LEDs for Interior/Galley Lights?

I know I'm late to this dance, but I thought I'd chime in anyway. This all reminds me of the hype found on fluorescent lighting a while back, when the packaging would make claims along the lines of "Only $5, but will save you $20 on electricity in three months." Right. IF your electric rates are sky high and IF comparing to a light left on all the time and probably several other IFs...

In the past, when we would watch TV in the winter the old incandescent lights would cast off some additional heat close to our bodies. Now with the cooler fluorescents we find ourselves tossing on a blanket and/or turning up the thermostat to compensate for that loss. So do fluorescents really save any money, resources or whatever? It probably depends to some extent on how cold it gets where you live during the winter.

I find that we don't use the Xenon lights enough most of the year for the battery drain to be an issue. We use them more when daylight starts to dwindle and at times when it is cold/wet out and we spend more time in the cabin (and then we're more likely to have the TV on, which I suspect is more of a power drain than the lights).

When it's colder out we're more likely to seek a campground with shore power, so again the battery drain isn't usually an issue. And turning the lights on for a half hour or so before turning in for the night helps to take the chill out of the cabin (of course we also toss the dog in there as well, so she also helps to warm things a bit).

Oh, and when we ran into a cold front and the temp dropped down to 18 degrees overnight we left the galley light on, as a precaution that it didn't get even colder and freeze up the plumbing. I don't know if that made any difference, but at least psychologically it was something that could have helped.

LEDs have lots of great attributes. But sometimes what solves one problem also creates another. Engineers love the effect, as it helps create full employment for the profession (my apologies to any engineers out there - after all, engineers create solutions, but it's marketing that creates demand).

 

I would beg to differ. Having a husband that is a mechanical design engineer, I can't tell you how many times he would come home and say "Well, marketing and sales have done it again...they've promised a client a product that doesn't exist and now expect us to design it, with no prior input from us as to whether it is even possible, practical or safe)."

Having shared an office with Craig, I suspect Cary had the same response and would agree with me.

 

It was Craig who I had in mind when I offered the apology. I think he's done an outstanding job of designing the Camp Inn trailers. He hasn't yet jumped on the LED bandwagon. While I have no idea why, I appreciate that he's got a good grasp of the pros and cons when new possibilities present themselves.

During my career I dealt with lots of civil engineers, so that's where my experience is derived. And the problem there is not that they necessarily are short sighted, it's that they work for politicians who prefer solutions that can be implemented in four years or less.

 

As someone that is an engineer by training and now sit between engineering and marketing, I can say that both sides are necessary evils in business.

I have seen cases quite often when marketing would create a product or make promises that is next to impossible to build or do.

I have also seen cases where engineering will design/build something just because they can without any thought as to whether it is needed or will sell.

In my current role, I sit in between engineering and marketing and help translate marketing speak to engineering and engineering speak to marketing. I often have to pull the brakes on engineering so they are not designing products just because and equally have to do the V8 smack on marketing so they understand the realities of what can/can't be done.

It can be both exciting and exhausting at the same time.

 

I took out the white bulb and tied a lead for 2 LED strips in to the fixture and ran LED light strips in back of 2 of the ribs. Lights the entire galley area up. Best part is I still have the Red light and both are still dim able.

 

Reposting from the wish list thread. I really like the LED Running lights, mush brighter and more visible.

We switched all of our lights to LED bulbs. The white cabin lights are advertised as dimmable, the red is listed as non-dimmable, but they dim just fine with no flicker or noise. The cabin lights are about the same brightness as the original Xenon bulbs. The running lights however are crazy-bright bright making for an awesome porch light and hopefully better visibility on the road.

Running Lights

Red Cabin Lights

White Cabin Lights

 

You are not alone. I have always been annoyed by florescent and now led lights. The color is annoying and they vibrate. I never knew it before a few months ago but there is a name for it the syndrome that causes the brain to not process some light wavelengths properly. It is called Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome or Irlen/Meares Syndrome after two scientists, working independently, who discovered it around the same time. It is a relatively new discovery and the scientists are still studying it. Here is a website that explains it. What is Irlen Syndrome or Scotopic Sensitivity? | Irlen Institute They estimate that about 15% of the population have varying degrees of the syndrome.

One of the reasons I like Campinn is that they had those cool chrome lights in the cabin and galley and they weren't fluorescent. I am keeping the xenon fixtures. I wanted to buy some to have as spares but I fear that it might be too late and the led's are taking over.

Regarding the xenon bulbs, our galley light didn't work when we bought our 2008 55o ultra last fall. We named her Quicksilver Mercury. It must have never worked properly because the first time I turned it on the clear bulb didn't work. The red one did so I used that one and loved it. We camped into November and needed the galley light.

Of course I didn't know it was a defective fixture so I bought a replacement at the hardware store for $8, turned it on again, and that one blew. I looked at it when I took the lens off again and the socket bracket was formed in such a way that the bulb was very close to the red side. It must have been close enough that the heat build up was uneven causing failure. The red side worked fine.

My husband took some needle nosed pliers and reposisioned the socket. Now it works fine. Too well actually. It was so bright with the 20 w bulb that I couldn't stand it at night. I also noticed that the white paint inside the fixture was a bit cooked from the heat of the bulbs. Luckily our older fixture is all metal and it does have the dimmer knob but that doesn't work. Future project.

We were camping when he fixed the lamp and I replaced the white side bulb with another $8 one I had bought the week before at the Ranch and Home in Ellensburg. So far we were $16 into xenon bulbs and I thought we were home free. Since the white light was too bright I turned on the red instead and guess what? That bulb blew! I am glad I had my string of mini lights up on the canopy over the galley.

When I went to the Ace Hardware in North Bend after we came home I was looking at bulbs and they had xenon two packs of both 10w and 20w for the same price as one bulb. I bought them. Now we are over $36 into xenon bulbs including tax but my per bulb cost is going down since I found the cheaper two packs. I had planned on using the 10w in the cabin since the white lights are so bright in there and there is no red. I am glad the dimmers work but Kevin likes to turn it all the way up. We have head lights for night trips so at least he doesn't bright me when I am trying to sleep.

Here is a funny story. Somehow I thought the red light was a special bulb and not just a glass cover over a white bulb. We were working on Mercury this past weekend getting ready for the trip to the homeland (Wisconsin.) I was afraid I was going to have to drive all the way to Seattle to find a replacement bulb. Kevin looked at it and carefully got the wire off somehow and took the red glass off. I was ecstatic! I could fix it with the bulbs I already had.

I took the 20w out of the white side and put it in the red side. I put a 10w in the white side so I wouldn't be blinded when turning on the light. You know it is always inevitable that you look at it when flipping that toggle. At least we do. It is a running joke at our house to see who forgets first. I say, "Can you turn on the galley light Hon?" Kevin says, "Yeah! Right! I'm not falling for that one again!"

Putting the red glass back on was nerve wracking for me. I was sure I would break it. There must be a trick. Kevin came over to help since he had gotten it off. We are at that age now where we can't see without glasses and we can't see with them either. He took his glasses off to work on it and when he tried to put the wire back on it sprang away like it was alive! I saw it bounce off of the collapsible dish pan on top of the cabinet but I had no idea where it went. The dogs were playing ball and wanted us to throw it for them. We were desperately looking in the galley and around on the grass trying not to step on it. It was a circus for a while.

Kevin had taken apart the galley with no luck. He suggested using our magnet on a stick but I didn't think the wire was magnetic. He was using that in the grass on his hands and knees and I was crawling around running my hand around trying to feel the invisible sproingy wire. The dogs were hopping around all excited that we were both on the ground at their level and kept dropping the ball where we were trying to search. I stood up and looked at where it had jumped off of the dish pan and tried to think like a wire with a life force of it's own to determine where it would want to go. I took a step back and bent over to look and there it was!

It was almost invisible in the grass and was right next to where I had been kneeling. Incredibly it was unharmed. Lucky us! Kevin still had the magnet so we tested it and it was slightly magnetic but so thin that it didn't have a really strong attraction. It is good to know anyway. Kevin put it back together and now both the white and red work in the galley. We still have a 20w and a 10w in reserve. My next plan is to replace the 20w on Kevin's side with a 10w. I think I will do that tomorrow. Then I will have two 20's for emergencies.

I hope you can find something that works for you. The color of the xenon bulb good and at least it doesn't vibrate for me. I am thinking of how I could put a filter in the lens to help with the glare but I think with the lower wattage bulb and when I get the dimmer fixed it will be ok.

Cindy

 

I bought the interior LED lights for the teardrop trailer I'm building from Marinebeam.com. There are dozens of LED lights to choose from. Several of their lights have dual colors like white or red. I bought two 5.5" Red/White Switchable LED Cabin Dome Lights for $49.oo each to mount to my cabin's ceiling.

I'm most excited about the $69.95 3 watt LED Bulkhead Reading Light with Touch Dimming I chose with the following features:

The galley will be lighted by a $79.00 switchable red/white High-Line 19" LED Fluorescent Replacement Twin-Tube Fixture.

I expect the lights to be very durable

 

I'd love to see how it looks when the build is done. I had found a similar light from a German company that looks pretty nice (but is a bit pricier). If your's turns out better, this may be the way to go. Anyhow, Imtra looks like a good manufacturer of marine lights. This is the model I had in mind: Imtra, Marine Lighting, Surface Mount LED, Munich, w/ Switch, Glass Sh

 

sailorsams.com is another source of marine LED lights that could be used in a teardrop camper.

They also sell a robust selection of LED replacement bulbs that may work in Camp-Inn light fixtures.

Some are bi-color switchable with G4 pins.

 

After using the cabin LED lights for awhile, we didn't care for the cold white light. We switched them all to some warm white bulb from M4 Products. Twice as bright and with a nice, warm light. The pins were too long however, but I was able to easily trim off about a 1/4 from the pin length using a Dremel. Love these bulbs! Not inexpensive but super bright and with a nice, warm colored light.
G4-24-5050-WW Warm White Thin Pin 5050 LED Light Bulb with G4 / T3 Pin Base

Randy