hello all,got a long winter of line-cutting ahead,and want to upgrade our lights,like big-time! We get about 20-22hrs of darkness up here and we all know that the factory lighting dosent really cut it too well,especially when cutting line in the dark. In my exp.the front cylinder-mounted lights always get knocked out by sticks before u even know it so those gotta be moved.Also the 2 above the front windshield light up more of the hood than anything and reflect back off the glossy paint,so those are gettn moved too. Anyways,been lookin @ HID lights cuz i want it like daylight in front of me...enough to melt the snow,LOL, and was wondering if anyones put them HID's on a steel-tracked tractor?,and if theyll withstand the vibe's?, @-45-50c? Any input/ideas/pics,or brand names much apreciated. thx JP
We have 4 x D10T's & 2 x D9T's all equipped with HID lights for 24/7 working. The arrangement is 2 halogen & 2 HID on top of each cylinder facing forward, 4 halogen in the fenders (2 front/2 rear) and 3 x HID on top of the ROPS, 2 pointing forward & one pointing backwards. HID seem to last well enough, far better than halogen which seem to get destroyed internally with vibration. We do fail a few but we are running on hard rock all the time. Best brand I've found is Nordic lighting. http://www.nordiclights.com/contact.html They are actually the people who make OEM lights for Cat but buy them direct and they're half the price. They have a sales set-up in the US. Oh, and paint the top of the hood, the cylinders, & the back of the blade matt black, or your operators will be permanently blinded by the reflections of the lights. Almost forgot. You MUST use the rubber isolation mounts for the HID's or they will vibrate themselves to death in short order.
We have them on a D7R they work great havent used them in temperatures as cold as you are talking about.
I would look into the new super bright LED technology. Vision X is the brand that seems to be kicking the most ass in that arena.
I got new LED Vision X 10 months ago on the D11. 8 facing forward, 4 facing to the rear no problems at all.Very good clear light. The D11 works 24/7 most of the time.I think I was told they were bout $500 each.
thanx for the replies.I was looking @ the nordic ,The cat oem HID's,and seen some of those LED's too,those look sharp.we're gonna outfit our graders and snowcats also,but the main concern i had was if they withstand the shock,and vibration on the dozers,i'll make sure they c/w the right mounts too thanx. we'll have some on order tomorrow .
While talking about graders, our blades have a total of 16 HID lights on each one. The expression "Lit up like a Christmas Tree" doesn't begin to describe it ........... but working at nignt the operators are glad of each and every one of them.
I think you will be happy with the HID's. The spectrum of light that they produce can't be beat and the bulb is more durable and much longer lasting than halogen because there is no filament in the HID. They also generate less heat and use less power than a halogen of the same brightness. They really look cool in the snow too :cool2
A word of warning about HID's. If you don't go for the CAT OEM lights or their Nordic equivalents, pay particular attention to the filament temperature of the lights you buy. It's usually expressed in Degrees Kelvin (DegK). If you go for something that is too high of a temperature the light it produces will be extremely blue and in your application will reflect badly off the snow and probably leave your operators all but blind. Look for something around 4500-5500 DegK. If you go higher than 5500 up towards 8000 DegK you will get the blue effect.
Yeah, 4700K is a nice white light and is easy on the eyes. That is the one thing I don't like about LED lights is the slightly bluish tint. I'm sure you know this but just to clarify, the degrees kelvin is not a hot/cold thing but a particular part of the light spectrum.
If I had to choose a light source, I'd say go with LEDs, but HIDs aren't to far behind. Whatever you choose, I can guarantee you'll like them more than a standard Halogen style lamp.
current draw on LEDs are alot less than HIDs we have a x4 head light mast on a fire truck which puts out a huge amount of light and only draws 12A @ 24V
12A @ 24V = 288 Watts, divided by 4 lamps is 72W per lamp. That would be slightly higher than the 65W rating for a standard H4 halogen lamp. 4 x 35W HID lamps running at 24V would only draw 5.8A ............ :beatsme:beatsme We replace 65W halogens (depending on application) with 35W or 17W HID lamps. Usually we can replace on a "1 for 1" basis resulting in a reduction in current of 50% or more, or we can double the number of HIDs and still draw no more current than we we drawing with halogens. I have graders here lit up like Christmas trees with a total of 16 HIDs (10 x 35W & 6 x 17W) installed on them. Each of the 4 lighting circuits still draws less than 5A.
HIDs will be better for your distance lighting. LEDs are going to be more for floods. 6000K is maximum light output for an HID. They start getting blue at 8000 and above that they're basicly useless. I've got 8s in my personal car and I love them
Another thing to think about is the LED's do not produce enough heat to melt the snow or ice off them. I have some LED strobes and have to keep wipeing off the snow buildup.
yeh, dont mind me i'll go back to my corner, auto electric's never was my strong point i just found it unreal that these LEDs were each putting out 7600 lumen at 3A compared with around 1900 for a 100W halogen at 4A
Sitting on the side and wanting to put lights on a baby dozer ...yes all 40HP be gentle boys....and no snow here in the land down under ....thanks for the advice. Bruce
Replace conventional 65W halogen lamps with 35W HID lamps on a 1-for-1 basis and you'll be fine. Comments about black paint on hood, back of blade, and cylinders still apply.