Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Greene
I'm sure this question has already been asked and answered before but any suggestions as to what type of LED bulbs to use for the interior lights on a 2017 Scamp. Aside from sizes, are there differences between the different LED bulbs. Thanks. Bob G.
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Bob,
We replaced 10 type "1141" bayonet-base bulbs (technically a BA15S base) in our
Casita and were very happy with the change. I'm not sure what kind of bulbs the fixtures in your
Scamp would use.
We ordered ours in late 2015. We ordered two different sets of LED bulbs as we didn't care for the first set.
The first set was advertised as "natural white" and was probably about 4500K, a measure of the color temperature (kelvin) which relates to how the color appears. We personally didn't care for those. Some people prefer them.
The second set was described as "warm white". That would be about 3000K. This color is generally similar to conventional incandescent light bulbs, the ones in your trailer, and also the ones we generally aren't able to purchase for our homes anymore. We prefered those.
The LEDs used about 10% to 15% of the power consumed by the 1141 incandescent bulbs, so they would run for 6 to 10 times as long on the same amount of juice from your
battery.
Light output is measured in lumens. The light output on these bulbs was about 70% of what a brand new incandescent bulb would produce. We found that acceptable.
There are also different physical configurations; short, tall, and flat. If you type "1141 LED" into Amazon you will find a bewildering selection, most of which are offered with very limited technical data. Some configurations may not fit or may not fit well in your fixture.
Most of the bulbs I have seen offered
for sale did not list 1) the color temperature in kelvin 2) the light output in lumens 3) or how the power is controlled, whether by resistance or switching.
So, unless you want to really read up on the technology and try to differentiate between the offerings, you might want to simply select a vendor who provides good service and return policies. They may even guide you as to what's suitable to your fixture. Personally, I believe that kind of service can be worth a little higher price.
We paid $15.00 for ten bulbs in late 2015. They were very cheap ones for that time. We didn't own the trailer long enough to be able to tell you if they truly endured. The fact that they didn't burn out early was a good sign though;
electrical devices generally have the greatest number of failures either "early" or "late" in their "anticipated" life.
I hope this is helpful.