10W/T3 bulb

[barbhalsell]

Is this the right bulb for all our little under galley, etc. lights?
http://www.1000bulbs.com/product/7068/Q-G412V102130.html

[Joel Weiss]

That's what we're using.

[barbhalsell]

Oh geez, 10.00 Fed Ex for 20  72 cent bulbs?

[Joel Weiss]

I'm not sure why you would order from those people; there are lots of cheaper ones for sale.  Here's an Amazon merchant selling 24 of them for $4.68 plus $2.50 shipping.  Using Amazon vendors is always pretty safe since Amazon will stand behind the sale.  http://www.amazon.com/Halogen-Type-Light-Bulb-Base/dp/B002FX2URQ/ref=pd_cp_hi_3

[JimDyer]

I find the halogens are hot enough to melt the bits of Styrofoam that drift down onto the glass from the roof insulation......so I've switched to LED's. Mine ended up costing about $1.00 each. I found the supplier on EBay.  He shipped by mail from Hong Kong.  The details are on my other computer, but I could probably find them if somebody wants to know.

[Dick Simonis]

[quote author=]I find the halogens are hot enough to melt the bits of styrofoam that drift down onto the glass from the roof insulation......so I've switched to LED's. Mine ended up costing about $1.00 each. I found the supplier on Ebay. he shipped by mail from hong kong. The details are on my other computer, but I could probably find them if somebody wants to know. [/quote]

I like the LED idea.  How is the brightness compared to the Halagon???  Any install problems??

[Jerry Carr]

The LED's are great lighting be sure to order warm white(yellow) The LED's will not be dim they will flicker but they are great in some spots like closets or over a desk at full power they don't get hot and use very little power. I have changed out about 30% of the existing halogens.

[barbhalsell]

Havent actually ordered the bulbs yet. Still mulling over the possible switch to LED. Only thing seems to be a trickier install for the LED.

[Jerry Carr]

Hi Barb and Jack,

Actually they will slip right into the socket.  Our rig is a 2006 Thunder, and we have a lot of dimmers.  Some of these I have changed, but these we just don't dim.  I have been very happy with the lights we have changed.  I am not sure where you are located, but they have a "Light Lady" in Bend that is really sharp, and she will come out, and do the change for you.
FYI I aso changed all the light in the storage bays to LED, because they would get left on, and burn the bulbs out.  With the LED bulbs in the bay, I really sleep better (no heat).
  

[JimDyer]

I like the LED idea.  How is the brightness compared to the Halogen???  Any install problems??

I tried several before I came to the ones I liked, which are 24LED's on each 'bulb'.  The 'bulbs' are a flat piece of silicon, with two metal leads coming out flat from the silicon disc. I found the best thing, was to take needle-nose or bent nose pliers, and bend the leads up at a 30 degree angle, in order to make the corner into the fixture. Also, the connector block in my fixtures tended to be corroded, so that a new 'bulb' wouldn't go in.  I took a bent nose awl, and scraped out tho connector blocks, with a couple of in-and-outs, and then the LEDs went in fine.

Polarity is an issue with LEDS, so on maybe 1 in 3 I had to unscrew the fixture and pull it out.  There were two leads going to the fixture with push-pull automotive style connectors on each, and for the ones which wouldn't light, I had to reverse the leads to get the right polarity.  The lenses on the fixture, are push and turn, like the bulbs in the  closets and in the bay lights (524's maybe?)  Once you get the glass off ,make sure to clean the glass.   Mine had melted plastic on the glass.  Aside from the awl and pliers, you will need a very small Philips screwdriver to unscrew the fixtures, where you need to reverse the polarity.

I find the brightness is less than halogens......maybe 15% less at a guess in a very unscientific way. You may want to either keep a halogen where you read or get a task light for your reading chair. The color of mine are slightly blue but I don't mind it.

[Jerry Carr]

I don't recall the actual numbers, but on the bay lights the LEDs have the same level of bright light during the life of the bulb, unlike the old bulb #1131 that will diminish light levels with time, so the LED bulb is really a brighter bulb plus no heat(fire).

[Jerry Carr]

Hi Jim,

The bulbs that we have (disk shape) have more LED the 6. I know the "Light Lady" in Bend has many different models available. The Bay LED's plug into a twist bayonet style base that will take multiple LED depending on how much light you want.
 I Don't have her information with me but the part's folks in Bend could provide a number for her, I understand she travels to RV shows to sell her lights. She also told me that price may be indicative of the technology older light  being less money and less quality.

[barbhalsell]

I will let ya'll know how they work out. It will be about 3 weeks before I get them.
If these are not a good solution, I will definitely try another source.

[Jeremy Parrett]

The G4's with 6 LED's are not as bright as  the halogens. They give off a warm off white light. Quite adequate .Just make sure you get the polarity right.Pull the wiring out of the overhead until you find the two spade connectors.  I had to reverse a few.  On the back of the light fitting there is a panel that can be levered off,allowing you to hold the fitting and lamp holder together while inserting the 2 pins of the G4......some needed some pressure to get them in. At $1.00 ea plus $1.49 S&H I have a few that dont work but at that price who cares!! There are quite a few Hong Kong based suppliers on EBay.

[Joel Weiss]

As I posted in a different thread, I ended up buying LED under cabinet lights at Lowes because I'm having an electrical problem with the circuit that feeds my built-in lights.  I'm so glad we did this I'll probably only resolve my circuit problem just to make sure I don't have a short circuit, but the new lights are so superior to the old ones that we won't be taking them down.

The fixtures are very similar in appearance to the fluorescent under cabinet lights that most of us have bought one time or another over the past several decades.  These are thinner and do not show behind the lip of the cabinet.  They come in different lengths and can be wired together so they use a single switch.  When packaged the fixtures bear a nondescript brand name, but when I unwrapped them they say Kitchler on the back, which is a major fixture manufacturer.

These are the most impressive LED lights I have yet seen.  The color temperature is white, not blue.  They are extremely bright compared with what the built-in lights provided.  We have a 10" and an 18" fixture which together draw about 13 watts.  Using a 5 to 1 ratio compared to incandescent bulbs, this would be the equivalent of about 65 watts and I would definitely believe it.  On the days when our built-in fixtures decide to work, their light output seems downright puny when compared to these.

In summary, I may buy LED bulbs to replace the halogens and use them as nightlights.  Now that my DW has experienced these bright task lights, she's never going to want to give them up.