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

hirschallan wrote:

Forgot to mention during SANDY when my generator failed day 2 at 10:30 at night, I was at a loss because, when you get used to a good thing (generator)and it drops off suddenly I could not for the life of me think where do I turn for good light. After a few minutes of thinking I remembered the light I just got from northern tool just days before. So, to the garage I went returning with one of the two new lights along with my "power pack jump starter" and before long I had bright light.It ran for hours on end, no flickering just good bright light.It has such low amp draw that it never took the battery down.

For alternative lighting and light load applications, (radio), I've wired our camp with a 12V system that runs on a couple deep cycle batteries.  I've got 12V compact flourescent lights in every room and in sufficient numbers to fully light the camp.  Over the kitchen gas stove, I've got a really bright LED light bar that draws a mere 7 watts.  Each 12V battery has it's own solar panel to keep it charged.  The main battery that supplies 80% of the load has a 30W panel, the other a 15W panel.   Most of the lights are 5W, the bathroom and kitchen get 10W lights and we have a whopping 15W light in the centre of the camp.  You'd be surprised how much light you can get from these low watt bulbs.   What I've found, is that the temperature (colour) of the light is important.  Cool white and daylight white are good for kitchen and bathrooms, however, not so pleasant in a more relaxed environment.  For those areas, we prefer softer light which is closer to the light from a regular incandescent bulb. 

So, when I don't want to run the diesel generator, we have enough battery powered lighting to last for days, if not weeks on a single battery charge.  

For you folks in areas that often have power interruptions, it might be a good idea to keep a handful of 12V compact flourescent bulbs, a few cheap regular AC light bulb fixtures (or use what you already have in the home) and some lamp cord on hand to wire them into a temporary system.  I've got the camp permanently wired and use fuses at the batteries to protect the circuits.  

Come to think of it, I should probably do the same here at home.  However, power interruptions are very infrequent anf very brief when it does happen.

Just as a heads-up to you guys converting over to LED lighting...

One of the biggest factors in LED longevity is heat management.  Most people think of LED lights as running cool, and they do give off little ambient heat compared to incandescent lights.  However, the LED itself does get extremely hot - it is just concentrated in an area the size of a pin head.  That heat needs to be heatsinked away from the LED to provide long life and reliability in the LED.  That's one of the biggest things that separates cheap LEDs from expensive ones - proper heatsinking!

On a snowblower, it probably makes little difference because you are generally operating in a cold environment.  However, if you have the chance to use a metal (aluminum!) housing as opposed to a plastic one, go for the metal one!

If you're using the LED lighting over a stovetop, expect a short lifespan.  In fact, this is one of the big arguments against the banning of incandescent lighting - it is still, by far, the best option to use in high-heat environments, such as oven light bulbs, not to mention easy-bake ovens .  Incandescents are also necessary in heat lamps.  Sometimes, heat generated from inefficiency is a good thing!

Yeah, I was aware that LEDs produce very high temperatures but, overall, not a lot of heat.  I put up the LED light bar above our gas stove back in 2007.  The light bar has 20 or so individual LEDs.  So far, not one has failed.  However, that light is primarily used as a kitchen light when the generator is off.  It spends 95% of it's time on, when the gas range is off.  Hopefully, if and when it does go south, it will be one LED at a time.

One thing that I didn't mention in my previous post was that 12V compact flourescent bulbs can be expensive.  I've seen some ridiculously priced.  For instance, my neighbour at camp bought a 15 watt CF bulb from a hardware store that specializes in solar power.  They soaked him $30.00 for one bulb.  I bought the very same bulb from an independent solar dealer, who works out of his barn,  for around $12.00.  Shop around.  

borat wrote:

Don't worry, if it has 20 LEDs, it's probably the 5mm ones all spread out along the bar. The heatsinking requirement comes with the 3W or greater LEDs.

BTW, a great emergency light is a plain old 3 D cell LED lamp (maglite style). Screw the head off and stand it up like a candle. You can comfortably read in a chair near it.

jrtrebor

Nice suggestion on the website.  I got all excited when I saw bike lights as I commute to work in the winter.  They got some fantastic lights for a reasonable price. 

MN_Runner wrote:

This would be the ultimate bike light for your 'blower:   http://www.fenixgear.com/fenix-bike-light/fenix-bt20-nw.html

I think Newegg had the OP's light "bulbs" on their CyberMonday sale yesterday for $5 w/ free shipping.

longboat wrote:
That is a awesome bike light.  I'm still using a Nightrider light with the water bottle battery.  This new light is a huge improvement.

I already get a lot of middle fingers as I commute to work.  If I were to use my Niterider on my snowblower, people just might run over me and I doubt I can out run them.

MN_Runner wrote:
Haven't got the finger yet for riding at night.  Although I have to watch out for small women driver in large SUV yakking on the phone while putting on make up.  Just because they can multi-task doesn't mean they should. 

If they can't see a Mazda Miata, they're not going to see me on a bicycle. 

jrtrebor wrote:

Looking to upgrade the lighting on my snowblower and came across this site.

How did you keep the MR16 bulb from vibrating loose?

All of the floodlight fixtures I've seen have sockets without any retaining clips:



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