Forum Discussion

Busskipper's avatar
Busskipper
Explorer
Oct 04, 2013

Need Help - Basic G4 LED replacement light for the Coach

LED replacement lights in the RV - basic G4 ceiling lights with dimmers, when I had these installed they had 10 watt 12volt Halogens and they never gave off enough light for reading. As they began to fail I added 20 watt and they made it a little better. So the question is have you replaced any of your lights with LED replacements? If so what did you use?

I have been looking online to see what is available and have found a large number of options, which leads to my confusion. Just a few are listed below;

10 watt – 140 lumens – 1 watt

15 watt? - 240 lumens – 2 w

20 watt – 300 lumens – 3.25watts

All of the above are very expensive, in comparison to many similar found on e-bay, thus the dilemma, so many options, what’s a person to do.

So if you have used any of these lights how did you like them? If not what have you used and do you have a link?

Now for a question on the Lumens and Color number’s, what have you found that works for you – I tend to like a bright Daylight color 5,000-7,000K and more light than I need as they are Dimmable.

Are most people using the lollipop style or a corn row style?

Join in and give me your insight, much easier to read RVer's reviews than to order 5-10 different units and decide.

Thanks for all the info,
Class A

10 Replies

  • bluwtr49's avatar
    bluwtr49
    Explorer II
    Oct 08, 2013
    Busskipper wrote:
    Ivylog wrote:
    The future for LEDs is the CREE chip. Do a EBay search for G4 CREE. At the bottom you will find a Cree that will fit a overhead light. Unfortunately they are so new the price needs to come down some before I,ll replace some of my regular LEDs. I use a LED clamp on light that I cut off the 120V converter and run on 12V for reading

    I may try one of the $3 ones in the alum cylinder and bend the leads 90 degrees.


    Dick,

    I was hopping you might see this -- a couple of years ago I watched as you did the LED thing so you might Boondock Better. Our Coaches are of Similar vintage so I was hoping the systems might be similar and you may have found a solution for the overhead, dimmable lights that may work. If you have then I could just follow you lead and not need to experiment with a long list of G4's.

    My goal is to replace these lights with BRIGHT (high Lummens) G4's that are Dimmable. Most of the time we just use the light for bumping around but I still work and need to be able to see plans and the computer and printouts.

    So the question would be "have you found a bright and dimmable LED to fit the G4 so I might just order them and never need to worry again?

    Thanks again for you help,

    Busskipper

    G4 link


    While I really like these lights...well enough to all 9 in the living area, I don't have a dimmer so I can not answer your question. Give Starlight a call and perhaps they can help you.

    The 4,000 K (cool white) is so much better for reading than the original WW halogens and they don't get hot.
  • Busskipper's avatar
    Busskipper
    Explorer
    Oct 08, 2013
    dirtyharryo wrote:
    I changed both of my Motor Homes over to the corn row type, they were 4 to a row, 4 or 5 rows, bright white. They are a lot brighter than the ones that I changed. Bought on EBay $1.50 or $2.00 each. I am changing all of the lights in my house over to LEDs also.


    Harry,

    Do you have a link on these? One of my questions has been will these work as well or better than the Lollipops? Do you have dimmers in your Coach?

    Thanks,

    Busskipper
  • Busskipper's avatar
    Busskipper
    Explorer
    Oct 08, 2013
    Ivylog wrote:
    The future for LEDs is the CREE chip. Do a EBay search for G4 CREE. At the bottom you will find a Cree that will fit a overhead light. Unfortunately they are so new the price needs to come down some before I,ll replace some of my regular LEDs. I use a LED clamp on light that I cut off the 120V converter and run on 12V for reading

    I may try one of the $3 ones in the alum cylinder and bend the leads 90 degrees.


    Dick,

    I was hopping you might see this -- a couple of years ago I watched as you did the LED thing so you might Boondock Better. Our Coaches are of Similar vintage so I was hoping the systems might be similar and you may have found a solution for the overhead, dimmable lights that may work. If you have then I could just follow you lead and not need to experiment with a long list of G4's.

    My goal is to replace these lights with BRIGHT (high Lummens) G4's that are Dimmable. Most of the time we just use the light for bumping around but I still work and need to be able to see plans and the computer and printouts.

    So the question would be "have you found a bright and dimmable LED to fit the G4 so I might just order them and never need to worry again?

    Thanks again for you help,

    Busskipper

    G4 link
  • bluwtr49's avatar
    bluwtr49
    Explorer II
    Oct 08, 2013
    I used these:

    Starlight

    My puck lights won't take a very large diameter "wafer" and all I could find were not bright enough. These, while a bit pricey are great. I intentionally went with 4,000 K to get a more natural white color for reading and wondered if I would be happy. So far they are perfect and the power draw is minimal.
  • Busskipper's avatar
    Busskipper
    Explorer
    Oct 08, 2013
    erstanfo wrote:
    From Ebay, you want Warm white if you like incandescent. Cool white is more blue.
    You need at least 200 lumens to be happy. Anything less will be dimmer than your halogen.
    My most recent purchases have been these:
    ebay 200 lumpen G4


    Thanks for the Link, These seem to be what I'm leaning toward -- but would a 300-400 LM work well with the Dimmer that most Coaches have?

    I like Bright Lights that can be dimmed -- also these fit with no problem in the light socket -- some appear to have significantly Diodes on the back side.

    Right now the Ebay Lights are looking Best.

    Busskipper
  • Busskipper's avatar
    Busskipper
    Explorer
    Oct 08, 2013
    Daveinet wrote:
    As far as color, 2700 Kelvin is about the highest you want to go, if you want it to "feel" like incandescent. Technically, an incandescent is about 2500 Kelvin. You will see ads that claim 3000 is soft or warm white, but the reality is, they still have a blue hue and are bit stark, much like florescent. One other issue is that any time you dim an LED, it will turn more blue, the darker it goes.


    Dave,

    If I want a very White (bright) light for reading what is needed? From my limited experience the high Kelvin number 5,000 + seem to give me a better reading light.

    Thanks for the insight on Kelvin.

    Busskipper
  • dirtyharryo's avatar
    dirtyharryo
    Explorer
    Oct 04, 2013
    I changed both of my Motor Homes over to the corn row type, they were 4 to a row, 4 or 5 rows, bright white. They are a lot brighter than the ones that I changed. Bought on EBay $1.50 or $2.00 each. I am changing all of the lights in my house over to LEDs also.
  • Ivylog's avatar
    Ivylog
    Explorer III
    Oct 04, 2013
    The future for LEDs is the CREE chip. Do a EBay search for G4 CREE. At the bottom you will find a Cree that will fit a overhead light. Unfortunately they are so new the price needs to come down some before I,ll replace some of my regular LEDs. I use a LED clamp on light that I cut off the 120V converter and run on 12V for reading

    I may try one of the $3 ones in the alum cylinder and bend the leads 90 degrees.
  • erstanfo's avatar
    erstanfo
    Explorer
    Oct 04, 2013
    From Ebay, you want Warm white if you like incandescent. Cool white is more blue.
    You need at least 200 lumens to be happy. Anything less will be dimmer than your halogen.
    My most recent purchases have been these:
    ebay 200 lumpen G4
  • Daveinet's avatar
    Daveinet
    Explorer
    Oct 04, 2013
    As far as color, 2700 Kelvin is about the highest you want to go, if you want it to "feel" like incandescent. Technically, an incandescent is about 2500 Kelvin. You will see ads that claim 3000 is soft or warm white, but the reality is, they still have a blue hue and are bit stark, much like florescent. One other issue is that any time you dim an LED, it will turn more blue, the darker it goes.

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