Thread: caravan electrics

You can buy 12V inverter ballasts which directly replace fluoro ballasts then it's 12V thereafter. Also think of replacing the fluoro tube and ballast with LED strips, they are lower current and you just apply as many as you need. They also don't make your radio squeal like 12V fluoro inverters do.

The radio interference is a concern,,,
but what would the operating current draw of a 13w flouro be?

Not much about 1.1amps.
It is hard to get much below that even with LEDs of a similar brightness.
I have a Nelson CFL as my 12V 13AMP outside light on my Camp'o'matic and it is quite bright.
I run MR16 9watt LEDs as reading lights and they are really good, along with a LED strip for changing etc.
IMHO try to get warm white rather than daylight as the light is a lot more pleasant

Regards Philip A

The trouble is Phillip I know how much light I get out of the flouro,,

it would be trail and error with leds.

and the 12v ballast is $25

The 9W LED downlights are now so cheap you can get two with free post from Australia for around $17 eg:

2x MR16 9W LED Cool White Energy Saving Bulb Globe Light Dimmable Downlight 12V | eBay

I found that if you unscrew the front the lenses fall out and they give a much more spread out light, perfect for 4-600mm illumination range, just fit a few at different angles with separate switches. You can get lots of 10 for around $80.

Hey Pedro,

As Phillip said no real difference in power usage between fluro's and LED's. Pardon my memory but have you got solar fitted to your van?

If not Dave ( Sunwires ) on Rvtraveller has for sale cheap several Sun Saver Duo regulators and Sureshine inverters at the moment which is really good gear. He can also get Kyocera panels for a lot less than retail. The best thing I ever did with my van was get a good solar set up, have never run out of power yet when free camping.

cheers,
Terry