 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / RVs / August 2004Replace interior lights with LEDs?
I tried to send this message 7-30-04, somehow it did not post.... Hi, all. I have a 2001 Coleman Santa Fe CP, and I am trying to maximize my ability to dry camp. On our last trip we used rechargeable Coleman fluorescent lights, and saved the battery use for the water pump. We didn't run out of power on the 5 day trip. Still...it got me thinking about those LEDs... I have an LED headlamp, powered by AA batteries. I cannot beleive how many hours of use I have from the original batteries! I went to an LED web sight, it turns out LEDs use 10% of the power of an incandescent bulb. I wonder if anyone has tried converting their current lighting to LED? The lights cost more, but it seems they would allow for an extended camping trip. Any thoughts? Allen & Colleen 2001 Coleman Santa Fe 2004 Honda Pilot From what I gather, LEDs are just not there yet, but we did recently replace the lights in our Santa Fe with fluorescent fixtures - half the power - twice the light. > I tried to send this message 7-30-04, somehow it did not post.... > [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > 2001 Coleman Santa Fe > 2004 Honda Pilot So, by logical extension, if you switched to florescent with the same light would it be 1/4 the power? Laura > From what I gather, LEDs are just not there yet, but we did recently replace > the lights in our Santa Fe with fluorescent fixtures - half the power - [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > > 2001 Coleman Santa Fe > > 2004 Honda Pilot :-) good math. I do that when you buy fluorescent bulbs they usually give the equivalent at 4 to 5 times the normal incandescent fixtures. Of course, I bought what my Coleman dealer stocked. They also had a bigger fixture. Nothing smaller. Also, it is a bit better to go more powerful, because when you first turn them on they don't come on full power. > So, by logical extension, if you switched to florescent with the same light > would it be 1/4 the power? [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > > > 2001 Coleman Santa Fe > > > 2004 Honda Pilot > From what I gather, LEDs are just not there yet, but we did recently replace > the lights in our Santa Fe with fluorescent fixtures - half the power - > twice the light. That's what I did, swapped the fixtures out for SunLite (?) fluorescent fixtures, on the last three RVs  Signature-------------------------------------------------------- Personal e-mail is the n7bsn but at amsat.org This posting address is a spam-trap and seldom read RV and Camping FAQ can be found at http://www.ralphandellen.us/rv > That's what I did, swapped the fixtures out for SunLite (?) > fluorescent fixtures, on the last three RVs Do you mean Thin-Lite<r>? That's the "name brand" of RV fluorescent lighting. <http://www.thinlite.com/index.htm> Since you swapped-out the fixtures in your last, three RVs, you must like them and believe they are worth the upgrade cost and hassle. I have considered doing the same thing for years but never actually followed through. I am looking for IMPROVED lighting as much as, if not more than, reduced power consumption. Do you recommend the upgrade? Thanks! :) JR >> That's what I did, swapped the fixtures out for SunLite (?) >> fluorescent fixtures, on the last three RVs [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > :) > JR I like the Sunray brand- http://sunrayts.com/default.htm . They do seem to be better designed. I was always a big fan of the Thinlite brand, but lately I have been seeing a fairly high failure rate. SignatureChris Bryant http://bryantrv.com > I like the Sunray brand- http://sunrayts.com/default.htm . They do seem to > be better designed. I was always a big fan of the Thinlite brand, but > lately I have been seeing a fairly high failure rate. Thanks Chris, that's the brand. Much better then ThinLight. Of course I don't see the volume Chris does, so I wouldn't see the failure rate (ie he would have to look at his books to see how many he has sold/done) Signature-------------------------------------------------------- Personal e-mail is the n7bsn but at amsat.org This posting address is a spam-trap and seldom read RV and Camping FAQ can be found at http://www.ralphandellen.us/rv .... > Do you recommend the upgrade? Yes, but I did it for boon-docking, not improved light. Although I like the light better too. LEDs are less effective then either, but consume less power then either also Signature-------------------------------------------------------- Personal e-mail is the n7bsn but at amsat.org This posting address is a spam-trap and seldom read RV and Camping FAQ can be found at http://www.ralphandellen.us/rv > .... > > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > LEDs are less effective then either, but consume less power then > either also Tried a white backup light replacement LED cluster. Not enough light. Think I will go with flurescent. There are some things I could do to make the LEDs work better though.I could double the number of "bulbs" and still be way ahead on current draw.Regular bulb uses 10X the current as LED. I could put a reflector behind them Worth some experimenting I guess. May still be cost effective as the florescent lights are that cheap. > Tried a white backup light replacement LED cluster. Not enough light. > Think I will go with flurescent. There are some things I could do to make > the LEDs work better though.I could double the number of "bulbs" and still > be way ahead on current draw.Regular bulb uses 10X the current as LED. I > could put a reflector behind them Worth some experimenting I guess. May > still be cost effective as the florescent lights are that cheap. Something that I haven't used, but looks good is the 12 volt compact fluorescent bulbs like this one- http://www.realgoods.com/shop/shop3.cfm?dp=301&ts=3033509 They would need a standard fixture or even a table lamp converted to 12 volt, but the price is right, and compact fluorescent is arguably the most efficient light around, right now. SignatureChris Bryant http://bryantrv.com This site might be of interest to you. They have direct replacements for various 12V. bulbs. http://www.superbrightleds.com/ Dale > I tried to send this message 7-30-04, somehow it did not post.... > [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > 2001 Coleman Santa Fe > 2004 Honda Pilot Dale... VERY good LED source, thanks!! >This site might be of interest to you. They have direct >replacements for various 12V. bulbs. [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] >> 2001 Coleman Santa Fe >> 2004 Honda Pilot Mac Yes, thanks, I checked them out and it looks like they have a bulb similar to what's in my Coleman: a 'wedge' type bulb. I guess the only way to find out is to take the plunge... > This site might be of interest to you. They have direct > replacements for various 12V. bulbs. [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > > 2001 Coleman Santa Fe > > 2004 Honda Pilot > I tried to send this message 7-30-04, somehow it did not post.... It did here, please see my reply to your early missive (even if I only did it a couple of minutes ago) Signature-------------------------------------------------------- Personal e-mail is the n7bsn but at amsat.org This posting address is a spam-trap and seldom read RV and Camping FAQ can be found at http://www.ralphandellen.us/rv |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.