Abby’s Guide > Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) > Discussions > DIY LED Snowblower light
Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions |
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jrtrebor
 
Location: Michigan - 3 hours north of Chicago on the lake
Joined: Feb 10, 2010
Points: 539
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DIY LED Snowblower light
Original Message Nov 25, 2012 11:35 am |
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Thought some might be interested in this. The light that I had on my blower was an outdoor landscape fixture that I picked up on clearance a while back. It had put a 12V 25W Halogen bulb in it. It worked fine, but I kind of wanted a LED bulb. Found this one on a site called Dealextreme. Here's a link to the site page. They come directly from Hong Kong so you won't get it quickly. But for $6.99 and free shipping it a pretty good deal. I bought two.    I just removed the old bulb and put in the new one. Here is a photo of the fixture. I think I paid $9.99 for it.   Here is a photo of the light output of the new LED bulb. From the light to the end of the white stripes is about 17'. The bulb puts out plenty of light. Especially considering that when there is snow on the ground. There will be a lot of reflection of the light off the snow.  All of the Building supply stores carry fixtures that can be used as a blower light. Here's one Home Depot carries that takes the MR16 bulb for $19.99 So for about $27.00 and a little bit of wait time on the bulb. You can make yourself a pretty nice light for your blower. That draws very little current, is durable and long lasting.
This message was modified Dec 21, 2013 by a moderator
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longboat
Joined: Feb 11, 2009
Points: 103
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Re: DIY LED Snowblower light
Reply #6 Nov 26, 2012 9:42 am |
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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! |
borat
Joined: Nov 10, 2007
Points: 2692
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Re: DIY LED Snowblower light
Reply #7 Nov 26, 2012 11:28 am |
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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.
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Bill_H
Location: Maine
Joined: Jan 12, 2008
Points: 354
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Re: DIY LED Snowblower light
Reply #8 Nov 26, 2012 5:10 pm |
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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. 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.
Who the hell let all the morning people run things?
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longboat
Joined: Feb 11, 2009
Points: 103
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Re: DIY LED Snowblower light
Reply #10 Nov 27, 2012 10:22 am |
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jrtreborNice 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.
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.
This message was modified Nov 27, 2012 by longboat
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aa335
Joined: Nov 29, 2008
Points: 2434
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Re: DIY LED Snowblower light
Reply #13 Nov 29, 2012 1:29 pm |
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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. 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.
This message was modified Nov 29, 2012 by aa335
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chd584
Joined: Nov 7, 2013
Points: 4
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Re: DIY LED Snowblower light
Reply #14 Nov 7, 2013 4:52 pm |
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All of the Building supply stores carry fixtures that can be used as a blower light. Here's one Home Depot carries that takes the MR16 bulb for $19.99 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:  VS 
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