I got 2 'round' and 2 'rectangular' today to try. I'm impressed, quite bright. I put one 'round' in to replace the 3 1156 bulbs in the over sink light. The brightness seemed to be equal. Color is much whiter though, less 'warm'. Amp draw for the 60 led board is almost exactly 1/10 the draw of one 1156 bulb, so instead of drawing 5.1 amps with the 3 bulbs, I am drawing 0.17 amps with the one board. I intend to put both 'round' boards in the fixture, they will be a good fit.
Quality control on the 4 I got wasn't good though. Only one was completely good. One each 'round' and 'rectangular' work on only half the LEDs, and the other 'rectangular' has two LEDs which don't work. Hopefully they will replace, or it is just a wire off which I can re-solder.
I for one am very interested in the possibilities that LED lighting offers. Since I am doing a complete makeover on my 1973 31' unit I can go pretty much any direction I want to with the lighting. At anyrate I thought it might be a good idea for those of us reading this thread to supply a list of various sources for LED lighting that we have run across besides the great suggestions already posted here. In that vein I contribute two sources that I have run across. The first one has an amazing variety of complete fixtures as well as individual bulbs. It also has 12volt LED rope light which I have some thoughts of using for indirect lighting.
I converted the light over the Kitchen sink to LED using two of the 'round' worklights. They are very easy to remove from the case, and the worklight could be put back together again, ie I didn't need to break anything to get it apart. This is temporary to see how we like it, so I just taped the back sides of the boards with electrical tape to prevent shorts, connected the wires, and laid them in the light fixtures. These fixtures use three 1156 bulbs which I removed. The photo shows a night view in the trailer with the LED - converted light on the left and an identical fixture on the right which has the three standard bulbs. I think the brightness is pretty simular, but the color is very different.
I also replaced the little reading lights, single bulb flood lights. Basically they were a 1156 bulb with different glass, they are called elevator bulbs, 20 watt rated. I replaced with 3 Watt Luxeon 1156 bulbs, which cost 19.99 each ( www.autolumination.com Tail Light Brake Light Turn Signal LED Bulbs click the upper left box which starts with 1156, then scroll down to 'Eagle Eye II'). They are about equialent in brightness, but color is very white. The photo shows the original setup on the left and the Luxeon on the right.
So far we think they will be fine, and they will really save on the battery! We will give them a try out camping and see how we really like them.
By the way in post #16 above I mentioned the lights I received did not have all the LED working. I returned them and they were promptly replaced.
montanaargy - very nice pictures showing the illumination difference between the standard lamps and the LED replacements that you "modified" from the lamps you purchased. Really good comparison shot.
It is apparent that the LEDs you used are very "blue" or sometimes referred to as "cool". I would say the color temperature is around 8000 kelvin. Most incandescent are around 2800 - 3500 kelvin. I realize that you used what was available at a reasonable cost and capable of modifying, in the future for those who are considering LED conversion, lower temperature LEDs (around 3000 kelvin) are available that will match incandescent, and a compromise at around 5000 kelvin are also available. If you are planning on having a mix of LED and conventional, try to find the lower color temps (3000 kelvin), but if you are going all LED, I suggest that the middle range (5000 kelvin) is the way to go since it is the closest match to our natural sun light.
The newer ultra bright LEDs that are commonly called 1, 3 or 5 watt for their power consumption, are more likely to be available in a range of color temperatures than the smaller "cluster type" LEDs. The Luxeon LEDs are a good example of the more recent development in ultra bright LEDs available in various color temps, look for those when shopping.
What about lens covers. I realize this isn't the optimal solution but if the choice of LEDs is fixed can the light be "toned down" with a plastic diffuser?
What about lens covers. I realize this isn't the optimal solution but if the choice of LEDs is fixed can the light be "toned down" with a plastic diffuser?
-Bernie
Bernie...you are headed in the right direction...very good question.
LEDs are perfect light sources for shaping beam patterns using a fairly new form of optics known as Non-Imaging Optics or NIO. The primary function of the NIO is to collimate the light which is emitted by the LED. An LED with a lambertian emission pattern is best for this type of optic. I know this is pretty techy, but for those who are really interested I will continue. Once the light is collimated (the beam pattern is restricted to less than 5 degree spread), then a diffuser can be placed in front of the light to produce the desired final light pattern. A holographic diffuser is best for this job due to its high transmission value, in other words 90% to 95% of the light passes through the beam shaping diffuser. Conventional diffusers are far less efficient, many allowing less than 40% of the light to pass.
Up until recently, most LED products for the consumer market have had either no or poor performing optics. This is changing as the market matures and it is probable that manufacturers will start providing optics to match the application as opposed to just throwing out light in all directions.
3M has been the pioneer in high transmission plastic diffusers (similar to the material used on a laptop or PDA) and other start ups are producing similar product giving the manufacturers new opportunity to give us new designs.
In regards to a practical example of the optical techniques, take a look at the newer generation of LED lamps in the automotive market, great effort has been made in smoothing out the illumination of an LED brake lamp to eliminate the spotty look of LEDs. My guess is that this is the type of optic that the majority of our members would prefer when implementing LEDs into their interior lighting scheme.
Maybe techy, but I hope it throws a little more light on the subject.
WOW LED'S I have jut purchased two 7 inch tail lights for my 64
Tradewind. Looks like they should mount very nice without changing the look of the rear of the unit. They are BRIGHT. Purchased from Princess Auto Will post pics later Thanks
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