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jrtrebor


Location: Michigan - 3 hours north of Chicago on the lake
Joined: Feb 10, 2010
Points: 539

DIY LED Snowblower light
Original Message   Nov 25, 2012 11:35 am
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
Replies: 12 - 21 of 29Next page of topicsPreviousNextNext page of topicsAllView as Outline
MN_Runner


Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
Joined: Dec 5, 2010
Points: 622

Re: DIY LED Snowblower light
Reply #12   Nov 27, 2012 6:47 pm
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.
aa335


Joined: Nov 29, 2008
Points: 2434

Re: DIY LED Snowblower light
Reply #13   Nov 29, 2012 1:29 pm
MN_Runner wrote:
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
chd584


Joined: Nov 7, 2013
Points: 4

Re: DIY LED Snowblower light
Reply #14   Nov 7, 2013 4:52 pm
jrtrebor wrote:
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

Santaclause


Location: northern NY
Joined: Jan 18, 2009
Points: 48

Re: DIY LED Snowblower light
Reply #15   Nov 25, 2013 4:05 pm
I bought a led light off amazon and mounted it on my cub as the factory headlight is a joke and the cab covered it up and I will get around to taking a photo but it has a huge heatsink on back of unit and I wired up a simple on off switch from napa and it seems to work well!!! It was like 25.00 bucks and my wife has amazon prime so no shipping !!!
carlb


Joined: Nov 16, 2010
Points: 279

Re: DIY LED Snowblower light
Reply #16   Nov 26, 2013 6:48 am
Here are a couple of 12volt 10 Watt LED's on ebay for less than 13 dollars that should work well on any snow blower.  The 10watt LED is equal in output  to about a 55watt incandesent
 bulb


http://www.ebay.com/itm/LED-10W-FLOOD-WASH-LIGHT-LIGHTING-12V-10WATTS-WATERPROOF-FLOODLIGHT-LAMP-BULB-/390563581972?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5aef675014


http://www.ebay.com/itm/10W-Underwater-Waterhttp://www.ebay.com/itm/LED-10W-FLOOD-WASH-LIGHT-LIGHTING-12V-10WATTS-WATERPROOF-FLOODLIGHT-LAMP-BULB-/390563581972?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5aef675014proof-Warm-White-LED-Flood-Wash-Light-Lamp-Bulb-12V-Outdoor-/171182012918?pt=US_Light_Bulbs&hash=item27db3e39f6


This message was modified Nov 26, 2013 by carlb
chd584


Joined: Nov 7, 2013
Points: 4

Re: DIY LED Snowblower light
Reply #17   Dec 3, 2013 6:32 pm
Thanks for the suggestions.

I ended up using a landscape lighting fixture with a few mods. You can see the install here:

http://www.perr.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=12018&p=89693#p89693
This message was modified Dec 3, 2013 by chd584
jrtrebor


Location: Michigan - 3 hours north of Chicago on the lake
Joined: Feb 10, 2010
Points: 539

Re: DIY LED Snowblower light
Reply #18   Dec 3, 2013 7:17 pm
Nice job installing the light. Sorry I missed your question about keeping the bulb secure in the housing. Mine did rattle loose a few times. So I made a ring (like a donut) out of a piece of closed cell foam. It fit just inside the front of the housing. And cradled the front of the bulb to keep it from vibrating out of the socket. The light housings at certain RPMs do vibrate like crazy.
chd584


Joined: Nov 7, 2013
Points: 4

Re: DIY LED Snowblower light
Reply #19   Dec 4, 2013 8:31 am
Thanks, jrtrebor, for your suggestion about securing the bulb from the front. Even with the tie downs I have in place, it couldn't hurt to add this feature as well.

I worked on a plumbing project over the weekend and came across an old garbage disposal stopper in my box of spare parts. I discovered that its tapered 3" to 1-3/8" diameter and 1" height would be perfect for this type of application.

I ground down the handle side and added a thick rubber washer (1-1/4" ID). The EcoSmart bulb has a raised lip with this diameter which should keep the bulb firmly in place without obstructing any of the LEDs.

Since it is metal, the stopper assembly should also double as a reflector cup and increase the intensity of the headlight.

This message was modified Dec 10, 2013 by chd584
chd584


Joined: Nov 7, 2013
Points: 4

Re: DIY LED Snowblower light
Reply #20   Dec 10, 2013 12:25 pm
friiy


Location: Las Vegas, The Desert
Joined: Apr 12, 2008
Points: 600

Re: DIY LED Snowblower light
Reply #21   Dec 29, 2013 12:23 am
A small dab of clear or white RTV will keep the bulb from falling out, just a small bead at the base of the bulb or around its rim in the housing is what we use. Don' t worry about getting it out, you may be dead before it burns out. The leds have a great service life.
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