I was not bagging the LED's so much as trying to state that LED bulbs in a fixture designed to project light from an INcandescent bulb does not work so well.

The replacement LED bulb I used had 25 SMD leds, 5 pointing forward, 20 projecting into the reflector, and it was a supreme disappointment.



The above light works well as a reading light, to about 4 feet away from the book. Nichia LED's. They do not seem to mind voltages in the 15's either. Some report that cheaper LED bulbs burn up at charging voltages.

My one replacement bulb has lost a few, but that could be because the wedge base was not really tight, and it fell out more than once to the floor, might even have gotten stepped on, before i just swapped a 0.7 amp incandescent back into the fixture.

When I run out of replacement bulbs for the Halogen clamp light I made, I am going to install some LED Mr-16 bulbs into it that claim to be as bright at 20 watt halogens, which if true, would be very bright.

Nice flashlights. Bookmarked for when I have some dough eating a hole in my pocket

 

Decent fixtures and acceptable prices!
Now see whether I can make up my mind.

Van

 

Unfortunately, amp draw is a major factor. So no option for me.

Van.

 

If you want to stick with LED lights that project light where you want it, here is something I have some experience with. I picked up a couple of these a month ago as they are only $10. They actually run on 6 AAA batteries. I have had the light on for a couple of hours and have not seen the batteries go down yet. You could adapt it to 12V I'm sure. See them here.
http://www.harborfreight.com/four-he...ght-96794.html

or search Harbor Freight Tools for
RiteLite - item#96794

These have been the most affordable LED fistures I have ever seen.

 

Another post on wiring of the van. Two heavier wire gauges will support the appliances to be installed on the driver’s side.

Follow my progress at cargovanconversion.com

 

Having batteries, doesn’t automatically mean access to 12V. Thus, two access points are planned in the van. One 12V socket is located at the solar components (controller, charger, inverter, etc.) compartment, under the bed.

Follow my progress at cargovanconversion.com

 

I've got 2 ciggy plug receptacles in the dash,

and 5 in the back all wired with 10 or 12 awg wire.

I've also got other 12 volt connectors like these:



They come in 10 and 18 awg wire sizes. I am not as impressed with these as when they were new. They take 2 hands to connect and some of them heat up when passing 15 or more amps, as the internal connections are not what they should be.

I have several other power distribution system using these other connectors. For my air compressor, 25 amp battery charger, some fans, even a 9.6 volt drill whose battery became worthless.

 

They look great if you like to disconnect the wires easily, certainly for low amp use, as you said. I'd rather use permanent soldered connections as much as possible, especially in a moving vehicle.

Van.

 

We’re now at a point in the cargo van conversion where decisions have to be made about battery monitors and solar controllers. The latter is not urgent, as the solar panels won’t be installed before next year, but they have to be incorporated in the overall decision. This phased-in approach will allow battery monitoring, while charging from an outside source. It allows for short trips with added comfort and a chance to test and evaluate the electrical system.

Follow my progress at cargovanconversion.com

 

The compartment under the bed that will hold the charger, controller, inverter, etc. is a small enclosure and needs some form of cooling. I choose a 5” computer fan with thermal control, that automatically adjusts its speed as the temperature rises. Other considerations were low noise level (<18dB), high airflow volume (up to 42cfm) and low current (<0.2A).

Follow my progress at cargovanconversion.com