130w spot lights with led bulbs...

Hi all i have a set of spots on my defender there 130w each with h3 fitting
I was looking on ebay and saw some led light bulbs that are h3 fitting and its a easy swap over
My questions are.... .
Whats the benefits of led ?
What power luman led bulb will be better or the same as a 130w halogen bulb?
Is it worth it ??
Thanks all

I looked at H3 LEDs for a pair of spotlights some time ago and eventually came to the following conclusions:-

• Most modern spotlights are what could be called "low profile" in as much as the reflector isn't as deep as the very old type of lights, and here lies the first problem. there isn't usually enough depth between the bulbholder and the glass lens to accommodate the longer LED type bulbs.
  
• The second problem is that due to the difference in bulb lengths the point source of the light will not be in the correct position to produce the correct beam pattern from the reflector and the fluting on the lens.
  
• There is another slight problem with misting due to moisture, the heat produced by an ordinary filament bulb can clear out any moisture which might form inside the lights when they aren't in use, LEDs are a cold light and unlikely to produce enough heat to demist the lights. The same effect would also apply to the formation of snow on the lenses in winter.

All-in-all, I would say it's not worth even trying, if you want a good white light, I'd check out Osram Nightbreakers which I know are available in H3 fittings.

paul grange said:

Hi all i have a set of spots on my defender there 130w each with h3 fitting
I was looking on ebay and saw some led light bulbs that are h3 fitting and its a easy swap over
My questions are.... .
Whats the benefits of led ?
What power luman led bulb will be better or the same as a 130w halogen bulb?
Is it worth it ??
Thanks all

Click to expand...

You need to go and read up on LEDs tbh. Way too much to put in a single post. Loads of crap ones and maybe a few good ones.

To give you hint, LEDs produce loads of heat behind the LED itself. So good ones will have a big heatsink and likely a fan on. So physically fitting them in a lamp housing might be an issue.

Or you could build your own LED bulbs, pretty easy, just need a LED, a star, a heatsink, driver and some wire. All can be bought off the shelf. But you'll need to know a bit about how they work.

Thanks guy's
Sounds more hassle than its worth
Ill have a look at nightbreakers
Thinks for your help