Source needed for 12V L.E.D's...

[Moose-Hunter]

Howdy All...

Since there's no ice around here yet, my mind has wandered and I've started modding (putzing) my portable..... AGAIN!! I've planned a lighting system for my Otter Lodge and I'm in need of some LED's. In both red and clear/white. I tried Radio Shack and found their staff to be less than helpful. Does anyone have a good source for 12V L.E.D's? Either raw components or in clusters... I'm open to all ideas at this point.

Thanks....

[Big Ick]

Check out the link to see what I did for lighting in my otter. I used an LED accent tube. Email me with any questions.

Ice House Modifications

[TV BOY]

Try a search for "superbrightleds" and you will find bulbs. They are by far the cheapest I've found on the net.

I got the 90degree with the bayonet base. they fit right into the dome lights that came with my house.

[danny berg]

Hey Dan,

You can go to Clam's HSOforum and they have some. That is if you want the whole string of them.

Danny

[Valv]

I've got some on hsolist, there is a huge amount of them there.

[buc7]

If you're going to be in the metro area, check out Ax-Man surplus. They have tons of led's, different colors, with switches, etc. and very inexpensive. Just be careful in that place, you never know what you might walk out with! Locations I know of are Fridley, Mtka, and St. Paul.

[danny berg]

Buc7,

I completely forgot about Ax-Man, I think there might be one in Bloomington. You know there is a surplus store in Chaska at 212 and Audobahn, you might check there.

Now you got me thinking, maybe some pawn shops.

Too much time on my hands here at work...

[kooba]

TV BOY, I hear you bought those leds from that site. Question for ya. I have those topper lights you can get at any local automotive store in my portable. Will a led light bulb fit into them? If so, do they take less power from my battery that I have in my portable? I notice those regular light bulbs in the topper light are hard on the battery. The battery goes dead in about an hour. Which leds from your site would I use to replace the ones I have? KOOBA

[Ed Carlson]

Truckstops and many marine dealers handle all kinds of LED arrays for trailers. Gander Mt. has LED arrays in the marine section too if that is a close option for you.

They come in Red and Yellow and make very good area lighting. Smaller arrays start at $8 and go up to $40.

With a couple u-bolts and a bit of wiring you are set to go. In an Otter you should not need too large of an array to get good area lighting. The battery draw will be low as long as you do not stack too many arrays in the same line.

[TV BOY]

Kooba, That's why car batteries go dead if you leave the dome light on.

The leds are a fraction of the draw compared to a standard incadecent bulb. They are less than 2Watts per bulb (with 30 leds!) white leds are around .06Watts per led. Most standard dome lights are 12W. Thats why those new led flashlights last so long.

Will they fit? There are a few different bases. The most common base is the on that is the 30 LED right bulb on that sight. (I think they look bigger on that site than they actually are). If you could adjust the angle of the fixture you could get some with fewer LED's and therefore extend battery life.