For a long time I, like many others, have wanted to replace my fluorescent lights with some kind of LED.
I found some nice
surface-mount fixtures at SuperBrightLEDs.com that worked with some cool touch-sensitive
switches/dimmers so for about $70.00 I purchased two sets plus some
adapters I would need. These seemd to fit the bill except that I did not want to see the holes and imprints left over from removing the old fixtures.
My solution to this problem was to cover pieces of thin plywood with vinyl and attach them to the underside of the storage shelf. Since I had the heat shield over the stove, I could cheap out by making two shorter pieces instead of one long piece and only have to buy 1 yard of vinyl. Supplies to make these pieces ran about another $50.00.
I had to drill some new holes to pass the 5.5mm plugs for the switch through and in the end was left with a big bundle of wire and some screw-on connectors that were finicky about staying screwed on.
When it was all finished, I really liked the way it looked.
Unfortunately, the switches were very temperamental and the light from the pucks were too focused.
I did a little more searching on the internet and found
these fixtures at rvledbulbs.com. They have a built-in dimmer switch and a separate switch that allows the fixture to use each light independently or both together. They also connect with plain wires instead of 5.5mm plugs. So once again, I removed the shelf and replaced the puck lights with these.
I positioned the front fixture a bit further back to be able to make more use of the light. It looks nicer than the old fluorescents, but not as cool as the first LEDs.
The light coverage however is much better and the switch is far easier to use. I am overall pleased with the result.
Steve in L.A.
El Guapo Rojo
Sportsmobile (AKA Money Pit)
Linear Mode
