Kubota B7800 Headlight Upgrade

   / Kubota B7800 Headlight Upgrade #21  
The only issue I see with LEDs for use predominantly in the winter during snow removal, is that they burn so much cooler than the incandescents, halogens, etc., that they don't melt blowing snow off the lens.

That's become a huge problem with municipalities in cold climates that decided to spend a bunch of tax dollars to replace all the incandescent bulbs with LEDs in the traffic lights. Doesn't take long during a snowstorm for the traffic lights to get covered with snow/ice.
 
   / Kubota B7800 Headlight Upgrade #22  
Remember the LED replacements in traffic lights save tons of tax dollars in electric and replacement labor costs. Old incandescents would burn out often and potentially cause accidents too. The snow issue is being worked on. New shields should help. Either way, money was saved by switching these to LED.

I switched to LEDs to avoid having to upgrade my dynamo. Not too many amps to go around with the original Kubota hampster cage. :D
Now I can see well all the way around the tractor.

And you're right, Bandit. I had to locate most of my LEDs under the canopy to avoid the snow buildup.
 
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   / Kubota B7800 Headlight Upgrade #23  
The is a good thread that I thought should be brought back. I was looking to add more light to a B3200 and this might be what I needed.

I have purchased from superbrightleds in the past and they are good to go. On a side note they do have a base shipping price so order everything you need the 1st time to avoid paying it a second time.
 
   / Kubota B7800 Headlight Upgrade #24  
The LED was not as bright there was no definitive spot of light in the middle and the color was whiteish blue. I then tried both LEDs together they seemed way too dim to work with.
That's because there is no such thing as an LED bulb that replaces an incandescent bulb. The two optical systems are completely different and the 'bulb' part is just one component of the overall system.

To me, even the regular 1156 incandescent bulbs seem too dim.
I never thought that the headlights on that tractor were much to brag about no matter what bulbs were installed
That's because KUBOTA (like many tractor manufacturers) has elected to provide 'adequate' forward lighting vs. excellent forward lighting like you would find on a modern snowmobile or ATV. This is because most tractor manufacturers use turn signal bulbs (1156, 1157, 3056, 3057, 3156, 3157, etc...) for their 'headlamps'. These are not headlamp bulbs and only produce light in the range of 18 to 24 watts -which is woefully inadequate for a legitimate headlamp.

One thing to think about as far as the brightness difference between the old bulbs and LEDs is the reflector around the socket. They are designed to maximize/focus the illumination of a spherical incandescent bulb instead of a directional LED. With LEDs the parabolic reflector isn't really effective at all.
EXACTLY CORRECT! Incandescent bulbs are 'spherical' light sources (meaning light is emitted in all directions from the filament) and LED's are point or 'directional' sources (meaning they only emit useable light in a specific direction). This fundamental difference makes them non-interchangeable with acceptable results and those selling them as 'replacements' for incandescent are more interested in your money than your lighting performance!
 
   / Kubota B7800 Headlight Upgrade #25  
EXACTLY CORRECT! Incandescent bulbs are 'spherical' light sources (meaning light is emitted in all directions from the filament) and LED's are point or 'directional' sources (meaning they only emit useable light in a specific direction). This fundamental difference makes them non-interchangeable with acceptable results and those selling them as 'replacements' for incandescent are more interested in your money than your lighting performance!


That is why these types of LED bulbs were made.



18-LED Tower Type 1156 & 1157 Bulbs

3 x Foward Firing SMD LEDs, 15 x Radially Mounted SMD LEDs, 120 degree beam LEDs, 360 degree beam lamp
These bulbs give the look of a standard incandescent stock bulb with entire lamp housing illumination and no focused hotspot


I have them and them work pretty good. 360 degree light pattern.
 
   / Kubota B7800 Headlight Upgrade #26  
No hot spot, is better than one imo, always hated the LEDS with that.
 

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