Maintenance & Restoration

Mike Taylor · 05-30-2006, 11:06 PM

These are the CCFL lights I had in my Compact II trailer at Cambria Rally this year. Very low amps to run. Long bulb life, unlimited on/off cycles and no heat output are some of the advantages. Check them out at All Electronics. Mine are the 2 lamp CAT# FL-122WH

CCFL lamps

Gina D. · 05-31-2006, 09:18 AM

Hey Mike,

What a co-inky-dink! Based on what I saw in YOUR trailer, I order a pair of 12" ones with invertor off eBay just the other day. They should be here any minute!

I got white ones, and intend to mount them in the case where my flourescants are right now, using the lighting gels in the fixture lens to diffuse. It will be very easy to do. Disconnect the flourescant fixture electronics and stow the wiring. Remove bulb. Stick Cold Cathod lamp on the fixture base. Take the 12v feed to the first one, put in the invertor, then use the existing 12v lines (Which will have been cut and deactivated) to run the invertor output across the trailer to the second fixture.

The invertor output is 680v tho. Be careful if you try this!

*ZAP*

Mike Taylor · 05-31-2006, 08:48 PM

I'm not sure if I would want to extend the output leads on the inverter to lamps. Here's a FAQ on CCFL lamps.
Cold Cathode FAQ'S

Q. Can the wire length from the cold cathode (ccfl) to the inverter be extended?
A. Generally speaking, no. The inverters have a pre-determined output when the length of the wire is extended it will change the load and significantly reduce the light output. Wire length is normally maximized at about 7-8 inches.

Q. Can the input power leads be extended?
A. Absolutely, the power leads can be extended to any desirable length using a minimum of a 22 guage wire.

Q. Can the polarity be reversed?
A. No. the power inverters are not protected from reverse polarity. If the positive and negative power leads are connected reverse, the inverter will sustain damage and most likely will be instantly destroyed.

Q. Can the cold cathodes be strobbed, dimmed or switched?
A. Yes, by interupting the power supply any of the above may be accomplished. Make certain that no changes are introduced between the inverter and the cold cathode as this will damage the invereter.

Q. Can a single inverter power more than one cold cathode?
A. Yes, there are both single and dual output inverters available. They can not be modified to accomodate additional bulbs.

Q. Can cold cathodes be run from an a/c source?
A. Although the inverters for cold cathodes all require 12 volts DC for power, through the use of an a/c adapter they can be powered directly from a standard wall outlet.

Q. How durable are cold cathodes?
A. Cold cathodes are extremely durable. Thay are basically shock and vibration resistant. While the bulbs are very thin and made of glass they are generally protected by an acrylic or poly-carbonate tubing. They are durable enough to be used in automotive applications for under car and accent lighting.

Q. What is the expected life span of a cold cathode?
A. Cold cathodes can be expected to last approximately 20,000 hours.

Q. What is the brightness output level of cold cathodes?
A. The bulbs sold on our site are very high output, high intensity output. With our standard inverter and bulb combination the output will be about 32,000 cd/m2, much higher than those normally found on the market.

Q. Can the brightness level be incresed?
A. Yes, we have came up with two methods. 1. The use of our special high out put inverter along with our high intensity bulbs, can increase the brightness level to 45,000 cd/m2. 2. The bulb can also be equipped with a reflective tape that will basically redirect all of the light from 360 degrees to 180 degrees, thus doubleing the amount of light in one direction.

Q. What is the best method to mount cold cathodes?
A. Our bulbs come with a double sided tape attached to them. This is adequate for some applications, however zip ties or our auto ccfl clips are recommended for secure automotive applications.

Gina D. · 05-31-2006, 09:13 PM

Hey Mike,

Thanks for the info.. it's good info to know! Glad I found out before doing it.

I can just get a second set, or install these on the opposite end as my LED domes. Either on it's own produces plenty of light for any function.

I read by my Leds the other nite.

Gina D. · 05-31-2006, 11:24 PM

BTW..

THEY ARE HERE THEY ARE HERE..
I think.

I had a note in my PO Box saying there is a package waiting tonite when I checked.

It's either that or the boring unexciting (But possibly life saving) propane detector I ordered the day before.

Ack.. more wires to futz with.

Marg · 06-01-2006, 09:09 AM

I just had a 12 volt, 18", 2-tube flourescent fixture attached underneath the cupboards that are over the stove and sink in my 13' Scamp trailer. I gives very good light when I am not able to plug into an electrical outlet to be able to use the electric flourescent fixture already installed. Good work on the forum, thanks for all the info. Marg

Pat And Arleen · 06-01-2006, 10:19 AM

I add them three weeks after picking up our new StarPad and they work real good.

Quote:

I just had a 12 volt, 18", 2-tube flourescent fixture attached underneath the cupboards that are over the stove and sink in my 13' Scamp trailer. I gives very good light when I am not able to plug into an electrical outlet to be able to use the electric flourescent fixture already installed. Good work on the forum, thanks for all the info. Marg

Gina D. · 06-02-2006, 11:04 PM

Mine don't work. DED.

(Yes, I wired them up correctly. DED... sigh)

Kurt & Ann K. · 06-02-2006, 11:16 PM

Gina,
When that happens you just feel like

Shucks...I've been following the lighting saga with interest. I'd like to replace several of the stock ceiling lights with those if they pann out. Please continue to keep us posted on your progress with them.
Kurt & Ann K.

Lee Hillsgrove · 06-03-2006, 05:45 PM

Well, I just ordered 2 of the 2-lamp, 12" per tube CCFL lights Mike referenced above, thanks for the heads-up! Only $15 per 2-lamp set, not too bad. I'll install 2 of them over the table and the other two over the sink and countertop. There are already incandescent fixtures there that I can tap into for power.

Brian B-P · 06-03-2006, 07:52 PM

I have been wanting cold-cathode fluorescents for some time, but have not bought any for a couple of reasons:

most readily available units are sold for decorative purposes, and I have not been able to find meaningful information about actual light output
cheap sources are usually U.S.-based web stores, which means shipping hassles for me

Mike and now Pat and Arleen have proven that this particular model from All Electronics is usefully bright, so I'm taking plunge and ordering -- if Internet Explorer will stop causing problems. For Canadian customers, it is relevant that they told me by e-mail that they ship only by USPS (US Postal Service), which should mean no customs brokerage hassle or fees (which is very unlike courier shipping).

I plan to measure the actual current draw of this setup if I ever get it. I'll also compare this light to my ThinLite 15W fluorescent, Home Depot el cheap 8" fluorescent, and the original two-bulb 1141 fixture, all over the dining table. I'll report what I find if people are interested.

For those interested in this type of light, here's a recent discussion which includes them: LED Bulb Replacement. I'd be interested to hear from Rob S. how his worked out - I don't know if they're the same brand.

Morgan · 06-04-2006, 12:27 AM

Quote:

Mine don't work. DED.

(Yes, I wired them up correctly. DED... sigh)

Gina,

Sorry about your lights.

Let us know how All Electronics responds.

Lee Hillsgrove · 06-04-2006, 10:40 AM

Brian,

Download the Opera browser and never look back!

http://www.opera.com/index.dml

Gina D. · 06-04-2006, 11:23 AM

I did not get mine from there, I got them off eBay for a whole 3.95. You get what you pay for sometimes.

At that price, it's not worth the bother to argue with the seller. I will try All Electronics next.

someone wanted a picture of my LED Domes. I did this last nite.

Yes, everything in the trailer matches my dogs. They told me I could

These are 24 LED domes and one fixture (12v, in the center) that uses 924 (?) bulbs. I got the LED version from eBay (But these worked LOL!)

Here is a direct link to the domes. Thier website leaves a lot to be desired tho.

Autolumination..ctlumination is thier eBay ID.

I will get another set for the other end of the trailer. But I still want the cold cathodes for over the kitchen.

Lee Hillsgrove · 06-13-2006, 07:51 PM

My CCFL lights came in yesterday. I cut the computer power plug off and hooked the wires up to a spare 12v power supply I use to charge my handheld ham radio batteries. I've got them running now instead of the lamp I usually use near my computer. They are reasonably bright! Should be good for my intended use in the camper.

So far, I'd give them two big thumbs up! Now I need to figure out how best to mount and wire them.

I have a wooden shelf over my dinette - I think I'll drill some small holes through it and use wire ties to secure the lamps to the bottom of the shelf and the power supply to the top of the shelf, where it will be hidden by the lip on the edge and will get good air circulation.

I haven't mocked them up in the trailer yet, but I'm guessing if a polished reflector was used to focus the light in one general direction, it would definitely help. They are pretty bright to the eyeballs to look at directly.

The lamps come with a on/off switch already wired, but it is mounted in a metal plate that you're supposed to install in place of one of the blank covers over an expansion slot on the back of a desktop computer. I still haven't decided how to turn them on and off. I could just use the existing switch in the existing incandescent light fixture and tap into the switched side for power, but that means you'd have to remove the incandescent bulb if you didn't want that on, too. I was also thinking of tapping into the unswitched power and mounting a pullchain or some other type of switch, but the challenge would be in putting it somewhere that would look good without wires sticking out everywhere.

Going to have to think on this one.

Mike Taylor · 06-13-2006, 10:13 PM

When I got my 2 pairs of 12 inch lights I used my existing light fitures to power them and hide the power supplies. One was a round incadesent light fixtue above the sink. I took the old bulb out and it left room to mount power supply inside and use the existing on/off switch to power it. Bulbs were mounted both vertical along wall and horizontal above the sink using double stick tape. That gave a pretty good spread of light in the cooking area and eliminated shadowing. The other pair I gutted out my old Thinlite flouresant fixture and mounted the power supply in it and mounted the bulbs in same location as the old bulbs and used the original switch also. One added bonus, the old flouresant light used to tear up my shortwave/ham radio with noise and these are pretty quiet on the radios.