Anyone mow at night/in the dark?

[knukey]

Skip the halogens and go LED. Twice the perceived light at half the power requirement. Besides, many lawn tractor charging systems won't handle the extra draw of halogen bulbs. You'd be amazed at the amount of light you can get from a couple of 18 or 27 Watt LED lights.

I've been caught running late into dusk while mowing. It's the part of the lawn that shares space with many Mesquite trees so it can get dark in a hurry and takes longer to mow. I just put new LEDs on my old Woods ZTR but have not tried them yet. It's down for hydraulics at the moment. The old lights were like weak flashlights so anything will be better.

Where can I get some LED's for my Woods 5215?

 

[beenthere]

So you bought it..

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/buying-pricing-comparisons/374563-urgent-woods-5215-diesel.html

Have a roll bar on it to mount lights?

 

[WM75Guy]

Mowing at night is like therapy for me after a tough day at work. My pastures are nice wide open spaces that have been mowed many times so very few surprises. A set of hearing protectors with a jack for the MP3 player and I am good to go.

 

[MossRoad]

We're on the western edge of the eastern time zone here... so it stays light until 10 in the summer. But I've done it in the fall picking leaves. Get some LED's like others have said. They draw a LOT less power, so you can double or triple your lighting and not strain your charging system compared to conventional lights.

 

[Kentuckyfarmer]

Here in Kentucky mowing, bush hogging, any field work at night in the summer is nice as long as you have a cab. Bugs would be all over you if not in a cab. It's bad enough during the day.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I usually do it in fall when it gets dark earlier, or hot summer nights. I enjoy mowing then.

 

[LazyHRanch]

I would like to add that my biggest help for mowing at night is lights on the back of the tractor. Makes backing up really easy. Picked up a pair of cheap led lights on amazon and they have made it 4 seasons.
I too love mowing at night as it is so much more enjoyable not getting burned and the bugs are usually not bad. Also gives me more time with the kids during the day.

 

[dieselcrawler]

X2 on LEDs... I have 6, and have them tied into the headlight switch. But I have also devised a way to disable the factory headlights (useless once the loader is raised and block them, glare off loader to boot) and save power draw, but easily switch back to only stock lights for on-road travel. The LEDs face front, sides, and rear, with separate switches for each set. I think they are 18w each light, were dirt cheap (about $8/each on Amazon.com, wife's cousin got them for me), and make night work easy.

Doesn't bother me to brush hog after dark, if the area is not too steep (every one of my 118ac is hillside) and already clear. I'll leave to rough stuff for daylight. But the lawn only gets mowed in daytime, when there's no dew. Wife's rules, house and yard, she has full control. (Fields and barn, she let's me think I have SOME say over, but we all know the truth... SWMBO, right? *grin*)

 

[Spindifferent]

Thanks all for the great feedback!

 

[jcri]

Where can I get some LED's for my Woods 5215?

Their are dozens of really low cost Chinese and similar LED lights out there. In my experience, some of the really cheap ones just don't hold up very well. Metal parts and bolts rust, lenses get condensation inside them, etc. I've have really good luck with these Rigid Industries 20211 Dually Floodlights. I've bought them off of Amazon before. The are reasonably priced for what they are and they are darn near bullet proof. Mine are several years old and have been smacked with branches, preasure washed, etc., and they still look and perform like new. They will turn night into daylight. Amazingly bright.