Cheap leds

[Steve S]

So today I installed Chinese leds @ a cost of $5.00 and installed leds from the dealer @ a cost of $25.00.
I must admit that the Chinese ones aren't worth the money and don't give off the amount of light as the ones from the dealer.
I guess it goes to show that you get what you pay for.

[outwest]

Yeah, the amount of lumens can vary greatly. The color temp can vary as well, even when they're supposed to be the same. Another thing I've come across is some of the cheaper ones will last for years and some burn out within a week.

Early this year, I bought some 450 lumen, 6500K, led par20 flood lights (paid $19.95 each) with traditional base (for use in track lighting) on Amazon from 3rd party (3rd party seller but shipped by Amazon). 25% of them burned out within a week. The rest, though, are doing great. Thankfully, Amazon makes 3rd party sellers have a 30-day guarantee and since was shipped by Amazon was an easy (and free) return.

But anyway, my experience has been about the same as yours.

[JRTJH]

I posted the following comments in another thread several months ago. It is as appropriate today as it was then. Hopefully you'll find replacement LED's that function. As stated, LED's vary in light intensity greatly. The "normal" 921 incandescent bulb output is 220 lumens in a color range of about 3200-3800 Kelvin. When you look at LED bulbs, you can find a 921 "replacement" with lumen outputs from 120-600 (depending on the type and number of LED's) in color ranges from 2800-6800 Kelvin (yellow through bluish/purple). Actually, you can find LED's in all color ranges as they emit all colors. So to say that the ones you bought are too "dim" simply means either you ordered the incorrect LED's for your application or the seller shipped you the wrong LED's.

As for failing to work, I've ordered LED's from EBay and Amazon for several years and probably have bought well over 300 different "bulbs" and have never had a failure. LED's are voltage sensitive and will only work on a specific voltage (usually a wide range) and are polarity sensitive (positive must be connected to the positive terminal). The only issues I've ever had was "in the early days" the color range was not accurately represented, but now when the EBay or Amazon ad states 3600K, you can be assured that you're getting LED's that represent the incandescent range accurately.

Now, the post from before:

As you probably know, all LED's are currently manufactured in China or Maylasia. They are assembled there into "light assemblies" and shipped either packaged or unpackaged to distributors in the US and other countries.

Superbriteleds is one such company, I'm not sure if they repackage their LED's or if they are packaged at the assembly plant, but they are functionally identical to LED assemblies sold on EBay, Amazon, and a host of other "lower priced" websites.

The link you provided sells the 15LED (SMD3528) for $16.95. A "functionally equavilent" 18LED (SMD 5050) is available on EBay for $4.99 at this link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1pc-G4-18-50...item27c16b8645

Amazon also sells a "functionally identical" 15LED (SMD 3528) assembly for $6.99 at: http://www.amazon.com/LEDwholesalers...eywords=G4+led

While I certainly think SuperBright LED's are a good product, their pricing is extremely high when compared to comparable LED's from other manufacturers. There is "some difference" in LED's but when assembled into a "G-4 configuration" and packaged for resale, the "light bulb" is functionally identical. The only essential difference is the packaging and of course, the price.

You may want to do some comparisons before you invest too much money in the "high priced LED's, as they are available for much less at other sources.

I have no interest in any market for LED's (or any other RV product) and only post this information as a source of less expensive LED's with the hope that members can save a little money.

It can be confusing, but my experience has been that if you order the right LED's you'll be satisfied and you won't have to pay outrageous prices for them. It's pretty much a matter of paying "importer prices" or "retailer prices".... But either way, you're buying the same item.

[halfprice]

I changed out all my lights with LEDs from E-Bay. Very happy with them. The only problem I have had with them is the plug. Some just don't make good contact. On occasion if the light doesn't work I have to move the plug a little to make better contact then its good for the trip. I think they lose proper contact during the drive to the cg.


Jerry

[JRTJH]

Jerry,

If you unplug your LED's that "vibrate loose" and look at the two wires that are bent over the plastic block, you'll see that they are thin wires that sit down in the groove. Sometimes they will vibrate loose. If you pull up on the end of the wire and bend it slightly, it will make a "loop" that sits up higher than the plastic block. Plug it back in and your "vibration problems" should be gone.

If you compare the "plug end" of a conventional 921 bulb and the LED, you'll see that the LED is slightly smaller and only has one lead on each side whereas the glass 921 bulb base is slightly larger and has a "looped" wire lead on each side. That larger base coupled with the looped wire makes for a better contact with the socket. Bending the LED wires slightly will help with almost every LED flickering problem.

[zuley]

I took a chance and ordered 20 led's from Kijiji this past spring for a buck each, shipping included. For 20 bucks if they were no good it was not a big loss. Although not as bright as the 921's I replaced them with they turned out OK. We dry camp for the most part so I was interested in conserving battery power. I'm satisfied with the result. I believe we switched up 16 bulbs and all lasted the first summer. We'll see how many are still working this spring when I pull the camper out of storage.

[Steve S]

These are the ones I bought, I'm not sure where they're made but maybe someone could tell me about them.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by Steve S

These are the ones I bought, I'm not sure where they're made but maybe someone could tell me about them.

Steve,

Exactly the same LED's you bought are available on Amazon for $16.66.

http://www.amazon.com/LongLife-50501...mings+mark+led

If you notice, they are packaged as "GREEN LONGLIFE" brand. They are marketed by "MING'S MARK LED"

Comparatively, they have 16 LED's that each give off 12.5 lumens at 12 VDC. The color range is 4000K which is slightly "hotter" (blueish) whiter than a conventional incandescent bulb (3600K).

Without getting too technical, this is what you have: a plastic body with 16 SMD 5050 LED chips on it. Each 5050LED is actually 3 SMD 3528 chips in one "moldset"

So each SMD 3528 produces about 7 lumens and each SMD 5050 produces about 14 lumens (yes, the 5050 chipset is less efficient by about 33%) and costs about 3x more.

You can see that a light with 16 SMD 5050 LED's will produce about 224 lumens of light (16x14) and a light with 40 SMD 3528 LED's will produce about 280 lumens of light (40x7). The "cheaper one" (the 3528 light) will actually produce more available lumens.

Now, lumens are "subjective" and measured by a meter. The human eye "sees" brightness differently than a meter so you can not rely on a "metered lumen count" at a specific temperature (color) to directly compare to a "metered lumen count" at a different temperature. This means that a "yellow" LED will give off a different "perceived" brightness than a "bluish white" LED. The meter will read the same on both, but your eye will tell your brain that the bluish/white light is brighter. This has something to do with the way the brain and the iris in your eye communicate.

In essence, what you bought (Greenlife) bulbs are "expensively packaged" (for the RV market) LED assemblies that are produced in China and sold by RV dealers in the states at a tremendous markup. The same LED assemblies are available at Amazon.com for about 40% less than your dealer and are available on EBay for about $3 to $4 each. In my opinion, the cardboard that the Greenlife LED's is packaged on is the only difference. Your opinion may differ.

You can buy the same (or even brighter) LED's on EBay and pay substantially less for them. The only "real question" that I see is: "How much is the convenience of just going to the dealership worth?" Once you answer that question, then where you spend your money is up to you

[Steve S]

Yes I agree that they can be bought cheaper online compared to an RV store but then I have to wait and if I have a problem then they have to be shipped back and more waiting with no clue if they'll stand behind the product.
My theory is that if I put a value on my time it's cheaper in the long run to buy from the dealer as it's more efficient.
It sure would be nice to see these lights made over this way as I do see the huge mark up that's being made!

[JRTJH]

As I said, you have to answer the question: "How much is the convenience of just going to the dealership worth?"

It looks like you've answered it already.

If you've got the money to spend that way, maybe you can make a couple of payments toward my RV and I'll send you some LED's

[halfprice]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Jerry,

If you unplug your LED's that "vibrate loose" and look at the two wires that are bent over the plastic block, you'll see that they are thin wires that sit down in the groove. Sometimes they will vibrate loose. If you pull up on the end of the wire and bend it slightly, it will make a "loop" that sits up higher than the plastic block. Plug it back in and your "vibration problems" should be gone.

If you compare the "plug end" of a conventional 921 bulb and the LED, you'll see that the LED is slightly smaller and only has one lead on each side whereas the glass 921 bulb base is slightly larger and has a "looped" wire lead on each side. That larger base coupled with the looped wire makes for a better contact with the socket. Bending the LED wires slightly will help with almost every LED flickering problem.

Hi John,
I have already bent the wires up a bit. And yes it does help make a better contact. The lights only go out after a drive. Its not a problem to fix. Only takes a couple of seconds. The lights never flicker. Its either on or off.

Jerry

[Steve S]

So I'm searching through Ebay for some great deals on LED lights and I'm noticing that so many of them seem to be pin connections. Will these still work?
I'm searching for those deals where I can buy like 10 for 10 bucks if anyone has a link to them.

[Festus2]

Steve -

If you go to the Modifications & Upgrades section of the forum, there is a sticky about LED's along with a list of recommended sites that sell them. There are also a couple of supportive posts that follow the sticky with additional sites that members have used to purchase.

The LED sticky is right at the top of the thread list.l

[Steve S]

I looked under the thread already and there's no links to Ebay. It was enough of a pain setting things up with Ebay as I've never had a credit card in my life so I have to stick with doing my online shopping there.

[hankpage]

Originally Posted by Steve S

I looked under the thread already and there's no links to Ebay. It was enough of a pain setting things up with Ebay as I've never had a credit card in my life so I have to stick with doing my online shopping there.

Steve, Ebay links expire regularly so even if someone posted one it may be dead by the time you get to it. Good luck in your search, Hank

I envy you .... No credit card!

[Steve S]

Originally Posted by hankpage

Steve, Ebay links expire regularly so even if someone posted one it may be dead by the time you get to it. Good luck in your search, Hank

I envy you .... No credit card!

Yeah from last night till this morning the ones I was looking at disappeared! Guess I'll just have to keep looking.
The bank gave me a new interact card that has a Visa pic stamped on it and I can use it as a credit card for online shopping. What it does is just suck the money directly from my account so I have no bills or interest.