Best Interior LED replacement bulbs

The best? That depends on your needs, expectations and budget.

I would believe that the cheap 48 panels have to be the most popular. I have had one running non stop since last April. I have also ran them at up to 17v with no issues and that's higher than I'll ever see in the rig. One person tested them even higher and found they started failing at 20v but really, if you have 20v running through your rig, you have bigger issues than a bunch of cheap LEDs.

In our trailer we run 10 of the the 48's, 10 smaller cobs and a 120 cob on the porch. I did have a pigtail come off of a panel after a long run of wash boards. It took longer to heat up the soldering iron than fix it.

Personally if I were to redo it, I'd use all COB style. They go in and out as easy as a normal bulb and you never have to worry about the tape failing OR needing to remove it.

RFI is a real issue and there is at least one member that had the more expensive regulated LEDs and they messed with his Ham radio. Now he has the cheapies and is happy again.

So only you can decide what is best for you. Some do it by reading, others by buying a bunch of different ones and trying them.

I forgot. The type of fixture you have may have a impact on which LEDs you like. We have clear lenses and seem to use the LEDs differently than those with frosted lenses.

The RF interference it is...

SCVJeff wrote:

bkirkpatrick wrote:

westend wrote:
Best is pretty subjective. I see that most US based sellers sell a regulated bulb. That may have better longevity as the current is controlled at the fixture. As long as the components of the regulation circuit are durable and there is no RF interference, that could be considered a better lamp. I chose to use the Asian unregulated panels in warm white. The cost is significantly lower and I've had good durability. I figured that < $2.00 a bulb gives me some leeway if they prove to be less than adequate.

Best is NOT subject in real world comparisons where members here have tried bulbs based on advertised specs and "sales pitches" only to find out that they are too dim or don't work. The "RF interference" is a moot point because 99% of people here are not looking at that. Just reply with what you have personal, first hand, experience with.

Sorry, but even though this is your post, RF interfearence is a HUGE deal! It will easily take out off air TV, and any broadcast band radio, often well over 20' away, and I have even seen it bother satellite depending on there the dish on the roof is.

The big difference is that 99% of the people (your number) here are not aware as to why their TV is dead or drifts in and out of lock, so they complain about digital TV instead even though that has nothing to do with it.

And this IS my personal experience. I noticed this very early on, figured out how serious it was and how to mitigate the problem. Then worked with one of the top LED manufacturers and let them know what I found, and they redesigned their products so to suppress the RFI long before any of the others understood what was going on. And there are plenty of these that are just as noisy as they ever were.

Look in the archives. This problem has been mentioned several times in the past.

I think Jeff is on to something. On our last trip out with our new Windjammer trailer, which has LEDs throughout, we noticed a problem with the rear bedroom TV when ever we turned a certain light on. I'm going to investigate further to see if it's RF interference from the LEDs. Never considered that.

Almot wrote:

westend wrote:
A majority of these were either SMD36 1528 or SMD48 1528.

Was it 1528 or 3528?

3528, of course, thank you. I edited my post and made a mental note to factor everything I measure today into metric so that I can get better accustomed.;) I suppose the US system is never going to migrate to metric, we're too far ingrained with fractional inch. Metric is far superior, IMO.

westend wrote:
Best is pretty subjective. I see that most US based sellers sell a regulated bulb. That may have better longevity as the current is controlled at the fixture. As long as the components of the regulation circuit are durable and there is no RF interference, that could be considered a better lamp. I chose to use the Asian unregulated panels in warm white. The cost is significantly lower and I've had good durability. I figured that < $2.00 a bulb gives me some leeway if they prove to be less than adequate.

Excellent information. Thank You

I'm looking at LED's and appreciate this type of info.

I would suggest these for $19.98 as it's for ten panels DELIVERED or $2 each. Regulated and RF are rarely a issue in a RV. For $20 what do you have to loose? I started buying LED's from China five years ago and I've bought over 60. In those five years I've had one fail and we are half timers.

westend wrote:
A majority of these were either SMD36 1528 or SMD48 1528.

Was it 1528 or 3528?

bkirkpatrick wrote:

westend wrote:
Best is pretty subjective. I see that most US based sellers sell a regulated bulb. That may have better longevity as the current is controlled at the fixture. As long as the components of the regulation circuit are durable and there is no RF interference, that could be considered a better lamp. I chose to use the Asian unregulated panels in warm white. The cost is significantly lower and I've had good durability. I figured that < $2.00 a bulb gives me some leeway if they prove to be less than adequate.

Best is NOT subject in real world comparisons where members here have tried bulbs based on advertised specs and "sales pitches" only to find out that they are too dim or don't work. The "RF interference" is a moot point because 99% of people here are not looking at that. Just reply with what you have personal, first hand, experience with.

Brendan,
I put the "subjective" in there because price may denote best for some, made in USA may give peace of mind for some, regulated current may be best for some, lumen output may be best for some, and there is a list of things that can make different choices best for others.

My experience: I wished to illuminate my 22' trailer with LED's and was not going to use the original fixtures for a variety of reasons. I either built my own fixtures or reused 12v halogen fixtures I had at hand. My needs were task lighting over countertops, central overhead lighting, and reading lamps near bunks. I also put a fixture in the shower.

After reading some of the LED conversion posts on the Forum, I got a feeling that all LED lamps were not equal. In fact similarly constructed LED's are not equal from different vendors. Also, Kelvin temperature can also differ between vendors. Early on, I ruled out the more expensive regulated LED's because of potential RF interference and the probability that I could build my own lighting regulator if voltage wasn't adequate for the task.

I bought a few LED panels in different configurations from different vendors, mostly in "warm white. A majority of these were either SMD36 3528 or SMD48 3528. I also bought some "cool white" and those with 5050 diodes. What worked for me were SMD 48 3528 in overhead central lighting and SMD 36 3528 in reading lights, all of them in "warm white". Some of my fixtures have an etched lens (the reading lights and countertops) and the rest have a clear glass lens. The central overhead fixtures are doubled (two panels) and can be operated together or singly.

My power source can vary between 14.5V and into the 12.* range. It rarely reaches 12.2V. I've not had any failures of diodes, none of my LED's reach high temperatures, and I am very happy with the outcome.

Hope this helps.

bkirkpatrick wrote:
... Just reply with what you have personal, first hand, experience with.

I thought this was exactly what he - Westend - did :)...

And - yes, the OP should be more specific in what they are looking for.

bkirkpatrick wrote:

westend wrote:
Best is pretty subjective. I see that most US based sellers sell a regulated bulb. That may have better longevity as the current is controlled at the fixture. As long as the components of the regulation circuit are durable and there is no RF interference, that could be considered a better lamp. I chose to use the Asian unregulated panels in warm white. The cost is significantly lower and I've had good durability. I figured that < $2.00 a bulb gives me some leeway if they prove to be less than adequate.

Best is NOT subject in real world comparisons where members here have tried bulbs based on advertised specs and "sales pitches" only to find out that they are too dim or don't work. The "RF interference" is a moot point because 99% of people here are not looking at that. Just reply with what you have personal, first hand, experience with.

Sorry, but even though this is your post, RF interfearence is a HUGE deal! It will easily take out off air TV, and any broadcast band radio, often well over 20' away, and I have even seen it bother satellite depending on there the dish on the roof is.

The big difference is that 99% of the people (your number) here are not aware as to why their TV is dead or drifts in and out of lock, so they complain about digital TV instead even though that has nothing to do with it.

And this IS my personal experience. I noticed this very early on, figured out how serious it was and how to mitigate the problem. Then worked with one of the top LED manufacturers and let them know what I found, and they redesigned their products so to suppress the RFI long before any of the others understood what was going on. And there are plenty of these that are just as noisy as they ever were.

Look in the archives. This problem has been mentioned several times in the past.