kick but tractor llight

[Phineas7]

With the inefficiencies of an inverter, it seems it would take 20amps+ to run 175watt light. Unless you just have an unused inverter laying around it seems that some 12v HID light would be about as cost effective.

I'm thinking about doing something like that because my 790 only has a 20amp alternator. 200 watts worth of hologen is the equivilent of 65 watts of HID (about 6 amps @ 12v). No idea about metal halide though.

 

[hot110ff]

Wow, that last picture looks like something out of 2001 A Space Odyssey. Gotta wear shades when you're coming

Your charging system can handle the 400 watt inverter to power that thing?

The light itself only draws about 2 amps due to the transfomer in it that ramps up the voltage to fire the light so the inverter hardly draws anything to power the light. It will stay lit even if you shut the tractor off, but will kill the light when you go to re-start the tractor due to the starting system putting a load on the battery.

 

[hot110ff]

Must cast some wicked shadows! regarding the fuse, maybe some kind of GFI protection, though I'm not sure if that would work with out an earth ground, having a 120 volt circuit on a tractor is interesting.

I'm wondering about the charging system as well, I want to get an inverter and was thinking about 400-800 watt range, does the 400 clip to the battery or can you plug it in a cigarette lighter type outlet? I just installed an outlet but it's only on a 10 amp circuit.

The 400 watt inverter that I bought from Pep Boys has the screw down lugs on it to wire it in.

 

[tommu56]

hot110ff

2 amps at 120v = 20 amps at 12v plus the invertor loss as long as the alternator can handle the draw your ok. but some of the tractors have small dynamo's or alternators.

A GFI dosent need the ground to work it looks at the power going out line and if it dosent see it coming back in the neutral it will trip.

tom

 

[GordNovo]

You should see the looks on the peoples faces driving by the house when I'm mowing late at night in the summer.

I'll bet! You shouldn't have any probs seeing their faces from a couple hundred yards away!

 

[Phineas7]

Do you have any idea how many lumens or the candlepower of the light?

I was thinking of one or two of these:
http://www.trailtech.net/4212-FX.html

1850 lumens for 30watts (~2.5 amps @ !2v)
I'd assume I'd need two to have as much light as you!

Trialtech is pretty popular with the dirt bike community. If they can handle the vibration, shock and random supply voltage of a bike, a tractor ought to be a breeze.