(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

Led lights

C

caterpillar guy

Well-known Member
How much heat do they produce, and how will the dirt in those light bars affect the cooling?
I liked the bublb style for a conversion that Paul gave the link to after looking it up. Will those work in the old incandescent housings from 60's model tractors and again how is the cooling?
 
No heat from LEDs, another of the big pluses, the other is the very low current draw and I guess we could talk about the toughness of them. Other then cost, which seems to dropping almost daily they are a great deal......
 
I just bought the bulb replacements from Steiner for my Farmall M & WD 45. They look kinda cool. A little spendy at $9 a bulb though.
 
Like oldproudvet says, no heat to them. That seems to be about the only downside in some applications. For forward facing tractor lights they should be great. I deliver auto parts in a cube van part time. It has LED tail/brake lights. They completely cover over with snow, no heat to melt it off. I clean them off at every stop. Was nearly rear ended a couple winters ago as the vehicle behind me couldn't see turn signal and brake lights. I had cleaned them off at the previous stop about 30 miles prior.
 
I work for a roads department and last two years they have a housing around the LEDs to melt off the snow so the traffic can see the lights. Not sure of the heads light for the plow but was thinking they had heaters too.
 
My boss back in around 2000 bought some new trailers for fleet with LED lighting. The first winter he followed one of the new trailers
coming in from a run during a snow storm and said he couldn't see any of the lights on back of trailer. The next morning he had shop
replace all LED tail lights with old style bulbs.
 
A 60 watt incandescent medium base household bulb runs 10w per the box. Headlights usually run 35 watts so from a Luminance standpoint, in LED for the same Luminance you are consuming 1/6 x 35W for headlights. Taillights are probably measured in milliwatts so it's easy to see that precip could accumulate and not get burned off.
 
How do they work in really cold weather? Not exposed on a tractor, but, for example, in my barn. Do they fire right up at -30 F?
 
Any LED needs a good heat sink, dissipating what heat they do produce is key to a long life for them. But in general a watt is a watt is a watt, and LEDs consume about 1/6th of the wattage for a given amount of light that incandescent bulbs do.
 
(quoted from post at 07:20:33 02/08/18) Any LED needs a good heat sink, dissipating what heat they do produce is key to a long life for them. But in general a watt is a watt is a watt, and LEDs consume about 1/6th of the wattage for a given amount of light that incandescent bulbs do.
Click to expand...

There is a little heat but it's on the back side of led.
 
I cannot believe that seriously is a problem. Taillights do not coverup with snow while driving down the road that easily if so why does it not happen on regular light lenses during the day when lights are off.
 
Hey Meangreen, I have a WD45 and thinking about those led bulbs from Stiener. How bright are they? I would also like less current draw, because when my lights are on and WOT the amp meter is at 0. In outer words no charging happens with lights on. I don't really ever need headlights, but nice to have if needed.
 
If ya ever drive truck in the snow you will find out that the snow does accumulate on the led tail lights bad because they don?t get hot enough to keep it melted off another bad thing with cheap led head lights Is they will make your radio go static when they are on
 
When Led's came out in tail lights for trucks they were the rage. I can tell you for a fact if the snow sticks to cars or trucks it will stick to Led lights. Truck tail lights have a protective steel around them and they will fill up with snow kicked up from under it as you drive. I drove through a storm on I80 nice powdery white at night when I went to stop I couldn't see the lights come on I pulled over and the snow had filled the cavites that the lights were mounted in. I ended up having to clean them every two hours.
 
(quoted from post at 07:05:31 02/08/18) How do they work in really cold weather? Not exposed on a tractor, but, for example, in my barn. Do they fire right up at -30 F?
Click to expand...

I know you're asking about 12V lighting, but we recently had our yard light replaced by the electric company. They can't even get parts anymore for the older style of lights they used and have now switched over to LED. The yard light is costing us a little bit more per month in rent, but uses a fraction of the electricity. Light coming out is amazingly bright! Light is also much whiter; old light (HPS) gave a yellow color. Has worked flawlessly for the couple of months it has been up, and we've had temps below -40F.

I have handheld LED lights and headlamps that also perform flawlessly in the cold.

Have also recently gotten some indoor/outdoor LED lights for use in outbuildings and such, ranging from 20W to 100W power usage. These are bright white lights in the 5,000K+ range. The 100W light will surely put out some heat after a while. Had a 50W going over Christmas inside the house and could only handle it by the mounting bracket after just a couple of hours. I'm assuming the bulk of the heat is coming from the electronics that changed the incoming power from 120V 60Hz to whatever it is these lights need. Stocked up on some of the 20W lights. They are AMAZINGLY bright, come on instantly and work in (so far) all conditions I've thrown at them.

These are the type I got:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KFU8C7W/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KFVFQEI/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 

Sorry...read right over the part where you're asking about mounting in a barn. :p~

Anyway, while these lights generate much less heat than other types of lighting, I would still recommend ensuring that hay/straw and other dry flammables can't land on the cooling fins and risk getting hot, causing a fire.
 
(quoted from post at 08:56:15 02/08/18) When Led's came out in tail lights for trucks they were the rage. I can tell you for a fact if the snow sticks to cars or trucks it will stick to Led lights. Truck tail lights have a protective steel around them and they will fill up with snow kicked up from under it as you drive. I drove through a storm on I80 nice powdery white at night when I went to stop I couldn't see the lights come on I pulled over and the snow had filled the cavites that the lights were mounted in. I ended up having to clean them every two hours.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but even incandescent bulbs wouldn't be able to melt through all that.
 
(quoted from post at 11:25:53 02/08/18)
(quoted from post at 08:56:15 02/08/18) When Led's came out in tail lights for trucks they were the rage. I can tell you for a fact if the snow sticks to cars or trucks it will stick to Led lights. Truck tail lights have a protective steel around them and they will fill up with snow kicked up from under it as you drive. I drove through a storm on I80 nice powdery white at night when I went to stop I couldn't see the lights come on I pulled over and the snow had filled the cavites that the lights were mounted in. I ended up having to clean them every two hours.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but even incandescent bulbs wouldn't be able to melt through all that.
Click to expand...

This is true. Snow builds up on the back of cars all the time.
This was especially true with the older Chevy Impalas which had the taillights recessed into the bumper. Those things were always full of snow. And it didn't melt out!
The newer cars are just as bad.
 
(quoted from post at 07:26:38 02/08/18)
(quoted from post at 07:20:33 02/08/18) Any LED needs a good heat sink, dissipating what heat they do produce is key to a long life for them. But in general a watt is a watt is a watt, and LEDs consume about 1/6th of the wattage for a given amount of light that incandescent bulbs do.
Click to expand...

There is a little heat but it's on the back side of led.
Click to expand...

There is actually a fair amount of heat from LED lights. The difference is that it is generated at the back of the bulb by the circuitry. Just read on a package. There will often be a warning that the fixture needs ventilation. So if there is room to allow air movement to the lens there would be warmth on the back of the lens but most fixtures that they get fitted into block the air movement.
 
You are correct. I need to clear mine every few miles too. They are ice cold. Another thing is with the new LED trafic lights. Talk about a safety hazzard. In Japan the northern most island is Hokkaido island. There are also several areas on the western side of the island of Japan. They have special trafic lights that are sideways and have large eyebrow sheilds over the lamps. Helps to keep them clear of sticking snow. Something you just never think of a high power light with snow stuck to it.
 
(quoted from post at 14:06:34 02/08/18) How much heat do they produce, and how will the dirt in those light bars affect the cooling?

========================

Maybe you guys need to do what an old uncle of mine did when he bought a tractor...he immediately took off all the lights because he said he "did not want to work at night".
LA in WI
Click to expand...
 
I put LED on my WD45 and polished the reflectors and makes a big difference. You can get the LED bulbs through any good auto parts store.
 
I know about the snow deal on trailer lights. Now since the snow and rain has been discussed. What about the dirt getting inside the housings while in the field while working ground?
 
Beins I am where I am I never would have thought about bulb heating and the weather. On hot bulbs, I read where the newer diesel locomotives have what they call curb lights, a pair of lights on the safety railing connected to the front steps.....story is the yardmen warm their hands by these lights that are unique to some of the newer locomotives.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

R
LED lights
Replies
5
Views
438
Dave G9N
D
G
Small LED Flashlight Recommendations
2
Replies
28
Views
2K
Hobo,NC
Hobo,NC
N
New Member needs help with lights
Replies
14
Views
593
buickanddeere
B
P
300 u 6 to 12 v conversion update problem
2
Replies
28
Views
1K
Paul 300 U
P
T
LED Headlights-Replacements for 986
Replies
7
Views
1K
deere4040
D
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top