LED Light Considerations

The panels I have see 14.6V for part of the day when the solar is charging. Probably a minimum of 13.6V. Forum member "Sparky" tested similar panels and operated them at 15V.

Of course, the LED solutions offered by Asian sellers are not all the same. That is why buying a few to test in different locations is a good exercise. If you get ones that fail, you're only out a few bucks. Buy from a different seller. A buyer can do this a few times and still be ahead of buying high priced LED's from sellers like Superbright LED, or similar.

IIRC, the E Bay vendor I had good luck with is named 2011_LED or something like that. I also bought good ones from a different vendor.

Could be the issue I had with the bunch I bought out of china a few years back.

The_real_wild1 wrote:
They are cheap enough you can buy a couple samples.

The real cheap ones don't (or used to not) tolerate converter voltage fluctuations very well. Hence they got a bad rep for RVs. In that case you truly could 'blame the bulb'

Check any LEDs for voltage tolerance. Yes, you will pay more for that.

allen8106 wrote:
:B

The last bunch I got was from Amazon. There are a ton of different styles and designs on the market now. I suggest buying a couple different types. Figure out if you want a bright white light or something dimmer like what you have now. I also would suggest getting the ones that plug into the socket vs the flat panel led with a wire and adapter. They are cheap enough you can buy a couple samples.

Desert Captain wrote:
If you want to see heat damage from your bulbs just switch to Halogens as they produce far more heat than incandescents.

Sounds like a great idea. I could probably cut down on propane use doing that.

:B

Thats great that you like to live in the dark. For people that don't and dry camp leds are the way to go. Less current and heat. They are cheap too. I have done almost every bulb in my trailer for under 30 bucks. Another bonus is the leds last way longer. I rarely ever have to change out leds.

Where did you get them?

Here's how I look at it. 10 watt halogen bulb draws 0.833 amps, a roughly equivalent illumination LED draws 0.120 amps, difference of 0.713 amps. For 4 lights, that's 2.8 amps, which equates to about 25 minutes of "free" furnace run time for every hour of the lights burning.

This minor disagreement will be moot in a few years, I'm thinking. There are just too many good reasons to illuminate with LED's.

For those shopping for them, there are more than a few threads about either whole rig conversion or picking some for specific task lighting. I'd suggest to buy cheap ones from Asia and only a few to test for compatibility. After testing, a guy can make a volume order or mix and match to achieve the best use.

FWIW, the inexpensive panel mounted LED's I bought three years ago are all still doing fine and no RFI. My 12V system sees 14.6 V every day.

Wild 1,

OK, one more time...

Yes this is an LED light thread and according to you no dissenting opinions are permitted.... seriously??? My point is and always was that not "everybody" has to replace every light in their rig with LED's. I never said that I don't like LED's in fact I pointed out that my rig has them for brake and back up lights and they work very well {reading comprehension is clearly is not your strong suit}.

I also pointed out that for some folks changing them makes sense {so much for your assertion that "you don't like led's and don't think anyone needs to change them",} please actually read my prior post.

If your incandescents are melting the fixtures the problem probably lies in excess voltage but by all mean blame that on light bulbs that have been doing the job for decades. If you want to see heat damage from your bulbs just switch to Halogens as they produce far more heat than incandescents.

As there are lots of folks reading this Forum seeking information I posted "another perspective" in an attempt to illustrate that going "ALL LED's" for every rig is "not necessarily" the best way to go for "EVERYONE".

The fact that I am correct seems to have touched a nerve with you... could it be you are having second thoughts? No, I doubt that, I am glad you are happy with your choices but puzzled why you cannot conceive of any other scenarios where you just might not be right.

I wish you and your LED's well and someday if the need arises, I will not hesitate to add a few of them to my rig but for now the one great law of the Universe still applies....

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

:C

Desert Captain wrote:

The_real_wild1 wrote:
Amazon.com or Amazon.ca your choice. EBay is another site you may have heard of?? As for saving power the led will run about 10 per cent amp wise. If you think LEDs are BS then why are you posting on a LED thread?

Wow, having a bad couple of days are we? The purpose of this Forum is for folks to share opinions and exchange information. In attempting to provide "another perspective" I was careful to point out that the post was my opinion and noted that yours and others might vary. If you want to drink the everyone has got to have all LED's Kool Aid it is OK with me.

Like I said for many folks replacing every light with an LED is indeed searching for a solution for which there is no known problem. I never said LED's were BS per se {your words}, I merely pointed out that while they work well so do incandescents given the limited/light use they are called upon to provide.

I understand that for some LED's make more sense than others as in Mr Wizard's post and the gentleman who has issues with his fan but even those issues do not necessitate replacing every light in the coach.

Hopefully, someday.... you will see the light.

:S

Again these are your words..

If you want to buy into the "Everybody has to go all LED" BS feel free.

Lights heating up and melting the fixture is not a problem?


Anyways you have made you point that you don't like led's and don't think anyone needs to change them. Good job. And no Im not having a bad day. You are bashing led lights in a led light thread. What is the point?