incandescent to rv to led

[funkill]

I am usually a big fan of the Search function but am just not getting the info I (think I) need....

I bought a couple light fixtures that are for home/residential use with the intent of using in my trailer. I LOVE these fixtures. Thought I'd just use the regular RV lights in the fixtures. But I'd prefer to convert them to LED. Is there an adapter base that converts from residential incandescent to RV LED?

Am I making this more complicated than it needs to be?



Cheers

[rmkrum]

I don't know of a direct adapter, but if it is a residential fixture, you can easily rewire it to use 12 volt LED bulbs. Look at http://www.led4rv.com/ for inspiration. They have a wide range of stuff that you could easily adapt.

A picture of your fixture inside and out would help solve this...

My thinking would be to replace the residential socket with something more suited for RV bulbs, then putting an LED in that socket.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

There are a number of different "residential" light bulbs. Are talking about a 40/60/100W "Edison Medium" base?

These days, the normal approach for RV's is to wire things up with 12V LED's. A residential system is set up for 120V bulbs. Running 120V lighting off of 12V via an inverter is not a real good idea.

So - what sort of fixture are we talking about?

Bob

[funkill]

Of course I am at work without the details. But they have edison screw type bases, E26 - with 60W tubular bulbs. And I'm fully committed to rewiring as needed to use. Just not sure where to start.

They're vanity style lights from HD (discontinued - so I bought all 4 that they had left)

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Hampton-B...5142/204816695

[Isuzusweet]

Ummm, yes you are making it very complicated.

If I recall correctly DC current requires stranded wire and AC solid core wiring due to voltage drop. HOWEVER, since you are converting to LED lamps this may not poise a problem BUT 120 volt LED's will not run off 12 volt. You would need to re wire to automotive standard bases for this to work.

Cheers
Tony

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by funkill

Of course I am at work without the details. But they have edison screw type bases, E26 - with 60W tubular bulbs. And I'm fully committed to rewiring as needed to use. Just not sure where to start.

They're vanity style lights from HD (discontinued - so I bought all 4 that they had left)

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Hampton-B...5142/204816695

Hi

Since you are after an odd shape as well as a non standard base (for 12V bulbs) this will become a bit of a science project. The simple approach is probably to hand wire / hand mount LED strips into the fixtures. You will probably need three or four sided strips to get a reasonable "look" from the fixtures.

Bob

[funkill]

Originally Posted by Isuzusweet

Ummm, yes you are making it very complicated.

If I recall correctly DC current requires stranded wire and AC solid core wiring due to voltage drop. HOWEVER, since you are converting to LED lamps this may not poise a problem BUT 120 volt LED's will not run off 12 volt. You would need to re wire to automotive standard bases for this to work.

Cheers
Tony

Ok - that's what I'll do! I would want to use them on battery power/12v.

Now to select the wire gauge and bases.....

Thank you.

[funkill]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

Since you are after an odd shape as well as a non standard base (for 12V bulbs) this will become a bit of a science project. The simple approach is probably to hand wire / hand mount LED strips into the fixtures. You will probably need three or four sided strips to get a reasonable "look" from the fixtures.

Bob

Was thinking about wrapping a rod with the led strips....

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by funkill

Ok - that's what I'll do! I would want to use them on battery power/12v.

Now to select the wire gauge and bases.....

Thank you.

Hi

The type of wire is not the issue. Finding an appropriately sized / shaped / color temperature LED array is.

Bob

[funkill]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

The type of wire is not the issue. Finding an appropriately sized / shaped / color temperature LED array is.

Bob

Ok - I'll study this more over the weekend. Hoping I can just remove the edison base and wire in the LED array then.... after selecting size/shape/color... and then tearing it apart to improve selection.

[wkerfoot]

Is this what you are looking for? http://www.m4products.com/xw-9w-5630...ung-5630-leds/

Bill

[funkill]

Originally Posted by wkerfoot

Is this what you are looking for? http://www.m4products.com/xw-9w-5630...ung-5630-leds/

Bill

Wow - is it? I think it might work. Though I'm mechanically inclined, I am VERY electrically challenged. I don't know why I can't work this out.....

[J. Morgan]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

There are a number of different "residential" light bulbs. Are talking about a 40/60/100W "Edison Medium" base?

These days, the normal approach for RV's is to wire things up with 12V LED's. A residential system is set up for 120V bulbs. Running 120V lighting off of 12V via an inverter is not a real good idea.

So - what sort of fixture are we talking about?

Bob

The OP was talking about refitting the fixture for 12V LED bulbs, but all of my lights run through an inverter. It isn’t such a bad idea in my view...

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

The OP was talking about refitting the fixture for 12V LED bulbs, but all of my lights run through an inverter. It isn’t such a bad idea in my view...

Hi

A typical LED light pulls a couple of watts. Run off of 12V 100% of the battery energy goes straight to the LED.

Turn on your inverter and it likely pulls a few amps doing nothing at all. The circuits inside need to power up. Is that 2A or 4A? Who knows, it varies between manufacturers and models. It also varies a bit between samples of the same model.

Net result is that you are putting twenty to forty watts into running the inverter and three or four watts into running the LED off of the inverter.

Yes it's a bit more complicated than this. A 120V LED bulb has a power converter in it. They rarely are very efficient. This or that 12V LED array may or may not be well matched to 12V. Lots of grubby details.

Bob

[HowieE]

Originally Posted by wkerfoot

Is this what you are looking for? http://www.m4products.com/xw-9w-5630...ung-5630-leds/

Bill

If the bulb is internally wired for 12 volts DC and has a standard 120 volt base, you should be able to screw it into a 120 volt AC fixture and mount the fixture on a 12 volts system. An interesting approach not one that would pass UL. If someone put one of them in a 120 fixture, which is possible in a trailer, it might get exciting.

I think the add may be misleading in that they show a bulb with a standard base. I would question the base on the 12 volt version before ordering.

My first thought was to make the bulbs. Take a plastic tube that could be fitted into the fixture socket and wrap it with LED strips, very cheap compared to premade bulbs, and wire the strips directly to the switch. This would require some experimenting to get the brightness as you want. I replaced all the lights, 16 fixtures, in my 34fter for less than $15.

[J. Morgan]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi



A typical LED light pulls a couple of watts. Run off of 12V 100% of the battery energy goes straight to the LED.



Turn on your inverter and it likely pulls a few amps doing nothing at all. The circuits inside need to power up. Is that 2A or 4A? Who knows, it varies between manufacturers and models. It also varies a bit between samples of the same model.



Net result is that you are putting twenty to forty watts into running the inverter and three or four watts into running the LED off of the inverter.



Yes it's a bit more complicated than this. A 120V LED bulb has a power converter in it. They rarely are very efficient. This or that 12V LED array may or may not be well matched to 12V. Lots of grubby details.



Bob

All fourteen lights in my trailer all together (except for the incandescent vanity mirror lights) draw about one amp @ 120 v AC or 120 watts. My refrigerator also runs off 120 volts, (draws one amp AC when the compressor is on), and typically my two group 27s will last about 20 hours on a full charge.

My TV keeps everything up while towing, i am in my fourth year using this setup. (We started with CFs changed to LEDs a couple years ago) It works well for us.

I haven’t really noticed an appreciable power drain from the inverter itself, but that might change when I change to the pure sine wave unit I just bought. If so I will adjust for this or trade the MSW back in.

I threw away the RV rulebook when I built the trailer, some things worked well, some things not so well, but the whole trailer inverter thing I am very happy with.

[J. Morgan]

Originally Posted by HowieE

If the bulb is internally wired for 12 volts DC and has a standard 120 volt base, you should be able to screw it into a 120 volt AC fixture and mount the fixture on a 12 volts system. An interesting approach not one that would pass UL. If someone put one of them in a 120 fixture, which is possible in a trailer, it might get exciting.

I think the add may be misleading in that they show a bulb with a standard base. I would question the base on the 12 volt version before ordering.

My first thought was to make the bulbs. Take a plastic tube that could be fitted into the fixture socket and wrap it with LED strips, very cheap compared to premade bulbs, and wire the strips directly to the switch. This would require some experimenting to get the brightness as you want. I replaced all the lights, 16 fixtures, in my 34fter for less than $15.

To me, the smart move would be to find some lights I liked, and then trying to find the right bases to put in place of the 120V bases.

[funkill]

Originally Posted by HowieE

My first thought was to make the bulbs. Take a plastic tube that could be fitted into the fixture socket and wrap it with LED strips, very cheap compared to premade bulbs, and wire the strips directly to the switch. This would require some experimenting to get the brightness as you want. I replaced all the lights, 16 fixtures, in my 34fter for less than $15.

I think this is what I’m shooting for. Thanks.

[lyleapgmc]

Originally Posted by Isuzusweet

Ummm, yes you are making it very complicated.

If I recall correctly DC current requires stranded wire and AC solid core wiring due to voltage drop. HOWEVER, since you are converting to LED lamps this may not poise a problem BUT 120 volt LED's will not run off 12 volt. You would need to re wire to automotive standard bases for this to work.

Cheers
Tony

Stranded or solid has nothing to do with 110 volt or 12 volt. It has to do with the flexibility of the wire, whether it will remain intact under conditions of high speed and constant vibration. Site built homes don't vibrate or shake unless there is an earth quake. Therefore solid core wire works for years.

Automobiles, trucks and RVs vibrate, shake, twist and turn therefore stranded wire is called for.

I do not understand why solid wire is used in any circuit in RVs except that 120v hardware is designed to accommodate solid wire.

There are a number of bulbs on eBay that will easily solve your problem. It should not require any rewiring. Simply put in the correct bulb. Even changing to 12 volts would not require rewiring but just to move the circuit to a 12 volt source. Be sure that you don't connect a 12 volt circuit to a 120 volt circuit.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odk...bulbs&_sacat=0

Lyle

[lyleapgmc]

Check Walmart for bulbs that will work on 120V or on 12V. I believe I have seen them there.