Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Is there any problem with replacing the standard light bulb (in my Ariens is a regular 1156) with a halogen 1156? Is excess heat an issue?

Jon,
I could not tell you....but I also would like to do a slight modifcation on my Ariens 1332DLE......
I'd like to install a light on top of my snow cab......I do not know if I can just install another light, but I suppose I can install another light and a switch to go from the lower light to the upper light.......that way I know I would not over tax the electrical system.......

A light on the top of the snow cab pointing down in front of the snowblower would be awesome!

Frank D.

Frank. An elevated light would be neat. Not sure if having two lights going at once would be a problem, but having a switch system would take care of that if it's a problem. I think the halogen bulbs are sometimes used for back-up lights for cars. My only concern is whether halogen bulbs are too hot for the Ariens plastic lens. Jonathan

I cant tell you for sure but I have one of those 2.5 million candle power lights and the normal plastic on that seems to be just fine. Also its pretty cold outside when you are using this.

As for the cab idea you could work out how much each bulb draws and match it to the gage of the wires coming from the alternator, you could also use an electric meter to see what the alternator outputs. If you do choose to use a switch to alternate between the lights A 3 pole switch should work just fine.

faithfulFrank wrote:

Frank,

        I had a light on top of the cab on my old Bolens 10hp.  Had to keep replacing bulbs.  I'm not sure,but I think it may have vibrated too much .

I too wonder if vibration shortens the bulb life (metal fatigue affecting the fine wires?). The original bulb was starting to light up intermittently at 19 hours. The filiment looked ok. I just replaced it with a so called long life bulb. There were no halogen bulbs at the auto store I went to.

I have a 2003DLE with the 1156 bulb. I was thinking that the newer light enclosures for the 2005 Ariens models, could be installed along with the halogen light bulb.

I have a professional 12v spotlight with a 1million candlepower bulb. The bulb holder and case is ceramic and metal . No plastic. The entire unit is mostly metal and glass and can run underwater ("o" rings). There are cooling fins around the outside of the spotlight.

I find it hard to believe that plastic will not melt.

Just order one of these: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=92396

Apparently there is a flashlight forum with upwards of 12,000 members :shrug:

The lens/reflector housing on your unit will not handle halogen bulb heat.

If you want a halogen bulb, you'll need replace the lens/reflector housing and bulb from a current model. You'll also need a new wire harness (or you'll need to gather the proper connectors and make a harness adapter; the plug is different).

PK

Thanks, Snowmann. I suspected that heat would be a problem. I'll stick with the original equipment.