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

HONDA makes a halogen round light for 60 bucks.  It's OK, but lets be real here, LED's are the Future, and they have lots of light for a little juice, so why isn't the Honda Snowblower equipped with one ?   I found a LED that has 5 - One Watt LED's, and throws 400 Lumens that would look great, if it'd work. It is a 12 Volt  utility light, for about the same price as the Honda OEM that I don't like.  I'm no Electrician, so I'm looking for advice here from somebody who is.  Also if not this light, is there one that would work that is an LED ?

New_Yorker wrote:

The problem with LED lights is that they produce a LOT of heat. Cheap ones will strobe which gives me major headaches. Your best bet is to go here and get something that will work for you. I use mine and it works awesome. I have a NiteCore D10 and it will go a long time at full power at like 140 lumens. The site i've listed doesn't sell them any more but they have a ton of great stuff and a bicycle light mounted on the handlebar would work great, as would straping one to your head. There is a forum that talks all about this stuff. They sell stuff that will light up your world like day time! The future is portability.

http://www.4sevens.com/

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/portal/index.php

Ariens sells two different headlight kits throught Home Depot.I am not sure that these are led, I have never tried them. 

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?keyword=ariens+headight&langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

I'm a fairly active participant over at candlepowerforums. All the information you need is there. I think you would want 2 lights. 1 flood, 1 more focused. Go to dealextreme.com or kaidomain.com and find a light that can be powered by 4 lithium cells or one that has a 12V+ input. Remove the battery tube and hardwire it into your electrical system. You may need to add a capacitor if the blowers 12V output is not quite smooth enough.
I built some flag pole lights for a friend that used 4 SSC P7 LEDs per light. Even at low power, they make ~ 2000 Lumens per light and use about 38W. 2000 Lumens might seem arbitrary, but a 100W household lightbulb makes about 1200 Lumens.

"The problem with LED lights is that they produce a LOT of heat."

News to me.  Maybe I'm using "cool running" LEDs.  None of my LED lights produce any heat.

Same here. I use LED lighting for my band lighting, primarily because they consume very little power, and produce no heat.

I live in the middle of the woods and it's pitch black here at night, especially during a storm. I've never had visibility problems during nightitme clean ups with the stock light package from Honda. Not saying there is not something better but why go outside the box for marginal benefits? I guess if I needed a bit more light I'd probably use a headlight/strap set up just to be able to see in the direction you're looking. The only issue I would see here is that it might not work that good when using the hood of your coat - which I use quite often as it keeps the snow out of your back and protects your face.

borat wrote:

LED lights use a heat sink to draw the heat away. If they have a bad heat sink you'll know it very quickly as the bulb will burn out fast. The reason we don't have LED lights in our homes is the cost and teh heat sinks required are quite large. I've seen the BIG ones they have and at 13 watts they put out a boatload of lumens. Cost per light is ~$140 each.

Bur if you go on Candlepower forums as I've listed you will find the enemy is heat. Heat is relative to size and power. My Husky 4 watt produces a lot of heat but is insanely bright for a 2 D cell $25 flashlight. best $25 I've even spent. My Nitecore D10 I carry everywhere and it's a great light too.

So many lights are sold that can be used on a snowblower. I use Sanyo Eneloop batteries for all my AA needs and nothing is better.

First let me thank everyone for their input.  I can, obviously, buy and use the Honda OEM Light kit.  I was simply trying to learn if anyone can explain the problem with installing an equally expensive LED utility light that has 5 One watt LED's that willl put out 400 lumens of light.  I have new 2010 car with LED headlights, the old car had High Intensity Discharge headlamps that were not as bright, and a lot more prone to failure.  LED's have proven to be very efficient, durable and powerful light sources, hence my interest before forking over the buckaroos for the old technology Halogen Honda light. Finding an explanation of how these lights are powered with a one cylinder engine, would be useful, but even that does not seem to exist. The 9 HP Honda GX 270 engine is first rate, and well proven for durability, and dependability.

The heat that the LEDs produce is not the same heat as a conventional bulb produces. A filamented bulb produces heat in the filament that produces light. An LED produces heat as a byproduct. High power LEDs NEED to be properly heat sinked if they are to be operated any where near their maximum output.

Read around candlepower forums.

JimmyM wrote:
Do you think the OP needs a "high power" LED on his snow thrower.   That's something altogether different than anything powered with A A cells or D cells wouldn't you think?   I have a K2 LED lamp that generates a great deal of light, generates no heat and gives great battery life.  Something in that class would be all that's required for a snow thrower.   I doubt that  LED lights that generate a lot of heat could be powered by a snow thrower.