BGD Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 Excellent - we all now await your Chief Tester's Report! (But maybe you'll have to get your wife/partner/Significant Other to do the record-keeping on your actual LED light tests, if you're also testing the Real Ale at the same time...............) Cheers, Bruce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 BGD - 2007-08-09 2:15 PM Excellent - we all now await your Chief Tester's Report! Careful Bruce, you'll give me a big head :-D First of all the lamps definitely give enough light to read by. I mounted one of the lamps on one of the locker doors rather than on the ceiling as I felt that would be more stable (fitted using two self-adhesive velcro buttons). Using the 48 LEDs setting it gave enough light for both of us to read - though Jill, sat on the other side of the van, said she had to angle her book a bit to catch the light. So far we have used the lamp for about 4.5 hours whilst away this weekend. I'll switch it on first thing tomorrow morning and (hopefully) be around when the batteries die to find out just how long they last so that I can report that. Assuming satisfactory battery life I'll then have to decide how to mount the lamps more permanently. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vernon B Posted August 14, 2007 Author Share Posted August 14, 2007 GJH - 2007-08-13 4:30 PM BGD - 2007-08-09 2:15 PM Excellent - we all now await your Chief Tester's Report! Careful Bruce, you'll give me a big head :-D First of all the lamps definitely give enough light to read by. I mounted one of the lamps on one of the locker doors rather than on the ceiling as I felt that would be more stable (fitted using two self-adhesive velcro buttons). Using the 48 LEDs setting it gave enough light for both of us to read - though Jill, sat on the other side of the van, said she had to angle her book a bit to catch the light. So far we have used the lamp for about 4.5 hours whilst away this weekend. I'll switch it on first thing tomorrow morning and (hopefully) be around when the batteries die to find out just how long they last so that I can report that. Assuming satisfactory battery life I'll then have to decide how to mount the lamps more permanently. Graham Glad to hear they seem to meet your requirement Graham. By the way I've just looked in at my local "Poundland" store to find they have a version by the same manufacturer for, yes you've guessed, £1. But don't rush to buy them. They're in cheap white plastic and only have one row of LEDs real "camping under canvas" quality. But they are claiming a battery life of 30 hours from these units and they might be useful to illuminate the inside of a cupboard or locker. And the Lord said - "let there be light" - and behold there was light. Vernon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 Like you, I am considering these self-contained battery operated LED fitments for cupboards, rather than as a light source for the living area in the van - we await Chief Testers final report on actual battery life.......... In the meantime I've just bought two 12volt LED bulbs (24 LED's in each bulb), off an ebay supplier for the reading lights at the rear of our van living area - and I have to say they are FANTASTIC!! The light given off is very bright (maybe a bit too blue/white/clinical for some people, but there are now LED bulbs out there that give off a "warmer" light if you want to spend a bit more money) - mine were £9.99 inc postage to Spain for the two-bulb blister pack. The technology in these things has come on a storm in the past couple of years. They consume virtually bugger-all current, are more or less vibrationion and shock-proof, and if the hype is to be believed, should last for years and years. Also they give off almost no heat at all (in a campervan in Spain in the height of summer, this actually IS a consideration). They also illuminate INSTANTLY when current is applied, as opposed to traditional incandescent bulbs, which take a some hundredths of a second to "warm up" - thus they are being advertised as a safer form of vehicle brake light 'cos the driver behind gets a fraction more warning that you have hit the brakes. (Apparently about 1.5 metres, if travelling at 70mph, which could just make the difference!!!) You're also much less likely to get a pull from the Plod for having a duff rear light bulb, given their robustness and longevity. I'm going to be ordering more of them next week for other inside-van uses, and also to replace the external sidelight and tail/brake light bulbs; including some of the "festoon" type bulbs that they now do in LED format too (for the interior cab "courtesy" lights that come on when you open the doors). I see that Companies are starting to do them as replacements for traditional mains voltage lights for homes etc now too. Seems to me that in a few years time, everyone will be replacing all their traditional bulbs with these LED things - maybe a good bet is getting some shares in the companies that have developed and are now manufacturing them. Well impressed!! Cheers, Bruce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 Vernon B - 2007-08-14 2:54 PM By the way I've just looked in at my local "Poundland" store to find they have a version by the same manufacturer for, yes you've guessed, £1. But don't rush to buy them. They're in cheap white plastic and only have one row of LEDs real "camping under canvas" quality. But they are claiming a battery life of 30 hours from these units and they might be useful to illuminate the inside of a cupboard or locker. We bought some 3 LED units from Poundland (I think 2 or 3 for £1) for my Mum some time ago for emergency use when the area where she lives had suffered a few power cuts (small enough to keep in her pocket). We also bought some similar 3 LED ones recently which were 3 for £1.99 at Bargain Madness. One of our sons used them at the weekend in his tent and reckoned they were fine for under canvas as you say - but I think not good enough for inside the van. BGD - 2007-08-14 3:52 PM Like you, I am considering these self-contained battery operated LED fitments for cupboards, rather than as a light source for the living area in the van - we await Chief Testers final report on actual battery life.......... We have some conventional fittings equivalent to the 3 LED ones mentioned above which I have used in cupboards - OK but I think the LED ones will be better. Progress report on the 48 LED lamp - it has been on for about 9.5 hours today (running total of about 14 hours) and shows no sign of dimming. Incidentally, the batteries in use are Morrisons own brand Extra Long Life. At £3.49 for a pack of 12 that means that the batteries needed to power the lamp cost just under 90p. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 Batteries from our market - 50p a packet for Panasonic AA. Cheap cost of living here and happy with it! :-D If anyone wants any 12v lights, have a look at Lidl, they've got some offers on a 3-strip Halogen light at the moment, meant to go under a kitchen unit but could be used in a motorhome instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted August 15, 2007 Share Posted August 15, 2007 Progress report. As dusk gathered just now I sensed that the LEDs were not shining as brightly as before so took the lamp into the van, closed all the blinds and checked if I could read just by the light from the 48 LEDs. I could see the print OK but the light wasn't quite enough to read by in comfort. The lamp has been in use for a total of about 28.5 hours altogether. I don't know exactly when the light ceased to be enough for comfortable reading but, for ease of calculation (seeing as the batteries used cost about 90p), let us say that it would be adequate for about 18 hours - a cost of 5p per hour. Whether that is a reasonable cost has to be an individual decision but it doesn't seem bad to me. I take Mel's point about batteries on the market. We can buy Panasonics at markets on Teesside as well but whether 50p would buy three extra long life ones and whether they would last as long I'm not sure. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 We used the lamps (two mounted now) a fair bit more this weekend that a couple of weeks ago. One thing that wasn't apparent from my previous battery usage test (because of daylight and intermittent checking that they were still lit) is that the brightness falls off after about 45 minutes or so of usage but returns to full power when the lamp is switched on again the next evening. We noticed this each day, Thursday to Sunday inclusive. I assume this is something to do with battery depletion and recovery after "resting" - no doubt someone with more electrical knowledge than I can explain better. It would seem, therefore, that mounting a number of lamps which can be switched on/off in sequence as one starts to dim would be the way to go for usage over a number of hours. Whether that is practical or not is a matter of personal choice I suppose. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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