Upgrading to LED lights

[catblaster]

I tried swapping out my incandescents for LEDs and went back to incandescents two days later. I thought they sucked. Really poor color and very low light output. And the only way they will ever pay for themselves is if you leave it on 24/7. Under normal use they really take a long time to pay for themselves.

Have you seen mine? Come take a look at them and you may change your mind. The first time I bought just a few to see how I would like them , then realized I needed to change the color and lumens. After removing the fixture and all the internal wiring and ballast I rewired the bulbs in, then added more until I got the level right. Much better, plus I just cant stand fluorescent lights or the hummm they sometimes have.

 

[Old Blevins]

To directly answer your question I bought >30 very inexpensive "direct from China" LEDs (<$1.50) for all my "puck" lights nearly 2 years ago.  I made sure to buy from a vendor who specified a color temperature and didn't just say "warm white".  Also , I bought from someone who specified the lumen output of the bulbs.  All the LEDs I installed are still working great!

I did pretty much the same thing at the same time with the same results.  Side benefit - I felt like I could ease off on being the Light **** with DW when boondocking.  Who says you can?t buy happiness?  8)

 

[khr]

The lights I bought nearly 2 years ago for $.98 each were put in our travel trailer that we used for 2 seasons and then traded in for a 2018 Jayco Jayflight.  (The new trailer came with LED?s installed, except for the light in the vent hood.  I thought that was strange!????)  They worked great and never had a problem.  The balance of the lights I put in our landscape lighting around our house.  When I was using the incadescent bulbs, I was replacing them on a regular basis.  The LED?s I put in are still burning bright!  I would highly recommend them.  Be sure you check the specs and get the exact light you are wanting.  There are ALL KINDS of lights out there.

 

[Thunderhawk]

You want a good led replacement here you go if you have t10 or 921 bulbs these are to me brighter
Than factory and 20 bucks for 20 i only
Needed 17 but tested all and all 20 was
Good 20x Super Bright 921 194 T10 LED Bulb, Pure White 12V 24-SMD Wedge Lamp For Boat RV Trailer Camper Motorhome Ceiling Dome Interior Light (Pack of 20) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0761TSXF4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_z5ArAbQTJHT22

 

[HueyPilotVN]

Caryl,

If you get to Q, We will fix you up with some free LEDs.

 

[cadee2c]

Caryl,

If you get to Q, We will fix you up with some free LEDs.

Thanks Bill. We are planning on being there

 

[Tom_M]

It's pretty easy to find inexpensive standard 1156 LEDs but I've spent a fair amount of time trying to find reasonably priced T5 & T8 tube replacements and same with globe and reading lights. A search for RV interior LEDs yields thousands of hits on eBay. For those who have had luck finding cheaper bulbs it would be helpful for others interested in retrofit to know exactly where they were purchased. Do you have a seller or product you can point us to?

Here's what I did with my fluorescent fixtures:
https://www.bornfreervclub.org/bulletin_board/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5356&p=30231#p30231

Total cost was about $5 for each fixture. I did this about a year and a half ago so the eBay links aren't working.

 

[docj]

Here's what I did with my fluorescent fixtures:
https://www.bornfreervclub.org/bulletin_board/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5356&p=30231#p30231

Total cost was about $5 for each fixture. I did this about a year and a half ago so the eBay links aren't working.

I did roughly the same thing with all of my fluorescent fixtures, except that I used LED self-stick strips.  The effect is roughly the same and the installation was the same.

 

[jvangurp]

I would suggest anyone who wants LEDs to start with replacing all the condescend bulbs first, they are the energy hogs. Then look closely at the fluorescent tubes, they are less piggish with energy than condescends and usually not as many to replace.>>>Dan

I was scratching my head about these condescend bulbs... I think you mean incandescent

 

[John From Detroit]

I think he got spil clunked.. The spell checker on my system often, instead of correcting the spelling, puts in the wrong word.

 

[SCVJeff]

Also keep the frequency under 4000 to stay away from the blue intense lighting above that.>>>Dan

Its not Frequency, it's  Color Temperature, expressed in Kelvin. 2700k is about what a typical  incandescent lamp looks like. And yeah, for interior anything really above 4200K starts getting a little harsh even though they really don't start appearing purple until about 5500K