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Lights camera action


Boney

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I have three tractors with lights on them, and three different types of lights. Big Ten has large(5" ??) headlights off some kind of blue compact tractor -- with both high and low beams -- bought the headlights on eBay. Size of the headlights makes it really look bug-eyed, but I like having the high beams HB-216 has large (5" ??) chrome utility (off-road?) lights also bought off eBay. Really like the looks of these... 2012 has the smaller rubber-mounted NAPA 35W halogen utility lights (4" or so) that you commonly see... these are the brightest of the three, but the beam isn't as wide, but they're also the ugliest of the three sets to look at....
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I got some Wallmart specials. They are off road halogen. It is great mowing with them. Heck I even plowed with them this fall. I am laying for a rear light that has a switch on it to flip between red for road travel at night (sometimes I have to go a short distance on the road) and bright for a work light. Grote used to make such a combo. I just need to take time to look.
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I use PAR 36 trapezoidal beam lights on all equipment large or small. A trapezoidal beam is the ideal compromise between a flood or a spot light beam. Ended up starting to use what the local farm supply store carried several years back, and have been very pleased with 'em, both in function and appearance. They're tough, small enough to look "right" on compact machines, have a replaceable light and a solid bracket, and they're cheap. To be exact, it's a Peterson Manufacturing Co. PAR 36 Tractor Implement Light series #507. It uses a #4411 sealed beam ('bout 4" dia.) in a black rubber armored case with an adjustable bracket. I've paid anywhere from $9 to $12 for 'em off the retail shelf...not too bad. The manufacturer's website is at www.pmlights.com/ Click on their "product index" heading, then go to "tractor and implement lights" for an image of several of their products, including the series 507 and 508. Does this sound like promotional advertising?...I don't have stock in this company:D:D...honest. On the other hand, I've been using these lights on everything from garden tractors to large articulated machines to bailers to spray planes (really....please don't ask ;)), and like to pass on a thumbs-up when a product is good...particularly when it is also cheap and looks decent. I've put PM-507 lights on a B-112, a Homesteader, a 3416H, and half a dozen other garden tractors. Aside from excellent function, they also look great for very little $$$$....I just make a mount out of flat stock and paint it black. Sure, it's not "original," but looks close enough, works as good or better, is likely more rugged, and at a fraction of the cost.
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Two of my tractors have the original "guide" lights and for 30+ year old lightrs they are good. The 17GTH has GE sealed beams for GTs and the work real well too. One of the Bs will get a set of lights picked up at the local auction(5" steel case, sealed beam). Dale..my wife used to make those Grote lights a few years ago. Still have friends that work at the Grote plant in Madison In. Larry
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i like the originals my self i believe they are "guides" or something like that. seems like there are 2 or three differnt styles i just got a set for the b 10 i'm doing, i love the ebay set i got for my landlord, although they costed a bit more than the kind you can get at tractor supply which by the way seen very close to the lights you see in reference material.
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So what do you all do about light switches???My 64 Landord has a switch on each light instead of one in the dash...I thought about drilling a hole in the new light housings and adding a switch..thought I would put a small o-ring on the switch to keep water out... Guess I would rather drill a new light than a old dash,LOL... One switch in the dash would be less effort than reaching out to turn each light on though... I will be looking at getting some lights for my Broadmoor 717 when I get ready to put it back together..Although it has a spot for the switch on the dash...I thought about mounting a rear light on it and having the switch in the light housing.
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For the lights on my 738 Broadmoor, I bought a fused, push-pull type headlight switch from Auto Zone. I wired the headlights to the parking light position and the rear work light to the headlight position. Pull the knob half way out and my headlights are on, pull all the way out and all lights are on.
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Thats a pretty good idea,Greg. Never thought about that. I use a rocker switch that someone else installed before I bought it.
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quote:
Originally posted by gregc
I believe that I stole that idea from Kent or maybe another member, can't remember.;) I thought it was a good idea too.:D
Stop thief!!! :D I have these switches on two different tractors -- they work real well. On the Big Ten which has high & low beam headlights, the rear work light is wired to the tail-light terminal, the low beams to parking light terminal and the high beam to the headlight terminal. Pull it out part-way for low beam, or all the way for high beam. That way, the work light is on all the time the headlights are on. But, the work light itself has a two-position switch on it. One position is for a colored tail light and the other is for the actual work light. I just leave it on the tail light position until I really need to use the rear work light. Since I use this tractor a LOT for snowblowing (or snowplowing) out at the street in the dark, I wanted to make sure that I had some kind of light on the rear (to be seen) any time the headlights were on...
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Well I never thought of using a light switch like that...Kent,I am going to be a theif too..}:):D BTW Kent,where did you find a rear work light like that??I never heard of anything like it..that sounds like something I would also like as cleaning the drive at night is the main reason I want a rear light...not so much worried about the cars/trucks going by on this old gravel road but those snowmobiles go like its a speedway...
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I have made tooling to make brackets for the flat hood tractors. I still want to make the round hood bar but have not been able to find the time yet.
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quote:
Originally posted by mowerman1193 BTW Kent,where did you find a rear work light like that??I never heard of anything like it..that sounds like something I would also like as cleaning the drive at night is the main reason I want a rear light...not so much worried about the cars/trucks going by on this old gravel road but those snowmobiles go like its a speedway...
This one was an old, rusty thing that came in a bunch of used parts I bought. I don't know what it came off, nor what brand it is, for sure -- but I think it is a Guide brand... [img]http://www.simpletractors.com/images/2_into_1/rear_finished.jpg[/img]
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Eddy, the power draw of two 55 watt lights is about 10 amps. Power(in watts, 110 W here) equals voltage(12) multiplied by current(unknown here, solve for X). So 110/12=(X), in this case 9.17 amps.
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Y'all got me thinking about taillites,especially when snowblowing in the evening after work. I figured someone had already 'modified' this seat deck for the rear lift,so a couple of holes wouldn't hurt.These are trailer marker lites.I think they'll help a bit.;)
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You did a nice job on the lights. Much better than the hack job someone did to make room for the lift. I am going to put lights on my B110 it had some when new factory type hole in the seat deck. And two holes in the hood one on each side. There is a cool old style tailight from a trailer? in the seat deck not wired yet.
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I used a hole saw,and a die grinder to make the holes. It should look decent if I ever get it painted. Maybe this spring.....
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