We put 250 LUMEN Gold Star LED's in our trailer last year and (so far) they're working great. Actually they're so bright I want to add a switch to the one dual lamp fixture we use all the time so I can shut one of them off while watching TV etc.Anyhow, I was going to order some to use in our porch light but I'm reading lotsa reviews about the Gold Stars not lasting so I'm not going to order any more till I see how well the ones we have last. Some people we camp with have gone to the 20 foot LED strip under their awning, they really like it but it's just TOO bright IMO. I was hoping to find a bulb I can use in the standard 1156 porch light socket that is a lot brighter than the standard bulb or maybe a whole new fixture..?So I'm wondering what others are using. We only dry camp and I'm looking for something I can use in place of our Coleman (gas) lantern.Thanks.

Fisherguy wrote:We put 250 watt Gold Star LED's in our trailer last year 250 lumens, I'm sure you mean.

Our porch light cover got broke. So we just bought a new porch light assembly with LED bulb at CW. It's a lot brighter than the OEM bulb. It's a motion activated one also. Works good. I don't remember what it cost, but it couldn't have been outrageous or I wouldn't have bought it.

I put the LED strip on the bottom side of my awning and never use my porch light any more. You can adjust the LED intensity with the remote control. Bought it off Ebay. Its 16.4ft long comes on a reel and is the perfect length for a 17ft awning.

2oldman wrote:Fisherguy wrote:We put 250 watt Gold Star LED's in our trailer last year 250 lumens, I'm sure you mean.although I'd like to see a 250W LED

SCVJeff wrote:although I'd like to see a 250W LEDLighthouses!

LED porch light ideas | Good Sam Community

Tom_M1
Explorer
Apr 07, 2016
I purchased some LEDs like the following on eBay: 12 LED panel

I put two of them in my porch light and they work great.
Fisherguy
Explorer
Apr 07, 2016
Ya, whatever Professor Mex.... :R

So no one has tried either of the ones below?

Fisherguy wrote:
Has anyone tried one of these? Rated at 350 lumen, but it seems some people rate their lumens different than other sites. M4's ratings seem to be a lot more than others.

Anyhow, this is the one that looks interesting:
Dream Lighting 12V Waterproof Awning Lights

or this one

Keep in mind I'm looking for something to replace my lantern outside.
westend
Explorer
Mar 29, 2016
I put a 36smd LED panel in my porch light. It came from China with three different adaptors to common US 12 V RV lamp sockets. Cost was <$2. I need it to light up the door and steps, not to be a yard light.
trail-explorer
Explorer
Mar 29, 2016
This one fits the foot print of your typical RV porch light:

RV LED Porch light
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Mar 28, 2016
...................."and another thing"...............(Clouseau)

Comparing the yellow light of an incandescent bulb to pure white 5,000K LED light is deceptive. An incandescent bulb casts light every which direction. It is difficult to get a tubular shaped LED lamp to cast even lighting throughout a cube shaped space. I am vulnerable to lower number heat color. I can read (for example) with 10-watts of 5,000K light and have difficulty reading with 20-watts of 3,000 K lighting.

I drive ten watt LEDs at their full 1000 ma rating (10-volts). The light is an inverse cone and the full ten watts is concentrated inside the cone.
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Mar 28, 2016
A Superbowl was played in a stadium with all LED lighting, 2015 (?) Tens of thousands of watts - my piddly light is a toy by comparison. But it is inexpensive as compared to commercial lighting. A 300-watt low bay light costs around five hundred dollars. My 600-watt costs half that and is way brighter than 2 of the 300 watt units. Bigger heatsinks, Arctic Silver, industrial fans and I drive the chips to their ultimate milliamp and thermal scan the chips at 90 degrees ambient temperature. I try and keep chip temperature to 45C or less.

There is a LESSON in this for CONSUMERS

Commercial LED lighting ratings are a FARCE.

They RATE lumens at full ma chip rating, then chop the hell out of voltage (current) to save on expensive heatsink costs. With lab instruments their lies scream and shout. Beware of lumen "Ratings" They are used-car salesmen grade fabrications.
beemerphile1
Explorer
Mar 28, 2016
For comparison purposes, a 1156 incandescent lamp is approximately 400 lm.
SCVJeff
Explorer
Mar 28, 2016
DFord wrote:
Motion Guard LED Lights

I installed the Motion Guard "Bug-Guard Dual Porch Light" (pn BG520B) last year and couldn't be happier. Turn it on once and get an amber 220 lumen light - turn it off and back on and you get 520 lumens of white light. It's the brightest porch light I've come across when the white light is selected.

I tried their motion light first and while it beats the Smart Light 1000 from Star Lights that I had all to pieces, after I tried the Bug Light, I was hooked. I much prefer an always on light (unless I'm boondocking). The price of the bug light is much more attractive than anything I saw from Star Lights too.

I may be bitter about the 1st generation motion light I bought from Star Lights years ago because it only stayed on 10 seconds unless I was doing jumping jacks in front of it and when I called to complain, they were aware of that problem and offered me a replacement at the same price I'd paid for the first generation light they knew wasn't worth a hoot. I won't consider any of their products in the future.
Greg Wilson IS Starlights. This is a new company and new design to avoid infringement issues. It's a full LED board in them rather than using a single Starlights lamp. It stays on way longer than 10 sec. I'll have to go,wave it on but it's close to 60 sec.

I wanna see the Mex porch light when complete. That makes Ledzilla look like a nursery room nightlight
NinerBikes
Explorer
Mar 28, 2016
MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Yeah Jeff.
All 60,000 lumens of it. I seem to have found myself an OEM for CREE. The heat sink was expensiiiiive! A power amp reclaim - all 14-lbs of it. The face is 1/2" thick. I am going to have a machine shop mill a 1/4" trough around the perimeter and I will seat the Lexan in it. 1-1/4" tall. It's going to take beaucoup Arctic Silver to bond six 100-watt chips.

Stadium grade lighting for a remote Mexican beach. It'll light up 20,000 sf of beach like daylight. Hopefully we can get Comision Federal de Electricidad to pay the bill.

Learning a lot about LEDs doing this stuff. When driven at ma capacity an LED is waaaay brighter than it's commercially produced poor relations. And CREE makes some bright chips. The anodizing on this heatsink is so deep it has a grainy texture except of course for the milled face. Found some carbon black euroterminals rated 1/0 wire gold plated aluminum 400 amp rated. The lamp will be sealed with chapapote meaning hot tar. The cooling fans weigh 1.3 lbs each. Used. I think they're military surplus. Synthetic oil-filled bearings. Good old Barney Kaplan Supply. :)

I think Jeff and myself are suffering from Lumen Envy.
Fisherguy
Explorer
Mar 28, 2016
Can we keep this discussion to normal kinda consumer kinda stuff please?

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