Strip light replacement

[MagicWagon]

I want to replace my old fluorescent lights which are have cracked discoloured covers. I was thinking I would go for LED, but it seems a minefield what to go for.
The most likely I can come up with roughly the right shape/size and looks so far are these
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141876416034" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
At 810 Lumens I hope they would be bright enough, but advice on that would be welcome. However, if they are too bright they say they are not suitable for a dimmer.
Does anyone know of any similar lights for which a dimmer is an option, and also, as suitable dimmer.

[CovKid]

Unless you're hunting for a lost contact lens, just avoid bright white LEDS. They are for work-task environments and get uncomfortable after a while. A warm white is a better choice. IKEA do quite a few different sorts now. 810 lumens is bright and I think I'd be loath to take a chance on lights I've not seen in use. Theres no mention of whether the light is white or warm. Would guess white. You may be better off with LED strip which is cheap and can be dimmed as most come with a remote. Strip can be fitted into one part of thin plastic electrical box conduit. Think it comes in brown or white conduit.

Strictly speaking, rather than reducing the power, LED dimming is achieved by varying the time between when the light is on and off. It happens at a speed higher than the brain can detect. You could add an LED controller to do this but at £49 for two, plus a controller, it wouldn't be good value for money.

[petethefeet]

If your original strip lights are Labcraft you can get new plastic covers for them and then put strips of LEDs inside the original housing keeping the original look, if that's what you are after?

[ghost123uk]

If your original strip lights are Labcraft you can get new plastic covers for them and then put strips of LEds inside the original housing keeping the original look, if that's what you are after?

Is a good idea and what I did (years ago) on my van.

I also have one of the remote controlled colour changing LED strips, mounted in nice aluminium and opaque plastic for "mood lighting"
E D I T = housing / cover I used for LED strips here = http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aluminium-Pro ... 417492de4f" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[danmetallic]

I did this ages ago and has worked a treat.
Replacing westy fluorescent tube with LED tube
https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=127694" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

CampervanCulture now sell a kit.
http://campervanculture.com/shop/cvc-30 ... tube-bulb/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[greasemonkey]

The more I looked into this I'm sticking with the fluorescent tubes. The benefit of LED is mainly power usage, and the saving in power is minimal over tubes (7W vs 4W last time I looked) and I prefer the colour temperature of the tubes.

Each to their own though, you just have to weigh up why you want to change.

[keynsham1]

I am not too sure about the LED option. I was gong to replace my strip lights with LED's but the original bulbs are only 8W and 13W so the reduced current regarding battery time isn't really relevant. Strip bulbs are still available and cheap (£3) and I like the worn glow of them!

[CovKid]

8 watt and 13 watt compared to milliamps?

[MagicWagon]

Thanks for the replies.
I don't think replacing the covers or replacing the tubes with led ones is an option for me. My van has two strip lights, one is quite short, about a foot, still works but cover gone yellow and broken. The other one is longer, maybe 2 foot or more, but has had it. It worked first time I tried it, but now doesn't. Smells of burning and a component looks like it burned out, so that is history.

I do tend towards the idea of LED to save on battery usage, and am struggling to find anything in a pre-packaged light that does warm white. This looks like it might come close (although only 1 in stock) http://www.littlehouse.co/shop/led-ligh ... e-12-volt/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; but not convinced on brightness. 300 lumens, something like a 25 watt bulb? Not sure if a couple of those would do the trick. How bright do you need for a camper ?

I also like the idea of the the LED adhesive lights in a channel as per ghost123uk, plus a remote dimmer, and maybe could even go for RGB version, but I see a few draw backs and lots of questions start running through my mind, e.g. Channel is not cheap. So many strip lights to chose from, where to start ? Can RGB ones still give good white light when required ? How much length, and of what type would I need to get sufficient brightness ? Don't like the idea of hunting for the remote when I want to turn the lights off, or on, especially in the dark. Maybe I can have a normal switch for on/off and still have a remote for changing colour and/or dimming? Should I go for High Density - brighter but more expensive etc.
Obviously I need to give it more thought if I can't find an off the shelf solution. Any further thoughts and experiences most welcome.

[CovKid]

Yes RGB gives a white light and you could use conduit if you want to keep cost low. A tenner would do the whole of one side (strip + conduit) - if you wanted it that long.

[busbuddy]

my van had 9 tubes in it, replaced all inside components with led and the total power consumption is now negligible


i would suggest that before anyone purchases ready built expensive led light fittings that they buy a small strip of the cheap adhesive leds off ebay to get an idea of the light....warm light, cool light, day light, bright light...are all great descriptions but until you see the light output in your van its all a bit useless.
my idea of bright might be someone elses idea of warm etc and its better to spend a few pence trying the shades before buying the proper unit

[keynsham1]

8 watt and 13 watt compared to milliamps?

Milliamps and watts are not the same thing! The wattage of equivalent LED strips was 4-5watts, so half what the tubes are. In theory this means that the battery will power them for twice the time. I have a 110amphour leisure battery which can therefore supply one amp for 110 hours.
Power (P) = Volts(V) x Current (I), therefore I=P/V. So drain of both my lights on my battery is (8w+13w)/12V = 1.75A Therefore my battery can keep both going for 110/1.75=62.85hours. Assume 4 hours a night with both lights on gives you 16 days and that is assuming no recharging from driving the van. I could double that time with LED lights but it would cost me £50 odd to do as opposed to Bulbs at £5 for three on eBay, and I just don't need to. I like my bulbs, and to be honest there are other things my van needs that are higher up the list!

[scottbott]

I have 4 tubes in my lights and they give a nice pleasant glow just cannot see the point of spending that much money on LED's especially as I am not one for wild camping very much,now the warm white LED's from CVC that fit inside the VW standard interior lights are a different matter,far brighter than the standard light,a very good upgrade

[busbuddy]

i think its all about what suits the individual, if you are never really off grid then tubes are not a problem, if you buy off the shelf tube replacements then you can halve the wattage, if you can work with leds and sort your own light internals then you can halve that wattage again

each to his own and all that

[MagicWagon]

I took the advice offered on here and bought an LED ribbon to try out, but need some further advice about wiring
I bought these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151563603317" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and am very pleased with the colour and brightness of the lights so plan to fit them.
I also bought some conduit/profile to put them in http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321740711092" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Finally I bought a dimmer as sometimes I might not want full brightness http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201188576538" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
My dilemma now is how to fit the dimmer.
The lighting wire leaves the fuse, disappears into the side of the van, and comes out at two points, one for each light. However, each light has two wires, black and red. I assume the black ones connect to the body of the van somewhere, and the red ones lead back to the fuse. However, the dimmer has four connections, positive and negative in, and positive and negative out. I plan to fit the dimmer near the fuse, before it disappears off into the van bodywork, but that is only one wire, the red. So, at the point I want to fit the dimmer, there is only one wire, the positive, but the dimmer has 4 connections, 2 in and 2 out, so how would I wire up this dimmer ?
Do I just connect the red wire in and out, forgetting the earth, or do I connect the negative in and out from the dimmer both directly to earth ?
Hope I've made some sense, if not i'll have to try to upload a diagram to try to explain myself.
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