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Lighting on ROPS what about YELLOW fog lamps

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melensdad
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 90 Northwest Indiana, near Lowell and 8 miles from Beecher, Illinois
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2003-07-13          59393

I'd like to add some additional lights to my NH TC24D for mowing in the late evenings because the headlights just don't cast enough light for mowing on uneven ground (which is all I own!!). But we have a huge problem with mosquitoes in our area, especially along the margins of the woods. Since we all know that LIGHT ATTRACTS BUGS and putting lights over my head on the ROPS seems like an invitation to the little flying vampires that swarm every summer, and since bugs do not seem to be attracted to yellow "bug" lights, I was wondering if anyone has tried using automotive yellow fog lamps on their ROPS to eliminate or maybe just reduce, the problem of bugs swarming around the lights?

Anyone have any thoughts on this? What brand of automotive lights might work well? Anyone try it?


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MikeD.
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 15 Eastern Ontario
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2003-07-13          59395

I don't think mosquitoes are affected at all by light, but rather are attracted by carbon dioxide in breath or body heat or odours. But there are plenty of other bugs that are attracted to white lights, so I guess for them, the yellow lights might help. ....

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AC5ZO
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 928 Rio Rancho, NM 87144
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2003-07-13          59397

I think Mike D is right. Mosquitoes may also be attracted to the CO2 that is in the tractor exhaust. I know that the artificial traps that use propane rely heavily on the CO2 from combustion to draw the little blood suckers in. ....

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TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2003-07-13          59401

Oh yes, We've got them all--mosquitoes, black fly, sand, horse, deer and stable fly as well as politicians. I don't like bug dope and I just learned to work in a bug shirt during the worst of it. There may be a safety hazard here but maybe no worse than me swatting things every few seconds. I might have trouble seeing through a bug shirt at might though. they aren't really great when you're looking into light. Wish a bug shirt would proof me against politicians.

The fog lights on my 1/2-ton have a thin wide fan pattern that cast a narrow arc of light 30' or 40' in front of the truck. The light they put down on the road isn't very bright due to the size of the pattern and they aren't too good for driving unless the regular low beams are on. I suppose fog lights with different patterns are available though.
....

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DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2003-07-13          59410

.......... sand, horse, deer and stable fly as well as politicians.

So would they be unstable flies? Or maybe gadflies? Or in the case of Bill Clinton, getyourhandoffmy fly? ....

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melensdad
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 90 Northwest Indiana, near Lowell and 8 miles from Beecher, Illinois
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2003-07-13          59424

Keeping politics aside, I bought 1 of those propane mosquito killers, it has a light to attract them, as well as CO2 plus a scent generator. The instructions say light is ONE of the attractants. That's why I thought the yellow fog lights might be good, following the "bug light" theory. So did anyone ever try yellow fog lights? ....

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TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2003-07-14          59456

I certainly acknowledge your problem. The mosquito is our provincial bird. There are dense swarms much of the summer. I tend to work during the day so black flies during the early summer are the greater problem and I can't deal with them without a bug shirt or heavy-duty DEET. Dragon flies and swallows are my friends. We put out nesting boxes for tree swallows and keep the grass cut short, which helps keep the bugs down around buildings.

I don't know about light and mosquitoes. I believe they do home in from mid-distance on infrared light so a light of any colour may serve as a heat source rather than the light itself. Nothing wrong with trying yellow lights, although I mentioned that the beam pattern for the fog lights I have on my truck wouldn't be good for driving or as work lights either.

Mark: I suppose it's obvious but 'blood-sucking' was the common trait I had in mind--metaphoric in the case of politicians I guess. . I do appreciate the idea of 'unstable flies' though--another decent metaphor.
....

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dave27
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 14 IA
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2003-07-15          59546

OK, ive seen pictures of worklights on rops, on the sides of rops, top of rops, etc. Holes drilled into rops, brackets welded to rops etc. On my mf with folding rops, and in my manuals, there are warnings everywhere not to drill, mount or weld anything to the rops because of warranty and safety. Is this just my tractor because of folding rops or is everyone else ignoring the safety warnings? Because i would really like to mount some lights too!!! ....

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melensdad
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 90 Northwest Indiana, near Lowell and 8 miles from Beecher, Illinois
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2003-07-15          59561

I talked to my NH dealer, he said to drill into the ROPS or he'd do it for me. I thought of just clamping on with u-bolts and running a wire up the side so I wouldn't weaken the structure. But then someone told me to just switch out the headlamp bulbs with high intensity bulbs from the auto parts store. So I'll try that first!!! ....

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TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2003-07-16          59583

I guess these new tractors are better designed for loaders. My headlights shine through the loader arms, which makes the headlights pretty well useless no matter how bright they are.

Replacing headlight bulbs seems like a good alternative. I think there are a couple of things to consider. I recall a discussion where a person said he melted a plastic part in a headlight assembly by replacing factory bulbs with high intensity ones. I don't know if they were higher wattage as well. My factory bulbs are 35W and there'd be the possibility that 55W bulbs may blow fuses periodically.
....

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melensdad
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 90 Northwest Indiana, near Lowell and 8 miles from Beecher, Illinois
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2003-07-16          59586

I didn't think about the extra heat generated by the higher intensity bulbs, but I did figure that the fuse might have to be increased to the next size up to keep it from blowing. I'm planning to play around and see what I can come up with, but the wife back from the in-laws so now I have a new list of chores to do first. ....

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DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2003-07-16          59590

Ah yes. As Rumpole of the Old Bailey said of Hilda, his "old ball and chain":

She Who Must Be Obeyed.

Excuse me. I have to fix breakfast for my wife..... ....

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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2003-07-16          59591

I would think that rather than trying to pick light colours that don't attract bugs it would just be FAR easier (and likely more effective) to position the lights as far away from the operators position as possible.

We use this technique rather effectively on our equipment, especially the big front-mounted mower decks which tend to really stir them up, we mounted the lights on the front edge of the deck on spring loaded 2' high arms, that way if you have to push the deck under a tree it just wreck anything. All the bugs seem to congregate in front of the light and ignore the operator.

Snowblowers are another type of equipment that is good to put lights on the closer to the operator you put the lights, the more snow you illuminate before the light gets to what you are try to see, try putting those blue fog lights on the front edge of the blower itself and see what a difference it makes, I was amazed at how much better, and farther you can see.

Besides not having the equipment lit up sure makes for less glare and better visibility.

Best of luck. ....

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WillieH
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 543 New England
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2003-07-17          59651

melensdad -
I use a set of 55w halogen auxiliary lights that I purchased from HarborFreight.com for $6.49/pair. They work great. As mentioned, most factory headlamps seem to shine right into the FEL framing making them almost useless. These definitely overcome the lack of light - BIG TIME!!

Caution should be had though, especially in the area of swapping out a standard factory rated bulb with a higher intensity/wattage bulb. Similarly as your average house lamp states, "not to exceed "x" watt bulb, or fire may ensue", the same line of thinking applies to the tractor wiring. If one changes a bulb to a higher intensity bulb than that rated by the manufacturer, one runs the risk of overheating some other component, usually the socket, then ultimately shorting out and blowing/tripping the fuse.
NOT A GOOD PRACTICE.

Another line of reasoning, is to reason that one is increasing the bulb intensity, so you should increase the fuse size/strength as well, so as to keep the fuse from blowing out. With this practice, one is inviting a severe meltdown of the wiring, possibly as far as the harness itself, and even causing a fire from overheating the circuits - where? - Could be the wiring in the headlamp assemblies, wiring in the engine compartment, or it could be in the dash...even on the fuse block itself, then possibly wiping out and affecting other more critical circuits. NOT A GOOD PRACTICE.

Best off, is to mount the auxiliary lamps where you need them, wire in a suitable fused line thru a switch, utilizing a relay, to control the power as well as the heat.
Very simple...very easy.

Willie H.
....

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TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2003-07-17          59665

I was going to comment about putting larger fuses in a circuit but Willie beat me to it. It's something that shouldn't be done but the results would more likely shorten the life expectancy of the wiring than to actually melt something down. Two 55w bulbs draw about 3.3A more than two 35W bulbs. If over-fused, the wiring will run hotter and insulation will breakdown and the wire become brittle in time.

It may still be within the SAE automotive standards depending on the gauge wire used. I don't know but as Willie mentioned the installation of aux lights is easy enough that I wouldn't bother figuring out the standards or run a risk of over-fusing a circuit. I ran the circuit for my aux lights directly from the battery through an in-line fuse. It's very easy. I even got fancy and installed a twist-lock receptacle box in the circuit. I put a twist lock plug on a 1A charger so I can keep the battery topped up just by plugging it in the lighting circuit.
....

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melensdad
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 90 Northwest Indiana, near Lowell and 8 miles from Beecher, Illinois
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2003-07-17          59704

Some of the discussion focuses on mounting lights onto the FEL frame to shine forward, I don't have a FEL. I don't think it would be prudent to mount lights onto the fiberglass hood because it would probably lead to cracking later on. That takes me back to the ROPS or possibly welding to the front bumper, but that's where suitcase weights go. ....

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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2003-07-17          59706

I don't recall ever seeing a CUT that didn't have mounts for a FEL. Although it would be a little more work, it would certainly be a sturdy secure place to install mounting brackets.

Best of luck. ....

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melensdad
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 90 Northwest Indiana, near Lowell and 8 miles from Beecher, Illinois
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2003-07-17          59709

Murf, I think it would be the actual frame of the FEL that would be ideal to mount to, however I don't have an FEL on the TC24D so I consequently don't have the frame to mount to. Maybe I misstated it the way I previously posted. ....

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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2003-07-17          59711

Mel, maybe I wasn't very clear either, I understood that you do not have a FEL on your machine.

My point was that there is always 4 points to which a loader mounts on a CUT, 2 back by the operator's feet, and 2 at the front near the axle.

If you had either a 'brush guard' style front bracket made for in front of the grill, or an arch which went up and over the front end you would have plenty of places to mount auxilary lighting.

The machines in my fleet which do not have a FEL all have a front guard, every one of them has extra lights mounted there. The best, least expensive way is to use automotive-type flood light kits with a relay and switches included, the installation is fast and easy and they provide a ton more light than the factory lights.

Best of luck. ....

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agentorange
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 117 Pacific Northwest
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2004-02-16          76990

With all the talk in various forums about adding items such as auxilliary lighting to ROPS, I haven't seen anything about adhesives vs welding or drill/tap. The clamping and U-bolt concepts sure are practical. I was just wondering if anyone maybe roughed-up the glossy paint and glued a bracket to the ROPS. Then drill and tap all you want to same. Surely there must be an adhesive for this application.

I'll stop calling you that now.

-ao

....

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beagle
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1333 Michigan
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2004-02-16          77001

Just a couple thoughts on mounting to the ROPS or FEL. Welding should not be done without a Weld Procedure Specification. A WPS assures that the welding process is matched to the chemistry of the base metal, geometry of the joint, and thickness of the parts, along with several other variables. Not all " Steel " is created equal. Without a proper WPS, the properties of the base metals around the weld can be changed dramatically. A common problem would be to create a brittle zone around the weld, or in the weld, that would lead to cracking, the type of crack that cannot be seen until there is a failure, or enough moisture penetration to cause problems. Drilling small holes will probably not effect the structural integrity of a ROPS, unless they are very poorly placed, but could create a place for moisture to get inside the frame and start trouble. I like the adhesive idea. The right epoxy might be the best slution if you don't like the looks of clamps. ....

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itsgottobegreen
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 329 Mt. Airy, MD
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2004-02-16          77007

Look at my pictures, the light bar doesn't interfere with the rops structure integeraty. The are clamped onto the rops by four U bolts. The wires are held on with zip ties. I could build you one for you new holland for around $225, depends on the size of your rops. ....

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