Halogen Lights

[Barbara Gardin]

I bought a set of 3 Halogen Puck lights. They are 12 volt and are connected to a transformer(I think that's what it is called) and run off regular household current. Can I just cut off the transformer and use them as 12 volt through the battery.

[Benny K]

Yep.....and you can use 1,2 ,or 3.......I used 2 in the 13' and kept the 3rd for a spare.....don`t forget a switch....I used a miniature toggle on the upper cupboard end hidden behind the factory round white light......Benny

[Barbara Gardin]

Thanks Benny.

[Jana J]

Wonder?? can you do that with any thing with a transformer like box? I have a fan with a box on it that you plug into 110, might be 12V without box? What a thought!!

[Alan #1119]

I installed the halogen 3 puck light system under two kitchen cabinets in our home. They were a nice addition but soon I realized I was replacing $4.00 bulbs at an alarming rate. The heat generated by the bulbs (10 watt) soon destroyed the pucks and since I have not used them. They might have the same effect in your trailer.

[Brian B-P]

This type of light fixture is very common - so common that many people know what you mean when you call them "puck lights" - but comes with many variations. Aside from the likely differences in quality, they also mount differently. When I hear "puck", I think of a very short cylindrical housing which mounts to the surface, usually to the underside of a cabinet (hockey puck proportions, but smaller). Other similarly sized fixtures are intended to be recessed, and may require a certain amount of air space for circulation around them, inside the cavity.

While it sounds like Alan's installation was surface-mounted, which shouldn't have any heat problems, it might just be a matter of the quality of the fixtures' construction, including their venting provisions. I think that good-quality fixtures, properly mounted, should last a long time without getting so hot the bulbs fry quickly.

I want higher efficiency than these incandescent designs offer, so I want to use fluorescents (one installed so far) or maybe LED in some cases, so I haven't put in any of these puck-style halogens - they do look like a good fit for the kitchen area, though.

[KamperBob]

Just a thought, Alan. Some halogen bulbs cannot stand skin oil (ie, finger prints). This may or may nor apply only to high-intensity halogen bulbs for work lights or flood lights. One usually touches them to install so the trick is to wipe them real clean before first use. It is possible the bulbs in your fixtures retired early because they were contaminated? Or were you saying the fixtures themselves were cooked?

Happy trails,
-Bob

I installed the halogen 3 puck light system under two kitchen cabinets in our home. They were a nice addition but soon I realized I was replacing $4.00 bulbs at an alarming rate. The heat generated by the bulbs (10 watt) soon destroyed the pucks and since I have not used them. They might have the same effect in your trailer.

[Benny K]

I have 2 of the pucks mounted under a cabinet for 2 years now, don`t use them very often, but haven`t had a problem with them at all...mounted only two and keep the third one as a spare....think the spare will die of old age before I`ll need it, LOL....The only thing that I know of what will shorten their life span, other than too high of a voltage, is vibration....thats why, in apartments that have them on all levels the ones mounted on the ceilings of the top floor last the longest...they don`t get the same vibrations that the others get from people walking around on the floors above....I don`t know, but this I`ve been told by building maintenance fellas....and yes if you touch the bulb with your hands, clean it well with alcohol before using....same as the car headlite halogen bulbs, (not refering to the sealed beams),.....Benny

[Donna D.]

Skin oil and halogens....wear gloves when installing just like they do at the dealership where I had to have the bulbs changed in my truck recently.