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

Well, I just purchased a Ariens 926LE for $630. It was a toss-up between that and the 11hp model with handwarmers and remote differential. BUT, it was a $200+ difference, so I went with a little inconvenience.

My question is about the electrical system on these machines. The 11hp and 13hp power both a light and hand-warmers, whereas the 9hp doesn't have handwarmers. I know that the warmers are not an Ariens accessory option, but if the 9hp electrical system can handle it, I want to wire in a pair of electric gloves that I own.

Does anyone know what kind of power the warmers draw or if the system can handle adding this in?  My gloves are 12VDC and draw 22 watts.

Thanks for the great site!

Snowmann wrote:

Yeah, I have the Tecumseh and that's what I was reading about it. But my confusion comes because even the 13HP model uses the same 18W alternator, yet it has the headlight AND the hand-warmers.

Where are those getting the extra juice from?

Thanks

Here are some handy formulas:

 Watts = volts x amps.

 Amps = Watts divided by volts.

Amps = Volts divided by resistance (in ohms).

I have a Ariens 2003 model 1128DLE. I have the light, hand warmers and a 12v battery that needs charging.

When I switch on my hand warmers, my head light dims a bit which tells me there is a trade off in lumens when the handwarmers are on.

On recent Ariens models, most large displacement Tecumseh engines (318cc and larger) use a split coil 3A DC / 5A AC unregulated system (the only exception is the models with 318cc LH318SA L-heads which use the 18W AC unregulated alternator). The headlight and handwarmers run from the 5 amp AC side. The only time the DC circuit is used is as a battery charger for the 12V start models. You'll notice the 2 or 4 pin connector at the alternator on Tecumseh models (depending on the year), and a single bullet connector on the 18W models. The Briggs powered Ariens models use a 1.5 amp DC unregulated alternator for the 9.5hp Powerbuilts, and a 9 amp DC regulated system on the Inteks, both with single bullet connectors. The Ariens handwarmers use 2.5 amps (30 watts), so you can see an 18 watt alternator could not power the handwarmers even without a light.

PK

Thanks Snowman. That all makes sense now. Since mine only produces enough AC to run the light, I'm just going to use an 8 AA battery holder to power my gloves. I have plenty of rechargable AAs, and I can just slip the pack in my pocket.  Somehow I'll get these to work!

Thanks for all the replies!

What about purchasing a higher powered alternator(must be sold somewhere). These engines have some odd carb setup to maintain a set idle speed, no matter what the load is(I stuck a screw driver against the butterfly and a flame was visable in the muffler and the RPM trippled at least) the engine has plenty of energy available by opening its carb to power a larger alternator.

Mike

Certianly the alternator could be upgraded. It would likely involve a new flywheel with more powerful magnets. It would get expensive.

Is there any free spot to attatch another coil that would work alongside to existing one, allowing the magnets to remain in place?

Hand warmers?  Are you kidding me?   Just put a pair of gloves on, all set.   Talk about a nice and cheap option!!!!

I have handwarmer grips on my 2004/2005 1332DLE...bought new last year.
I have never even used them.
I wonder if I could wire an auxilary light with that power instead and mount that extra light on the top of my snowcab?
I'd probably never do it, but was just wondering.  It would be nice to have an extra light shining from on the top of the snowcab frame.


Snowmann, Good to hear from you. We appreciate the expert advice.....don't see you much at the other place....

Frank D.

BBgarage wrote:

BBgarage,

I'm not too intimate with the workings of the alternators, however I doubt you could just add another coil. Some of the people on this forum that have torn down the engines often would have a more positive indication than I.

Frank,

The AC circuit on your unit has 5 amps at 12V (actually this is probably more like @ 12.8-14 volts). Your 3 amp DC circuit you don't want to touch without worrying about your battery charging. The light you have is an incandescent 1156 automtive bult with something like 22W or so of draw. If you do not use your handwarmers, you have in the nieghborhood of 40 watts left over to power another light. The handwarmer take 2.5 amps (~30 watts) so if you keep your light wattage low (the current halogens used on the Tecumseh engine models is 15W) you may just have enough AC power to run handwarmers and both lights. The only way to tell for sure would be to try it.