advice on lighting

isup · 04-08-2008 12:06am #1

hi, im looking to replace to lighting on my "bottom of the range" self build LT i just bought, ive gutted it and the couple of lights were very small/dim.

has anyone got any ideas for something that gives good room the lighting and is relatively easy on power, i was thinking of L.E.D spotlights. has anyone any experience or ideas, l.e.d's could be very glarey. thanks

10-08-2008 9:56am

I bought some LED lights from Radionics called Lumidrive Lumispots in warm white. They are bit difficult to fit, i.e. need to solder the wires and glue them on a heatsink, but the light from them is gorgeous. You need to buy both spots and a low volt controller/driver to power them.

I also bought some LED "bulbs" from a supplier called low_voltage_lighting on ebay. They are a bit less effective, but still pretty good output, and fitting them is as easy as a normal halogen bulb. I ordered some more from them today. These bulbs can be fitted in normal halogen downlighters and spots. I got 4 led variety before and now will try the 5 led ones to see how they compare to the Lumispots.

I have currently a 7 Ah leisure battery on my van and was able to use all the lights I have (3 lumidrives, two spots, a LED strip light) as normal for two stormy nights. I doubt I could've done that with halogens of same output. It would have been interesting to have a voltmeter with me to see how much drain they actually did and whether I still had any spare capacity left in the battery.

isup · 10-08-2008 9:05pm

samih wrote: »

I bought some LED lights from Radionics called Lumidrive Lumispots in warm white. They are bit difficult to fit, i.e. need to solder the wires and glue them on a heatsink, but the light from them is gorgeous. You need to buy both spots and a low volt controller/driver to power them.

I also bought some LED "bulbs" from a supplier called low_voltage_lighting on ebay. They are a bit less effective, but still pretty good output, and fitting them is as easy as a normal halogen bulb. I ordered some more from them today. These bulbs can be fitted in normal halogen downlighters and spots. I got 4 led variety before and now will try the 5 led ones to see how they compare to the Lumispots.

I have currently a 7 Ah leisure battery on my van and was able to use all the lights I have (3 lumidrives, two spots, a LED strip light) as normal for two stormy nights. I doubt I could've done that with halogens of same output. It would have been interesting to have a voltmeter with me to see how much drain they actually did and whether I still had any spare capacity left in the battery.

thanks, the lumispots look good. Do they lighten up the whole area or just point to the ground, and are they glarey like bicycle lights?

11-08-2008 12:16am

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hentunen/2322011658/in/set-72157603993538976/

There's a picture while I was fitting them my van. They are the only light source in the picture. In reality the light is not quite as yellow but more like daylight. I would personally hate any blue tone and they have none.

Anyway, you can get them with different angle lenses. Ours are the widest (20 or 25 deg, can't remember). They provide a nice even illumination for both floors and walls.

*Kol* · 11-08-2008 6:47am

samih wrote: »

I bought some LED lights from Radionics called Lumidrive Lumispots in warm white. They are bit difficult to fit, i.e. need to solder the wires and glue them on a heatsink, but the light from them is gorgeous. You need to buy both spots and a low volt controller/driver to power them.

I also bought some LED "bulbs" from a supplier called low_voltage_lighting on ebay. They are a bit less effective, but still pretty good output, and fitting them is as easy as a normal halogen bulb. I ordered some more from them today. These bulbs can be fitted in normal halogen downlighters and spots. I got 4 led variety before and now will try the 5 led ones to see how they compare to the Lumispots.

I have currently a 7 Ah leisure battery on my van and was able to use all the lights I have (3 lumidrives, two spots, a LED strip light) as normal for two stormy nights. I doubt I could've done that with halogens of same output. It would have been interesting to have a voltmeter with me to see how much drain they actually did and whether I still had any spare capacity left in the battery.

Can you post a link for the LEDs you bought on ebay pls?

13-08-2008 5:39pm

Kol, was out for a couple of days. Here goes:

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Aten-Lighting_LED-Lights_G4_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ661363018QQftidZ2QQtZkm

I'm waiting for the 6-LED "bulbs" to arrive. I have bought in the past the 4-LED versions.

I'll update with impressions once the new lights arrive.

PS. B&Q sells suitable 12 volt spot light fittings without transformer at €7.97 each which I thought was a fairly good price. They also have led lights but at least the ones on display look really blue.

EDIT. Warm white are the ones I bought.

isup · 13-08-2008 6:17pm

i thought that it was possible to use standard spots and just use 12v bulbs/leds . did you need a transformer for them?

13-08-2008 7:06pm

Sorry, I was a bit unclear.

Yeah, for the ebay LEDs you don't need a transformer. They are plug and play for 12V. What I meant was that you can buy just individual spots without a transformer from B&Q (and not have a leftover transformer afterwards).

For Radionics Lumidrives you need a driver.

isup · 13-08-2008 7:08pm

that makes sense, i think i might go for those:pac:

18-08-2008 12:40pm

My new bulbs arrived late last week. I haven't fitted them yet but the first impression is that the light is better on these than the 4-LED ones, both colour (more yellow) and intensity. I'll post some pictures once I have them fitted.

advice on lighting

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