LED Flood lights?

[Desert Rancher]

Have any knowledge/experience with LED floodlights for the rear?

I currently use two 55w Halogen tractor type lights.
Looking to upgrade. I know they are a bit pricey and don't want to "experiment".

Thanks,

~DR

 

[Hittheroad]

Have any knowledge/experience with LED floodlights for the rear?

I currently use two 55w Halogen tractor type lights.
Looking to upgrade. I know they are a bit pricey and don't want to "experiment".

Thanks,

~DR


I am sure they exist and at only a slightly ridiculous price. Let us know if you try something.

 

[leadsled9]

These are the LED lights FWC is installing as an upgrade:

http://www.grote.com/product.php?product_number=63981-5

 

[chnlisle]

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200509663_200509663

 

[Desert Rancher]

I see that there are a number of different types, lumen output and costs-ouch. Maybe the old halogen tractor lights are not so bad after all. If anyone runs across more, please post.

Thanks!

 

[portager]

Here is a wikipedia link that explains Luminous efficacy and also luminous efficacy which is the efficiency of converting electrical power into visible light detectable of the human eye (i.e. the portion of the spectrum that is detectable my human eyes integrated over the eyes detection efficiency) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminous_efficacy .

Incandescent bulbs are typically in the 13 to 15 lumen/watt (lm/W) range and halogen bulbs range from 16 to 20 lm/W. So the 55 Watt halogen bulb in the FWC flood lights should produce between 880 lm and 1,100 lm most likely about 1,000 lm. By comparison LED lights are typically in the 55 lm/W to 100 lm/W range including power conditioning or voltage conversion.

The Grote 63981-5 Trilliant Cube LED WhiteLight Work Lamp that FWC provides as a LED flood upgrade produces 1,000 lm and costs $124.27 each plus tax and shipping. http://beveragetruckparts.com/grote-63981-5-trilliant-cube-led-whitelight-work-lamp.html?___store=default It is rated at 1.4 amps at 12.7 volts (http://beveragetruckparts.com/grote-63981-5-trilliant-cube-led-whitelight-work-lamp.html?___store=default) or 17.78 Watts. The Grote provides a luminous efficacy of 56 lm/W. Better than Halogen but not too good for LED lights.

I recommend considering Rigid Industries Dually http://www.rigidindustries.com/Dually-2x2-LED-Lights-p/duallyled.htm LED light. They are rated at 15 Watts with an inout rager of 9 to 36 volts and produce 1,300 lm, which equates to a luminous efficacy of 86.7 lm/W. The Rigid Industries Dually lights are very rugged, they are certified IP68 and MIL-STD-810 vibration and ASTMB117 salt fog and the list price is $109.99. Finally, they come in come in either the marine version (white) or off road version (black) and they have three dispersion options, spot, flood and diffuse.

To sum it up the RI Dually is lower cost, draws less power, produces more light and appears to be a more rugged design. I know a lot of off roaders that are using the RI Dually lights and I've heard only good reviews.

 

[Desert Rancher]

Thank you.
I know they are not inexpensive. That's why I'm looking for a recommendation before I spend some $$. I get the magazine/catalog from 4 wheel parts that reviewed them a while back and they do look awesome.

Thanks again!

~DR

 

[portager]

Yes, I know they aren’t cheep. I've been wanting to add them to my truck for off road backup lights for months, they just don't make it to the top of my priority list.

The way I see it, the RI Dually's would provide 30% more light and they would run 3.67 times as long on a battery charge. If I were buying new, I'd get the camper wired for flood lights but use the $165 for halogen floods to buy the RI Dually's for $220. I wouldn’t but the FWC LED flood light for $395. However, if you already have the halogens lights, throwing them away and dishing out the $220 for LED floods is expensive. You could also but one and see how you like it. Check RI's has a return policy.

Or, it is something to put on your Christmas/Birthday wish list.

 

[leadsled9]

I'm quite certain that if I hung $400 worth of driving lights on the back of my camper that were held on by a single bolt.....they would probably get stolen. Sad to say. Especially lights that look that cool.

 

[craig333]

Never had one of mine stolen. I was driving down the road, past a cemetary with huge trees overhanging the road, branch drops down to the road, pops up and takes out a light. Well at least it didn't result in body work. You always think it will be offroad stuff /sigh.

 

[bsharp007]

Nice explaination, breaks it down. I have probably had my Halogen floods light on no more then a couple of times because they drain the battery quick. But I might use LED flood lights much more if I knew they wouldn't drain the battery as quick. What do you think of these, twice as bright as the ones you recommended, but of course they probably use twice as much power.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200498862_200498862?cm_sp=UpsellsTop%20SellersProduct%20Page





Here is a wikipedia link that explains Luminous efficacy and also luminous efficacy which is the efficiency of converting electrical power into visible light detectable of the human eye (i.e. the portion of the spectrum that is detectable my human eyes integrated over the eyes detection efficiency) http://en.wikipedia....minous_efficacy .

Incandescent bulbs are typically in the 13 to 15 lumen/watt (lm/W) range and halogen bulbs range from 16 to 20 lm/W. So the 55 Watt halogen bulb in the FWC flood lights should produce between 880 lm and 1,100 lm most likely about 1,000 lm. By comparison LED lights are typically in the 55 lm/W to 100 lm/W range including power conditioning or voltage conversion.

The Grote 63981-5 Trilliant Cube LED WhiteLight Work Lamp that FWC provides as a LED flood upgrade produces 1,000 lm and costs $124.27 each plus tax and shipping. http://beveragetruck...__store=default It is rated at 1.4 amps at 12.7 volts (http://beveragetruckparts.com/grote-63981-5-trilliant-cube-led-whitelight-work-lamp.html?___store=default) or 17.78 Watts. The Grote provides a luminous efficacy of 56 lm/W. Better than Halogen but not too good for LED lights.

I recommend considering Rigid Industries Dually http://www.rigidindu...p/duallyled.htm LED light. They are rated at 15 Watts with an inout rager of 9 to 36 volts and produce 1,300 lm, which equates to a luminous efficacy of 86.7 lm/W. The Rigid Industries Dually lights are very rugged, they are certified IP68 and MIL-STD-810 vibration and ASTMB117 salt fog and the list price is $109.99. Finally, they come in come in either the marine version (white) or off road version (black) and they have three dispersion options, spot, flood and diffuse.

To sum it up the RI Dually is lower cost, draws less power, produces more light and appears to be a more rugged design. I know a lot of off roaders that are using the RI Dually lights and I've heard only good reviews.

 

[portager]

Nice explaination, breaks it down. I have probably had my Halogen floods light on no more then a couple of times because they drain the battery quick. But I might use LED flood lights much more if I knew they wouldn't drain the battery as quick. What do you think of these, twice as bright as the ones you recommended, but of course they probably use twice as much power.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200498862_200498862?cm_sp=UpsellsTop%20SellersProduct%20Page


I would be careful about the track record and quality of LED lights I would buy. They are a relatively new technology and it requires careful design and testing to achieve life and performance that makes them superior. The useful life of LED lights is dependent on precise current control, thermal management and environmental protection.

Current control: The good lights will have current limiting circuits for each LED element, many low cost lights have one current limiting circuit and all the LED's are in parallel. This makes for a light with a much shorter life.

Thermal control: LED typically have a 50,000 hour useful life (useful life is generally defines as the point when the light output decreases to 70% of the original output) at 25 degrees C, but as operating temperature increase life decrease dramatically. Quality LED lights will have a finned aluminum housing designed to help dissipate waste heat.

Environmental control: LED life and light output is degraded by exposure to humidity and corrosive environments such as salt spray. For outdoor applications look for a minimum IP rating of IP66 (protected against Powerful water jets) or better yet IP67 (protected against immersion up to 1 meter) or IP68 (protected against immersion greater than 1 meter).

Regarding the http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200498862_200498862?cm_sp=UpsellsTop%20SellersProduct%20Page that you asked about. I have no information as to the quality of these lights. I searched for reviews but didn't find any.

I suggest that you determine how many Lumens you need and then search for lights that provide that. For example the halogen flood light produce 1,000 lumens. If you want 1,000 lumens the you could look at this one for $60 http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200498858_200498858 it is 12 V, 15 Watts and 1,150 lumens.

Also RI has a set two Dually lights for $199.99 http://www.rigidindustries.com/Dually-2x2-Diffused-LED-Lights-Set-of-two-p/20251.htm and since they draw 15 watts they would give the same run time as the Northern Tools light above but they produce 1,300 lumens. Personally I go with the RI lights and pay the extra $40 to know I'm getting a quality light that will last a long time.