LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach)

Topic: LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach) (Read 1625 times) previous topic - next topic

LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach)

February 14, 2013, 12:29:03 am

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.

Re: LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach)

Reply #1 – February 14, 2013, 11:44:07 am

Don, where did you get the bulbs and cost

Re: LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach)

Reply #2 – February 14, 2013, 01:38:57 pm

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

Bought them from this company: Revolution F8T5-12, LED Replacement for Fluorescent Lights
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

Re: LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach)

Reply #3 – February 14, 2013, 05:09:56 pm

Thanks Dave, I will check it out. If you come thru Ardmore, give us a call

Re: LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach)

Reply #4 – February 14, 2013, 05:52:57 pm

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
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

Re: LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach)

Reply #5 – February 14, 2013, 09:31:47 pm

Dave, are those American-made or Chinese-made?

Re: LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach)

Reply #6 – February 15, 2013, 12:38:19 am

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

Hope this helps.

Re: LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach)

Reply #7 – February 15, 2013, 06:51:46 am

@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

Re: LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach)

Reply #8 – March 14, 2013, 01:55:54 pm

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 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".

.

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.

Re: LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach)

Reply #9 – March 14, 2013, 07:29:45 pm

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

Re: LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach)

Reply #10 – March 14, 2013, 07:49:25 pm

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.

Re: LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach)

Reply #11 – March 15, 2013, 10:08:55 am

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

Re: LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach)

Reply #12 – March 15, 2013, 11:01:26 am

Quote from: Gary Bouland – March 15, 2013, 10:08:55 am

converted a Thin Lite fixture by putting three strips in but the light was not bright enough for me.
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.

Re: LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach)

Reply #13 – March 15, 2013, 11:34:19 am

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

Re: LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach)

Reply #14 – March 15, 2013, 11:54:21 am

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 Warm White. The Beam Pattern is 180 degree. One roll did the entire project.

Re: LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach)

Reply #15 – March 15, 2013, 12:54:55 pm

Bob, Did you put a difuser or some other cover over the lights or just leave the black open?

Re: LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach)

Reply #16 – March 15, 2013, 01:25:39 pm

I used the original covers.

Re: LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach)

Reply #17 – March 26, 2013, 09:31:14 pm

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.

Re: LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach)

Reply #18 – March 26, 2013, 10:01:42 pm

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

Re: LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach)

Reply #19 – March 26, 2013, 10:30:15 pm

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.

Re: LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach)

Reply #20 – March 26, 2013, 10:38:37 pm

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

Re: LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach)

Reply #21 – March 26, 2013, 10:46:22 pm

Good pri - where are you getting them...eBay? What listing? Jim

2002 U320

Re: LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach)

Reply #22 – March 26, 2013, 11:25:07 pm

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

Re: LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach)

Reply #23 – March 26, 2013, 11:35:45 pm

Quote from: j_frerichs – March 26, 2013, 10:46:22 pm

Good pri - where are you getting them...eBay? 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

Two years later, they all still work without any failures.

Here is a link to LED strips on ebay: led strips | eBay

Pierce

Re: LED tubes for fluorescent replacement (split from Re: What did you do to your coach)

Reply #24 – March 26, 2013, 11:45:42 pm

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.

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