstalled (on the center lights), it works just fine. Connect the strip through the crimp connectors to the blue and white wires (test before crimping!), then pulled the blue backing off the double-sided tape and install.
I got to making these in 10 minutes for each run. I could have cut all the strips at the same time, but chose to do each fixture to ensure there weren't any surprises.
For the side fixtures (2X 19" + 1 8") I chose to stay with the wiring used. There is a power wire for the 2 19" lights and one for the 8". So I made 2 27 LED strips with single-sided connectors, and connected to the power with both. Then created a separate 15 LED strip and connected it at that power source.
The coach is much brighter but doesn't hurt the eyes.
Lessons learned during the project:
1. Peel the tape back before inserting into the connector, the adhesion holds the connector in place.
2. Make sure you keep + to + (it's very easy to follow, but small. I used a magnifying glass for ease)
3. Don't just use the tape on the back of the LED's, it will drop within a week.
4. Make sure you know where the strip will go. The double-sided tape leaves residue if you have to replace it.
5. Cut EVENLY along the cut lines on the LED strip. Crooked cuts lead to insufficient contact.
6. Make sure you insert the strip UNDER the groves in the connector (it's pretty easy to miss them)
7. Don't bother removing the ballasts, it's more work that worth the time. The ballast cover still hides it.
8. When installing the double-sided tape to the back of the LED's, add a little extra to ensure the connector is covered as well, it will keep the strip well seated and no worries later
Side-Note: I tried some of the cool white LED's in 1 center light to see the difference. DIDN'T LIKE IT! (WAY too bright)
It's been 3 weeks since the install, and only had 1 issue with 1 strip (didn't do #8 on that one, it came loose).
Savings:
Old bulbs: 344W total
New LED's: 151.2W total
A savings of over half!
I normally just use a side light over the table on at night and it was 38W, now it uses 15.2W.
Hope you enjoyed my project!
Nice job Chuck. None of this is too hard once you get started. The center part of the fixtures can come out (drill out a couple pop rivets) and you can put in more strips if you want. If you have a small soldering iron try soldering the wires directly to the copper tabs. It takes some practice. It seems to be more durable in the long run to solder them.
Nice write-up Chuck, thanks for sharing ^.^d