Covers for puck lights

[Bierp]

Our 2016 3950BR has a number of the 3 inch, 12 chip puck lights. (Trekwood link: https://www.trekwood.com/products/51...und-White-Lens)

I'm wondering if anyone has found alternate covers for these lights? My kid likes the ceiling lights in his bonus room, but the ones over his desk (same switch) bug his eyes when he sits at the desk.

Yeah, there are a dozen potential fixes (no, rewiring isn't one of them. I hate watching RV's burn!) I've got one hack in place and I'll cook up a better one soon, but a darker cover might look less tacky (and start fewer fires) than any solution I might come up with.

(Yes, I know LED's don't give off heat, but electricity does and while I'm more comfortable with plumbing these days, the bug zapper that is an electrical system still gives me the willies.)

Thanks.

[rohrmann]

If wiring is done correctly and all connections are tight, the only location you will have heat would be items like bulbs, heaters, motors and such, but the wires shouldn’t be getting hot. That is the really big advantage of LEDs, that they don’t develop as much heat.

[Bierp]

Acknowledged. My suggestion (tongue-in-cheek) was that if I tried to rewire it, I'd burn this place to the ground.

I'm not worried about heat inside the cover if I put something semi-opaque in there (a piece of fabric for example), but I am just a little concerned about the solder points where the wires connect to the board.

The reality is, a cover designed to dim the light would be more evenly distributed and look less trashy than any improvised solution I put together.

[Daryles]

Maybe change the led bulb to a softer or warmer bulb?
I'd post a link but we are on Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks (OBX). I think there is only 1 cell tower. Very poor internet connection.

[Bierp]

The LED's are "chips" as opposed to bulbs and can't be replaced independently.

Replacing the entire light is an option, but one it would be a fallback.

[jeffba]

have you tried putting something over the led Chip?

[Bierp]

Yeah, I've started with that (inside the cap rather than over the 12 chips) and the light reduction is helping, but it looks kind of cruddy. I can make a better version of this, but I do still worry about something inside the cover contacting the soldered leads and causing trouble. I can use grip tape to make it better, but that will still look iffy.

This is why I was asking if someone knew about replacement covers. By this point I'm guessing not. If they existed, someone here would know.

[JamesD]

Originally Posted by Bierp

Our 2016 3950BR has a number of the 3 inch, 12 chip puck lights. (Trekwood link: https://www.trekwood.com/products/51...und-White-Lens)

I'm wondering if anyone has found alternate covers for these lights? My kid likes the ceiling lights in his bonus room, but the ones over his desk (same switch) bug his eyes when he sits at the desk.

Yeah, there are a dozen potential fixes (no, rewiring isn't one of them. I hate watching RV's burn!) I've got one hack in place and I'll cook up a better one soon, but a darker cover might look less tacky (and start fewer fires) than any solution I might come up with.

(Yes, I know LED's don't give off heat, but electricity does and while I'm more comfortable with plumbing these days, the bug zapper that is an electrical system still gives me the willies.)

Thanks.

It's probably the "warmth" of the light that is the issue, and some people are bothered by LEDs flashing (look at them through a digital camera and you'll see it).
The first problem may require replacing the lights with a softer or warmer LED light. The second problem (or the first) might also be controlled with a desk lamp that uses a normal bulb(s).

[chriscu]

You might consider using theatrical/tv gel sheets to control the light color and intensity. Amazon carries them in a wide variety..color overlay or light correcting. Here is a link to an amazon page with a variety of choices. Light correcting gel is used to change the color temperature of light, the overlays change the color of light. They are thin sheets of heat resistant plastic that can be easily cut into any shape you need.
In all the years I have used them with very bright hot theatrical lighting I have never seen one catch fire, they just curl and turn black.
In the old days one could find a paint that could be used inside lens or auto lamps dipped in to change the color to yellow or red. Don't know if there is a diy solution to making that gelatine mixture.
link: https://www.amazon.com/theatrical-ge...cal+gel+sheets

[RETCHIEF]

Originally Posted by Bierp

Our 2016 3950BR has a number of the 3 inch, 12 chip puck lights. (Trekwood link: https://www.trekwood.com/products/51...und-White-Lens)

I'm wondering if anyone has found alternate covers for these lights? My kid likes the ceiling lights in his bonus room, but the ones over his desk (same switch) bug his eyes when he sits at the desk.

Yeah, there are a dozen potential fixes (no, rewiring isn't one of them. I hate watching RV's burn!) I've got one hack in place and I'll cook up a better one soon, but a darker cover might look less tacky (and start fewer fires) than any solution I might come up with.

(Yes, I know LED's don't give off heat, but electricity does and while I'm more comfortable with plumbing these days, the bug zapper that is an electrical system still gives me the willies.)

Thanks.

I would use a high temperature spray paint. Rust-oleum makes one and there are automotive engine paints too. Either should be OK at the temperature of the LEDs. LEDs do produce heat at the chip, it just isn't as big an area as an incandescent bulb.

[jrsemrad]

I have done a number of things to soften the light from ours. First there are dimmers available for these lights, second I have mounted plastic colored breakfast bowls as a shade had third I have glued different paper to the rim of some bowls resulting in filtering the light to what I find acceptable.

[jrsemrad]

Also, on one hanging fixture over the island in our kitchen I used a strip of tan weave shelf paper, the non skid type. It looks quite nice also.