LED Model Numbers ??

[jje1960]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

If you are considering the change to LED lighting, read the information on various posts here. You'll save yourself money and be more satisfied if you research before you start buying. Notably, buy the temperature range lighting that suits your preference. 3500 to 3800K is closest to the "warm white" of incandescent bulbs. The 5000 to 6800K gets brighter and bluer the higher you go. Once you top 6000K the lights give off a blue/gray cast that many find annoying.

Nearly all LED lights are made in China, so buying them at Camping World or "LED Emporium" (or other sources) that charge anywahere from $14 to well over $35 for each light bulb gets you essentially the same thing as you get from Ebay for $1.99. LED's is not a place where you get what you pay for. There is a tremendous lack of knowledge about this type of lighting and what you see printed in a sales brochure is not always standardized from dealer to dealer. I'd suggest you buy one or two "sample" bulbs (of the cheap variety) see if they fit your needs, and if they do, then buy more, if they don't, then go to the "higher priced spread" as they say in the butter commercials. Whatever you do, don't go to CW or anywhere else for that matter, spend $3 or 4 hundred bucks on bulbs, get them home, change out all 45 lights and then find you don't like them... That's NOT the way to test a new technology.

Spending less than $10 testing the bulbs, even if you don't like them is much better than spending $40 for one bulb and finding that you can get the same bulb with "OMRAN" on it instead of "OSRAM" for $2.

Names have been changed to protect the innocent...

I changed out every light in and out of my trailer for less than $150 and I'd venture to say that the LED lighting I have is the same color, slightly brighter and much less heat produced than the incandescent lighting that was initially installed. I draw less than 3 amps in the evening using 3 or 4 fixtures where before, I'd be drawing over 30 amps using incandescent lights. The change, in my opinion, is definitely worth the investment if you dry camp or find your A/C not cooling well in the early evening. You'd be amazed how much heat (electrical waste byproduct) is produced (drawn from your battery) by incandescent lighting.

Good info here.... however, our preference was to go with the cool blue light, they were $5.95 per/bulb, changed all from front to back. Using 1/11th the amp of regular bulbs, this is serious consumption savings. While some like the warmer yellow type light, the blue cool is nice for us.

[LittleJoe]

Are you talking just interior or exterior also?

Care to post up model numbers?

Thanks

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by LittleJoe

Are you talking just interior or exterior also?

Care to post up model numbers?

Thanks

I'm not sure if you're wanting model numbers for what I used or what JJE1960 used. Let us know and I'm sure he will be as happy as I to provide you a source and item information.

[Paddler]

I've been using LED lighting in our trailers for years. One thing I've noticed is they tend to burn out elements rather quickly. (I normally use the 36 element arrays to replace the overhead lighting) Has anyone else noticed this? I've only had two incandecent lamps burn out in all our years of camping.

[SteveC7010]

Originally Posted by Paddler

I've been using LED lighting in our trailers for years. One thing I've noticed is they tend to burn out elements rather quickly. (I normally use the 36 element arrays to replace the overhead lighting) Has anyone else noticed this? I've only had two incandecent lamps burn out in all our years of camping.

There really aren't any standards for LED's yet. Most of them come from China and none of the US vendors seem to carry the same items. They may be similar but when you get them side by side, they're not the same. The whole market is a huge disarray.

I've yet to have an LED go bad in any application and I use them in a lot more applications than just my RV. But if you have had several give out and they are all the same model from the same vendor, then I'd be more apt to suspect poor materials, design, or workmanship from that source.

And, FWIW, the 921 bulbs seem to burn out fairly often in our last TT. Given the heavy use we gave that trailer, I didn't worry about it too much. The 921 was designed as a turn signal bulb and to be used for brief periods of constant burn. The RV world adopted it and used it in places where the bulb might stay lit for hours. Compared to LED's the 921's are dirt cheap, especially if you buy a box of 10 at NAPA or where ever.

[JRTJH]

AGREE COMPLETELY !!! About the only standard I can see with current LED products is they are all called "LED" Other than that, as Steve said, hold them side by side and they don't look alike, put them in a fixture side by side, they don't work alike, and compare the light output, they don't "shine" alike. That's why I suggested buying a couple, see how you like them and if you do, buy more, if you don't, then try a different source.

I've not had any led "bulbs" or "arrays" fail. They do flicker upon starting if the voltage gets down much below 11.7 VDC or around that level. Otherwise, no problems, they've been in use for over a year now and all 36 of the LED's on each of the panels still work and appear to be as bright as when new. Not bad for $4.00 each when bought in lots of 10. Of course, as with any product, I don't even know if the Ebay source I used still sells the same lights or if he may have changed suppliers and now is selling something different, but still listed as the same (if that makes any sense).

At any rate, 921 bulbs are hot enough to burn and deform the light covers on the fixtures in our trailer, I've not had any real heat produced by the LEDs. In fact, you can take the cover off and touch the LED panel after hours of use and it still feels relatively cool, and certainly not hot. All that heat is wasted electricity, wasted battery potential if you want to call it that.

We're happy with our choices, others have spent much MUCH more for LEDs, but I can't tell you if they are as satisfied or not, only they can give you their opinion. I like mine and wouldn't go back, the extra battery time, freedom to use lights as much as we want, days without recharging batteries instead of every day makes the choice right for us.