For the generator project (more on that soon) I needed some somewhat specialized replacement bulbs to fix the control panel lighting. These bulbs are 6W / 30V (the generator has as 24VDC electrical system) with a E12/candelabra base. They also have to be very short to fit inside the shades on the panel light holders. The 120V version of this bulb, model “6S6”, is very common and 3-packs were available for a few bucks locally. I knew these would probably be too dim but I picked some up anyways and tried them out. Not surprisingly the 120V filament at 30V barely glowed red.
Since the 6S6 bulbs didn’t work, the next option would have been to order the correct 6W/30V bulbs. The price for these bulbs seemed crazy though, so instead (and for less cost) I opted for a 4-pack of 24V LED lights of a similar size. Although the size if the LEDs was similar, the base type was meant for a wedge connection, so I had to get creative in grafting the LED lights to the E12/candelabra bases.
First I broke the original bulbs and chipped away the glass to leave only the base and wires. Next the wires were soldered to the LED bulbs, insulated with electrical tape, and the whole thing was pushed into the bulb base. The base was then filled with hot glue and the joint covered with heat shrink.
In the end I think they went together very nicely and since they’re LED they should last a lot longer while being brighter and draining the generator batteries less; best of all the whole setup cost less than the ‘proper’ replacement bulbs.
