LED interior lighting

[Tanman]

I recently purchased led lights to replace the OEM lights in my 3200/ After installing them I was quite disappointed that the lights were not bright enough. It looks very dim inside and totally not adequate for us to see by. I looked them up and found them to be 3-watt bright white LED;s Kelvin scale of 6700. I am wanting to go to a brighter LED but it seems like the specs on the 6 watts the "LED bulb" is too long and I don't think they will fit inside the bulb holder and the lens covers. Have others found a comparable replacement for the OEM bulbs, which are too hot, and too yellow and will fit inside the light holder?? Mine are G4 bulb bases. Two small prongs to be specific.
I hate to go back to the yellow OEM bulbs but I need more lighting.

[Thom]

Try this post for everything about LEDs

http://www.dutchmenowners.org/forums...ulbs-3820.html.

[Tanman]

Not what I need Thom.. I am looking for LEDS at least 6w that will fit into our puck lights...man am i getting frustrated... it seems the more I look the less that will fit into the lights... That is why I was hoping someone has changed them out and can say the replacements fit... arrrr

[ATCguy]

Originally Posted by Tanman

Not what I need Thom.. I am looking for LEDS at least 6w that will fit into our puck lights...man am i getting frustrated... it seems the more I look the less that will fit into the lights... That is why I was hoping someone has changed them out and can say the replacements fit... arrrr

Ok, maybe I'm off base here... if so, I'm sure the electrical gurus will correct me.

You say you want 6w bulbs. Isn't the watt-rating of the bulb how much power it draws...not a measure of how much light it puts out? I'm thinking you want bulbs with higher lumens... which is the measurement of how bright it is.

Correct?

The main cabin, bedroom, and bath puck lights should be JC10 bulbs... and the garage are 921, I think.

[dathomsen]

I put these in all my small puck lights.

Wattage used to determine brightness for incandescent bulbs but you should really compare lumens. See this:

[eightydo]

With LED you should look at the Lumens and/or Candle power. Wattage is amount heat generated from the lamp.

[franktafl]

Originally Posted by eightydo

With LED you should look at the Lumens and/or Candle power. Wattage is amount heat generated from the lamp.

This is absolutely correct. Compare the amount of lumens for the LED lamp against the amount of lumens for the incandescent. Unfortunately, the LED will usually be less but they will last longer and use way less battery and give off practically NO heat (tradeoff) although, newer technology has decreased the delta between the two.

What is the lamp number of the one you are looking to replace?

[Gearheadzs]

Here are the make, model, prices of what I used recently when converting all the lights in my 3818.
They are bright enough for us and all in "warm" color as I think the blueish white is an ugly look IMO. I got them all on Amazon, except the under step/belly led's which I got at Walmart. I also used the same understep light below but in white behind my switch panel to light up all the words (not shown below). For Awning lights, I used Boogey Lights underbelly kit with Ipod control and two 16' strips.

Smaller Ceiling Can light (you will have to shorten the contact leeds a little which is an eazy snip)

Bigger Ceiling Can Light

Lamp light

Garage and Basement Storage Surface Mt lights

Ramp Door Exterior light Exterior lights (not as bright as I hoped, will switch out to LED Floods like I use on my Sand car to light everything around the ramp when needed)

Under Step and Under Belly Lights


It took me a while to find the correct lights to use, as some specify nothing over 12V, but the ones I use are rated higher than that to account for over 12V charge conditions that we all have. I think that after changing everything it all puts out about what it did before in the main room and exterior, but inside the garage is much brighter, as there are two per light fixture. I will post the spec of what I used on the exterior in the next post.

Good Luck
Gear

[Gearheadzs]

Continued..
Here is the bulbs I used for exterior lights (prob cheaper to get them online, but this is where I started). Had no idea how many bulbs I really had and needed at first when this little project started. It adds up quick.
Exterior lights

Awning Lights (If you add them, call Boogey lights to get better price and get exactly what you need, very easy people to work with).

Good Luck.
Gear

[Evereddie]

FYI. Wattage is ALWAYS a measure of how much power is drawn by a device, in this case bulbs. Wattage is not directly a heat rating. Before LED bulbs the wattage could pretty much predict the brightness of a bulb. LED lights work differently and wattage cannot accurately predict brightness. Lumens (or candle power) is the only useful number for brightness.

[Adair1965]

If you want inexpensive LED bulbs, check out eBay. I converted all my interior lights for about $10 CDN (24 bulbs). Mind you they'll take about 30 days to arrive, but its worth it seeing how much you'll pay on Amazon or through an RV dealer.

[Tanman]

Wow so much information so if i can remember it all I will respond and maybe others can pipe in. Wattage, lumens, Kelvin scale I understand well. In my experience as your wattage increases so do the lumens. As the Kelvin increased the light of the bulb will go from a yellowish hue to a cool white to a bluish or daylight color.
Since the wattage is directly related to the brightness or lumens the higher the wattage the greater the lumens...There are scales around that will give you approximate lumens output and the higher the lumens the higher the wattage. Usually a pretty clear linear scale. There are also conversions that pretty much tell you a 3 watt LED is equivalent to a 10-watt incandescent bulb. Now that is just off the top of my head but you get the point of the higher the wattage the higher the lumens.
Well, I need lots of light and prefer a higher kelvin towards a daylight or even bluish color.. old age is hell. I am not sure what length LED will fit in the puck lights and the cover goes back on. It seems once I get over 3 watts (no matter the lumens) the bulb specs seem to be too long to fit inside the puck. I was hoping someone could give me guidance in finding a higher power LED bulb that will fit or someone who likes a lot of light also to see.

[Gearheadzs]

Look at the bulb I posted for Small Ceiling light. That bulb size fits inside the living room ceiling lights, and others that have the smaller space.
Also they come in the brighter color if desired.

Gear

[wildwest450]

Originally Posted by Tanman

There are also conversions that pretty much tell you a 3 watt LED is equivalent to a 10-watt incandescent bulb. Now that is just off the top of my head but you get the point of the higher the wattage the higher the lumens.

I don't pretend to know anything about electricity, except that I love it. I believe you are hung up on the whole "watts" thing. I recently dumped a pile of cash converting my entire house to led lights. My living room has a 20ft vaulted ceiling with 8 smaller eyeball cans that had 60 watt bulbs, I replaced them with 8 watt 5k led lights and the difference was staggering. Awesome bright white/blueish light and far brighter than the old bulbs, I now hate buttery yellow bulbs. We did that same thing in the camper but with a 6500k cool white bulb, a mere 1.5 watts but easily twice the brightness of the stock bulb and a delightful blueish glow(zero heat). I realize this bulb probably won't be a match for yours, but if you can find them in a matching base, I guarantee you will like them.

[Gearheadzs]

Originally Posted by dawniewest

I don't pretend to know anything about electricity, except that I love it. I believe you are hung up on the whole "watts" thing. I recently dumped a pile of cash converting my entire house to led lights. My living room has a 20ft vaulted ceiling with 8 smaller eyeball cans that had 60 watt bulbs, I replaced them with 8 watt 5k led lights and the difference was staggering. Awesome bright white/blueish light and far brighter than the old bulbs, I now hate buttery yellow bulbs. We did that same thing in the camper but with a 6500k cool white bulb, a mere 1.5 watts but easily twice the brightness of the stock bulb and a delightful blueish glow(zero heat). I realize this bulb probably won't be a match for yours, but if you can find them in a matching base, I guarantee you will like them.

I changed all my home lights a few years ago to LED, including 27 can lights, and they are awesome. It was expensive, but they are great. Also have many of them on dimmers & tied to my home automation system and they work like a champ. Have not had to replace any in about 4 years or so. Hoping the ones I added to my Voltage stay working just as well as the ones in my home, as the old bulbs seemed to always break.

Gear

[wildwest450]

Originally Posted by Gearheadzs

I changed all my home lights a few years ago to LED, including 27 can lights, and they are awesome. It was expensive, but they are great. Also have many of them on dimmers & tied to my home automation system and they work like a champ. Have not had to replace any in about 4 years or so. Hoping the ones I added to my Voltage stay working just as well as the ones in my home, as the old bulbs seemed to always break.

Gear

That's good to know, bringing a ladder into the living room every 2-3 years was a pain. The expensive part was replacing all my dimmers, they were 18 years old and not LED compliant. I also got a great deal on 4ft tubes to replace my fluorescent lights in the garage, best money i've ever spent.

[Ricache]

Originally Posted by dawniewest

That's good to know, bringing a ladder into the living room every 2-3 years was a pain. The expensive part was replacing all my dimmers, they were 18 years old and not LED compliant. I also got a great deal on 4ft tubes to replace my fluorescent lights in the garage, best money i've ever spent.

You turned me on to the replacement ac and now leds for the incandescents.

Thanks!

[wildwest450]

Originally Posted by Ricache

You turned me on to the replacement ac and now leds for the incandescents.

Thanks!

That's what were here for

Those are super inexpensive for leds, BUT, I did have one doa (ordered18) and they are a little fragile when installing, be patient, once they're in I haven't had any problems with them.

[Tanman]

After searching site after site I settled upon Superbright LED bulbs. They are rated at 320 lumens and equivalent of 35 watt bulb opposed to the OEM 20 watt bulb.. Yes I am still on the wattage but its only as a reference point. Its hard to find the specs on Halogen bulbs that were installed as to the lumens.
Here's hoping they will meet my needs. Right now the inside looks like Dracula's home. Dark and dreary with all the lights on.

[pdonoghu]

Wattage has nothing to do with brightness. It's a measure of how much electricity is consumed. High efficiency lights, like LEDs and compact fluorescent (CL) use less electricity than an incandescent (low efficiency) bulb to generate the same amount of light. Most of the energy in an incandescent bulb goes to generating heat, not light. Manufacture's further confuse the issue by saying a 14 watt CL is the equivalent of a 60 watt bulb. Manufacturer A's 60 W bulb may not be the same brightness as manufacturer B's. But they both consume 60 W of electricity (power). For brightness, one really needs to know the lumens. Not all LEDs have the same efficiency, so more watts does not necessarily mean brighter, it may mean it runs hotter. I suspect cheaply manufactured LEDs tend to be less efficient, using more watts. If the manufacturer or supplier can't tell you the brightness in lumens, maybe time to chose a different supplier.

Then there is the perceived color of the light, which can range from yellowish, to white, to a blueish hue. That's more of a personal preference.