Work Lights- Which one to use?????

[zuiko]

Ended up buying 4 of these. On sale for $10.99 at the store. They seem to be built much better than most of the budget lights and have metal and glass construction. Very little if any plastic.

 

[LBrown59]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I need to add some lights to mine if for no other reason then the headlights seem to be blocked by the bucket so often. )</font>
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Here are some thoughts I've been kicking around concerning lights on rops.
1. Use two lights rather than 4 lights. Mount them on a light bar that will swivel the lights up and down. I install the lights on the bar in a manner that will permit the lights to be rotated 360 degrees. The 360 degrees allows you to have light to the rear and front or both to the front or both to the rear.
Use magnets to mount the brackets for the light bar to the top rear edge of the rops instead of on top of the rops or under the top of the rops. Next bolt the ends of the light bar to the brackets with one bolt through each bracket into the bar.
Tighten the bolts just enough to hold the bar in place but loose enough to move it by hand. The swiveling light bar allows:
(A) Allows adjustment of the distance the lights shine out from the tractor.
(B) Gives more clearance above the lights and more head room under them.
(C) Lessens the chance of catching the lights on something overhead.
(D) Allows the lights to flip down if hit rather than breaking them.
(E) You can just flip the lights down to work under low hanging branches instead of having to remove them from the rops. However you still have the option of removing the bar and lights and unplugging the trailer connector.
*Advantages of the 360 degree rotation *
(A) Permits two lights instead of requiring 4 lights, thus reducing current flow.
(B) Lights can be turned both to front or both to rear. Or they can be turned one to front and one to rear. They can also be used for side lighting. Swiveling lights can provide illumination 360 degrees around the tractor.

Adjustment from one position to another is instant by hand. No wrenches or tools required.
A low profile light preferred over high profile lights.

I've been using this system of combining a rotating light bar with swivel mounted lights to install fog and driving lights on my pickups successfully for years.

More thoughts on lights.
Use a dual direction light with a clear lens on both sides that will cast light to the front and rear at the same time.

Thinking about experimenting with a hanging swing light magnetically attached to the cross member of the FEL to illuminate the bucket shadow when using the head lights.

L.B.

 

[mountain_man]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( A low profile light preferred over high profile lights. )</font>

I agree low profile lights have less chance of being hit by low branches, however I found they didn't produce the amount of light (or the proper pattern) needed for blowing/plowing snow at night (see attached pix of before and after lights).

In my situation I needed to change the low profile lights with larger lights (4"x6" flood).

 

[IslandTractor]

Has anyone figured out how to use banks of LEDs in place of the work lights?? Seems to me they have some significant advantages: 1) much less power needed so people without big alternators could use them, 2) they could be configured in a narrow row of lights that would attach directly to the front/rear of the ROPS with zero overhang, 3) they are extremely low profile so would not snag things like branches, 4) they last forever and are maintenance free.

I have seen several internet sites that sell LED lights but I cannot figure out what the equivalent light power would be to a 50 watt halogen for example. I also found at least one rechargeable worklight that could be incorporated into a removable mounting that might be useful for some applications.

Anyone with LED lighting experience?

 

[Casco1]

This is my setup I'm on my third winter and i'm very satisfied. I bought 4 trapezoidal beam lights from northern tool 14 .99 each. I wired them on a toggle where I can select front or rear. The center rear light is a flood type on a separate switch used as a backup light when doing snow removal.

 

[Casco1]

Rear Lights

 

[wojnaroski]

That's a good thought. I was wondering the same. I have a Cub 5254 that probably doesn't have much extra electrical output to spare. I haven't seen anything posted about LED's. I have installed my power outlet but am still holding out on the worklights.

 

[IslandTractor]

If you search Google for LED work lights you will find there are a bunch of companies selling LED lights for automotive and other outdoor purposes now. The LED market is booming and it cannot be too long before someone slaps a few on a tractor. The thing I cannot figure out from the technobabble used to describe LED output is just how many of the bulbs are necessary to provide the equivalent of a 50 watt work light. They actually sell LEDs configured as replacement bulbs for automotive headlight use so these things can throw a lot of light.

One nice thing about them is that once you put the LEDs into a box/frame/whatever, you can "pot" them with some type of epoxy/plastic so that they are totally sealed and vibration proof too. I am sure there would be a market for a 1" by 18" strip that could be magnetically or mechanically fastened to a ROPS with lighting capacity far greater than currently feasible with halogen bulbs and yet requiring less power. The LEDs are not even that expensive anymore either.

 

[TwinWillows]

I picked up a magnetic mount worklight @ TSC last night - plugs into the lighter socket on my TC40DA. I'll try it tonight - @ about $22 I did not think I could go wrong.

 

[Boondox]

That's a nice, clean installation! I mounted a single flood to my ROPS facing the rear figuring I'd use it all the time. But in the warmer months it's a bug magnet and I get eaten alive! So now I only use it when moving snow; it works well for that!

If only I had enough overhead clearance for a cab...

Pete