LED lighting

[Wildfire]

Had a bit of extra time this weekend to add some extra lighting to the tractor. Did a video on it as well.

Sorry folks. I attached the link originally from my iPhone and it got messed up. Hopefully it will work right now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFdT0zWcY9k

 

[stuart]

Can you check that link? It does not appear to work correctly for me.
Thanks

 

[B7100]

Can you check that link? It does not appear to work correctly for me.
Thanks

Its not this one is it?
Dave



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFdT0zWcY9k

 

[cabu]

Your Kubote becomes more and more like a x-mas tree

All the flashing lights would drive me crazy in the evening/night working with the traktor.

I think the reason is, that nowadays you get very easy an action at law because somebody hasn't seen the snow blowing traktor and drove into your Kubota. And he is trys to put the costs on you. (Crazy World)

Maybe the other reason is, to have that x-mas tree!!

carl

 

[Wildfire]

Your Kubote becomes more and more like a x-mas tree

All the flashing lights would drive me crazy in the evening/night working with the traktor.

I think the reason is, that nowadays you get very easy an action at law because somebody hasn't seen the snow blowing traktor and drove into your Kubota. And he is trys to put the costs on you. (Crazy World)

Maybe the other reason is, to have that x-mas tree!!

carl

Over here in Canada the first thing some will say when they hit you is "I didn't see you". They can not say that now. The lights don't bother ME. I don't see the lights when I'm operating but everyone else can

 

[Bulldog]

The new lights look nice Wildfire. The drivers on the roads now have no respect for farm equipment. I don't worry as much on my big tractor but it makes me a little nervous on my L when I'm on the road. I seem to just about get clipped every time I get on the road with it. I even had a guy brush the edge of a roll of hay when he passed me here a while back. He was cutting it that close to a on coming car when he passed me. I was hit several years ago by a passing van and have put 2 in the ditch including a state trooper. Tractors don't get any resect at all.

 

[Wildfire]

The new lights look nice Wildfire. The drivers on the roads now have no respect for farm equipment. I don't worry as much on my big tractor but it makes me a little nervous on my L when I'm on the road. I seem to just about get clipped every time I get on the road with it. I even had a guy brush the edge of a roll of hay when he passed me here a while back. He was cutting it that close to a on coming car when he passed me. I was hit several years ago by a passing van and have put 2 in the ditch including a state trooper. Tractors don't get any resect at all.

Wow you had a few close calls! Yikes! Well It's a 45 minute drive from my town to the city. We have about 15000 people who live here and some of them work in the city. Well when 6 AM comes it's like the Daytona 500 on the main street here and guess where all my snow clearing is carried out. Yep, on that main street. I've had so many close calls I can't even count them all.
I can now say for a fact that since I added the lights vehicles actually slow down and move out of my way so it's a cheap fix for a potentially expensive problem. Thanks for posting. Stay safe out there.

 

[Kytim]

Hey Wildfire, have you figured the amp draw of your light pkg? Being LED i'm sure it would be much less than expected. have you seen any failures of LED's that can be attributed to vibration or shock? I currently have "no" lighting at all. I would hate to fab up front rear and flashers to have them fail because I was a little too rough while tilling or something during the summer. I hadn't heard of any firsthand knowledge of these issues.

Kytim

 

[pat331]

Paul, great job on the lights! I need to break down and part with some cash and add some LED lighting to mine. I also saw a feature you added that I'd like to add to my pickup, since I don't have one. That is the outside air temperature gauge. Would you please share the your source of supply for that great feature? I'd really appreciate it! And thanks for taking the time to show us your recent upgrades! pat

 

[Wildfire]

Hey Wildfire, have you figured the amp draw of your light pkg? Being LED i'm sure it would be much less than expected. have you seen any failures of LED's that can be attributed to vibration or shock? I currently have "no" lighting at all. I would hate to fab up front rear and flashers to have them fail because I was a little too rough while tilling or something during the summer. I hadn't heard of any firsthand knowledge of these issues.

Kytim

I've never put an Amp clamp on the thing to see for sure but these lights usually run about .25 of an Amp. That being said. I can have the tractor idling with the heater on it's lowest speed and all the lights on and the volt gauge won't drop so I'm happy with that.
My tractor got the winter package on it with the three window rear defog so with that comes the larger output Alt.

Now when it comes to LED lighting they are not all created equally. My advise is to buy from a reputable company such as Grote and Whelan.
When it comes vibration or anything else such as water getting in the lights I've never had an issue. I have two of the expensive Groti super nova's up on the skid steer attachment right behind the blade so that's about most punishing place you could put a light and It's never been a problem. They are rated to take high vibration and great for wet conditions.
I attached a few photo's of the latest lights I installed. If you go LED's spend your money wisely and get the best and that's what I named above. Good luck!

 

[Wildfire]

Paul, great job on the lights! I need to break down and part with some cash and add some LED lighting to mine. I also saw a feature you added that I'd like to add to my pickup, since I don't have one. That is the outside air temperature gauge. Would you please share the your source of supply for that great feature? I'd really appreciate it! And thanks for taking the time to show us your recent upgrades! pat

Hi Pat. I really like the ambient Air temp gauge as well. I attached the link for the place I purchased mine. Pretty good pricing as well. Hope this helps and your more than welcome.

http://www.cyberdynegauges.net/redheat.php

 

[pat331]

Thanks! As we say down here in the South, I'm fixin' to do me some shopping! By the way, what kind of temperatures are you expecting? We usually have pretty mild winters, but it didn't get above 20 degrees here today and we are having lows in the single digits for two nights in a row. Our ground is ice/sleet/snow covered. Traffic in DFW has been a hugh mess. You must have ice-water for blood where you live.

Thanks again for the help!

 

[Wildfire]

Thanks! As we say down here in the South, I'm fixin' to do me some shopping! By the way, what kind of temperatures are you expecting? We usually have pretty mild winters, but it didn't get above 20 degrees here today and we are having lows in the single digits for two nights in a row. Our ground is ice/sleet/snow covered. Traffic in DFW has been a hugh mess. You must have ice-water for blood where you live.

Thanks again for the help!

Your very welcome. It's been snowing here for two weeks now. I've been plowing snow every morning starting at 5:30 Am finishing up at 8:30 AM then get back to the shop and work there until 5:30 have a quick supper and back in the shop for another few hours. Other than that I'm bored to death

This morning it's -14 degrees Celsius with 20cm's of snow blowing around and I'm out in it with my t shirt on and listening to the radio. Man life is tough . The only thing I need now is a few hours sleep but that's not going to happen

The link show show our forecast. We usually start to thaw out around August month Stay safe. Paul



http://www.theweathernetwork.com/weather/canf0013

 

[cabu]

I have a question. When I lived in the US at Gloucester, 10 years ago, I saw also a lot of private Pick-Up's with a snow blade at the front to clean the parking areas of big shops and also small roads. And when I read, that you do this every morning in the snow season for around three hours of the day, I would like to ask how much is the payment. Is it really worth it to get up at 5 in morning? A friend of mine here in Germany has a Truck with a blade and the salt at the back. He is always complaining that the money is a little bit more than the expenses...

carl

 

[Wildfire]

I have a question. When I lived in the US at Gloucester, 10 years ago, I saw also a lot of private Pick-Up's with a snow blade at the front to clean the parking areas of big shops and also small roads. And when I read, that you do this every morning in the snow season for around three hours of the day, I would like to ask how much is the payment. Is it really worth it to get up at 5 in morning? A friend of mine here in Germany has a Truck with a blade and the salt at the back. He is always complaining that the money is a little bit more than the expenses...

carl

Carl. My main business is running my shop but I have a 600' driveway that needs to be plowed every time it snows. Just across the street from me there are two government buildings that need to be plowed too so 25 years ago I got the contracts for them and have had it ever since.

It works out great for me because the contracts are close to my shop and they pay for my tractor plus I get my driveway done for free. There are also some homes by me and I also do there driveways and they pay for my fuel and I have money left over.
My pick up truck did all this before I bought the tractor and it paid for it's self ten times over so it is very much worth it for me.
When it snows around here business in the shop is slow for that day so doing the snow clearing really helps out. I call it a win win situation.
There are two types of business people. The first type can make money being smart and making the right decisions and then there's the second type who seem to loose no matter what they do. So far I've made money doing this.

My driveway:

After 13 years of plowing I retired the truck and now it's used just to pull my welding machine:

And now I use the tractor: