# Halogen to Led - I'm getting confused!



## KeithChesterfield (Mar 12, 2010)

I want to replace the Halogen bulbs 12v10W, picture below, with Led bulbs.

What is the equivalent Led bulb?

Most of the bulbs are in the lounge area, we do a lot of reading at night rather than watch the Tv, and so need the light to be reasonably bright but not 'blinding'.

I've looked on Amazon and there's a bewildering array of bulbs with Warm light, Daylight, round bulbs and bayonet type bulbs with differing wattage and varying degrees of price and I'm getting more and more confused as the morning progresses.

I don't just want to buy the cheapest but then again I don't want to spend a fortune if the cheaper ones are just as good.

I'm off for a cup of tea and a bicky now but any helpful replies are appreciated.


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## MYFANWY1 (May 9, 2011)

*Led*

Hi there, you need to look at this web site, Aten lighting, you need 6 Led 4g side, They are £6each and I have 4 of them as I changed my van just after buying them, I also have a 10LED back and a fitting to be able to change you awning light to Led I will take £20 for them if you are interested . Thanks Eddie.


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

We replaced ours with excellent ones from Aten lighting;

http://www.atenlighting.co.uk/caravan-motorhome-lighting.html

they are really helpful and the products have proved to be very reliable and easy to use. Their delivery worked well for us too so all in all we are pleased that we dealt with them, they may not be the cheapest but my late f-i-l wisely said; "Only the rich can buy cheaply, as buy cheap, buy often" was his maxim.

The bulb that you have shown is replaced by the one that I have attached below assuming that you want the light to come DOWN from the ceiling - that is the brightest (maximum number of LED's), if you want all round light then choose a tower design.

I use warm white for general room lighting - it is slightly yellowish, and the cool white for reading lights and in the bathroom where the clarity of the light seemed most sensible (I struggled to get my make up on with poor light - only joking, but you can see the way my choice was made... :lol: )

The prongs fit in easily, although it can be fiddly as the space in the lights is limited, some people have said the prongs need shortening, but I did not find that and they are very secure.

I have replaced all of our bulbs with these, including the ones in the cooker hood - that gives an excellent light onto the cooker, each cluster uses 2.8w c/w 10w so the cut in consumption is about 75%.

I hope that helps you decide, I am, of course, happy to give any more information that you need.

Dave


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*LED*

Keith

I cannot advise you on the techie stuff, but I would suggest keeping a couple of halogens - no matter what LED I have tried, from factory fit to better bought elsewhere, the kitchen area needs halogen.

Russell


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## Geriatricbackpacker (Aug 21, 2012)

I was not sure which LED type I needed so I bought a couple of each from Ebay as they were a lot cheaper. There was a thread on the forum sometime ago relating to cheap not being good but as I only wanted to test what type of lighting I needed I went ahead and got some. 

I too found areas like the bathroom needed white light as it is harsh and stark but makes it easier to see clearly. The warm LED's I used in the habitation area as they are easier on the eye, not quite so harsh. I am able to read my kindle by them without any further illumination. 
I have kept 2 halogen bulbs in the overhead (Hiki) fitting as sometimes I have found that I need bright illumination in the habitation and they are still the brightest type of bulb.

We have a fluorescent light over the kitchen area and that provides good lighting, if we didn't I would support Russell's comments.

When you place them in the sockets they may well need to have the tails trimmed. I found with some of mine that if they do not work when to put them in the socket, remove them and insert the prongs into the opposite receivers as the ones I had are neg/pos sensitive.

Terry


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## Pat-H (Oct 30, 2009)

We switched to LED for all the bulbs but retained (and added) 8W tube lights in the kitchen area as they give a nice spread for a low wattage. We also have two 8W tubes in the main ceiling as again all the LED options just didn't give enough light or were too directional.


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## Webby1 (Mar 11, 2012)

*LED bulbs*

We replaced ours via E bay a fraction of the cost of Aten lighting who are always suggested when this question comes up.

I am really wary of this buy cheap, buy twice motto as I think it leads to the idea that motorhomers have more money than sense and hence the crazy prices we get charged for things.

Do we really think that they re tool the assembly line in China to start making the "cheaper ones"

It's obviously sometimes the case that you get what you pay for..........Do your research and then decide...............pound shops show the excessive prices/profits that suppliers have made in the past.


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## KeithChesterfield (Mar 12, 2010)

Many thanks for all your helpful replies.

An order for a set of G4 bulbs has been placed and I'll let you know what joy, or not, I get from the bulbs when they arrive next week.

:wav: :wav: :wav:


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## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

If I dare, I'll add just a couple of thoughts.
I have now thrice replaced every Halogen lamp with an LED light. They are as good if not better than the Halogen lights, if you buy the correct ones. Not only the colour, the right position of the pins, the shape of the light but how many LED's there are on the lamp.

My first conversion was in an Autosleeper, with pins in the centre of the spots, these were very difficult to replace and the pins in the LED's were slightly thinner than the Q/H lamps causing them to fall out, so I stuck them in with Blue Tack, which worked. My strip lights I replaced after experimenting with just one with LED's; no contest, they were far superior and I changed them all.
My second van after changing every lamp, was stolen, so I did not get to appreciate the lights. My present Dethleffs are all spotlights and all changed.
We visited a stand at a motorshow where they let me take a selection of LED's to try out (I left some cash) and that is how I decided on the best lights for my taste.
We used to have the minimum number of lights on, now our van looks more like a Christmas tree inside, we just use as many as we wish with little stress on the battery.
I am a total convert!

Alan


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## Bigusdickus (Nov 6, 2012)

As a sparky I used a ratio of 10 to 1; therefore I repalced a 10w tungsten lamp with a 1w led sourced from China. Before you buy anything do much research as there are a myriad of lamps and configurations, if you're confused then refer to the wattage consumption as a guide. I find Leds ok for spot lighting but not so good for area or flood lighting but each to their own. 
Also it's good advise to keep some of the old lamps in case you don't like the light spread or pattern of the replacement Leds.
Bd..


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## Tan-all-over (Jun 26, 2010)

I have put this on another post but I will repeat it here. 
I have replaced all our halogen bulbs for LED's including a 21inch 13Watts fluorescent tube light. I used a LED strip light and after striping out the works I used the light fitting for the LED's This fitting is now brighter than the tube and takes much less power. It certainly makes it all worth while.


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## charlieivan (Apr 25, 2006)

Bought these last year and been delighted with them. From China and arrived within 5 days with free postage. Why pay £6 plus for probably identical product.


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## charlieivan (Apr 25, 2006)

Sorry my previous post does not seem to be working correctly. I've tried inserting link but it will not work for some reason. Anyway the point is I bought 10 of these bulbs for £5.01 post free and they are excellent.


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## safariboy (May 1, 2005)

We have used the LED stick on strip from Aten lighting. It works well in the kitchen, but you do need to wire it in yourself and find a suitable place where it lights the work but does not shine in your eyes. Fortunately there is a suitable ledge on our van acting as a shield.
There certainly are different qualities of LED unit. Some are not robust enough to deal with voltage variations.


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## elgizmops (Aug 20, 2008)

LEDs are in my opinion definitely better than halogens. I have replaced all my camper halogens for leds. Also all my house halogen have been replaced.
I spent a lot of time on ebay getting individual bulbs from Hong Kong or China before taking the decision to order the quantity and types I needed. Well worth the effort. I live in Spain and the price of leds here is stupid. I have paid from 65p to £2,40 for either mr16 12v or gu10 mains leds
I have also changed the garden spotlights for less than half price 
Try it yourself, order on ebay from China with freepost 1 at a time until your get what you want. Be patient though postage takes abot 2-3 weeks.


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## Kaytutt (Feb 5, 2013)

*Re: Led*



MYFANWY1 said:


> Hi there, you need to look at this web site, Aten lighting, you need 6 Led 4g side, They are £6each and I have 4 of them as I changed my van just after buying them, I also have a 10LED back and a fitting to be able to change you awning light to Led I will take £20 for them if you are interested . Thanks Eddie.


Have you still got these? I'll have them off you if they'll fit our van :wink:


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## theflyer (Nov 3, 2013)

*Improving halogen lighting*

Perhaps some of you might like to try my remedy for inadequate halogen lighting ( see pictures )
source G4 leds as allready mentioned from eBay ( charlieivan )
Connector strips B & Q
old CD ( music irrelevant )
wire, silicone.
Time for each, approx 30 mins
result Brilliant light at approx 5.4 watts

Note picture two, this is the original halogen center that clips into my lights ( Swift Kontiki 2006 ) with the bulb holder cut off, bolted to the CD.

Picture 1 is without the difuser on, for some reason I cannot upload another picture in this session.
I can provide more details is required, but I think there is enough to get someone who is reasonably confident up & running


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## KeithChesterfield (Mar 12, 2010)

I've now replaced all the Halogen bulbs in the MH with 'cheapo' LED bulbs and the light from them is as good or better.

We went away last weekend and sitting reading at night we seemed to be better illuminated and found it easier to read than the original lights supplied by the Pilote manufacturer.

And saving power – brilliant!

:wav: :wav: :wav:


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## Sprinta (Sep 15, 2010)

KeithChesterfield said:


> I've now replaced all the Halogen bulbs in the MH with 'cheapo' LED bulbs and the light from them is as good or better.
> 
> We went away last weekend and sitting reading at night we seemed to be better illuminated and found it easier to read than the original lights supplied by the Pilote manufacturer.
> 
> ...


have you a link to the ones you ordered as there's a myriad of different versions on ebay


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## KeithChesterfield (Mar 12, 2010)

Sold on Ebay by - gztopleddeals 

10x G4 6 SMD 5050 LED Warm/ Day White Light Lamp Marine Car Boat Bulb DC12V - £7.79 and free delivery 

Ordered Saturday 9th Nov and delivered on the 12th

:wav: :wav: :wav:


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## Sprinta (Sep 15, 2010)

yep, found it OK, just ordered some.


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## Webby1 (Mar 11, 2012)

*LED*

And having got both types I cannot see any difference from the more expensive ones costing 10x the price.

Let's stop the great motorhomers rip off


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## Dide (Aug 19, 2009)

What luck has anyone had with replacing 2 tube 16Watt Flus ( like Nuevo ) with LED strip?.

Kitchen area looks great with strip LED tucked under bottom of wall cabinets. The problem is finding 12volt feed in kitchen..........

David


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## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

The fitting of LED strips is very straightforward, although someone did it for me when I changed the six sets of neons in my previous van.
Basically you keep the switch and get rid of all the neon components, leaving just the power source and switch. Some of the LED strips are self adhesive and more or less you could fill the length with one or two strips, soldering the led strips together if you use two, the two ends of the strip go to the switch and the other remaining cable (the red and black)
The LEDs can be touched when lit, they are cold and unharmed by being touched. The strips can be white or warm white according to your taste. They are so superior to neon strips in every way, that to retain the old lights is a no brainer.

Good luck!

Alan


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## Dide (Aug 19, 2009)

Many thanks Alan for that. I understand the technical side( I did my last van lights to LED!) . I really wondered whether someone already had tried on a Nuevo, to see if it needed two or more strips of LED to give equivalent light. 

I should have explained myself better, Thanks for your interest

David


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## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

Mine was a Palermo and the difference was more than worth the effort. The main concern I had, was in not breaking the plastic strip light covers. I am not able to tell you how quick and easy the task was. I should have done it all myself but was at a Motorhome Show. A stall was fitting the strips into the lamp carcases I took to him for around £7+ depending whether I had one strip or two. He had the strips of LED's and the solder... no contest.
Ultimately I changed every light in the van, including the awning light with its bayonet fitting.
Every light on was then equal to about 2 QH lamps on. Strip lights were even worse I believe.

Alan


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## Brian-the-Snail (Dec 1, 2011)

Sorry don't mean to hijack the thread but Thank you Theflyer, you've shone the light to resolving an upgrade issue I have been struggling with. :signthanks:

Clive :greenjumpers:


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