Yes I am, just send the money to my PayPal account
Yes, that is too bad. there are some Lowes that have them on the Web for as low as 11.99, but even that would not make this build practical - at least not for me. I thought the “original” price on the package was bogus, but I guess maybe not
And in case anybody thinks that I am just some stinking rich guy that throws my money around, here’s proof that I am just a cheap, old, lazy sap like some others around here.
I bought the 4, went outside and took one apart. When I saw what it really was, I went back in and got the last 3
You must be referring to that thread awhile back on flood vs throw. I thought I agreed that either can be impressive, it is just that the casual observer is more easily impressed with the throw of a flashlight. Flood not so much, they see flood all the time and do not appreciate how difficult it is to achieve massive amounts of flood in a portable device.
Also your idea of a moving head lamp would be really cool. I wish I could do that, but on a zero turn mower, the steering is controlled by the rear wheels. Each wheel is independently driven and to turn, one wheel turns faster than the other. The front wheels are just free wheeling casters, but now that I said that, I remember you knew that. I need to re-read what you wrote
BTW, a turning headlamp was first implemented back in ’48. Ever hear of the Tucker? I’m sure you have. He was the Elon Musk of his time.
And finally Garry, I will do a beamshot video. I can already tell you that the beamshot will show every blade of grass and every imperfection in the lawn. That’s because the beam will be close to the surface of the lawn, shing on a glancing blow. It will be ugly, but those are the BEST conditions when mowing.
When I repair and paint a wall, I do a similar thing, I plug an incandescent 200-300W lightbulb in a plug-socket. It shines along the wall at a glancing angle showing every imperfection. Make a decent repair under those conditions and when the bulb is removed the wall looks great!
I hope my video camera is up to every ones standards
That would be pretty neat except on a zero-turn the casters frequently spin around completely when you pull one handle backwards to turn in place, so that light would spin pretty quick in a circle I think. I mean I guess you could just tape a regular light onto the side of the caster and take it out for a spin and see how it does, but I have a feeling dchomak’s mounting location is probably most ideal…
Actually, that’s what I’d do, but what I meant was — IFF (“If-and-only-if”) the end of the caster’s pivot bar is visible through the top, you could drill & tap it for a bolt holding a bracket. holding the light. While you were at it, you could add a lump or a divot to keep the light aligned if the bolt gets loose; or hang it so the weight would naturally fall “forward” if it did vibrate loose. Or you could use your suggestion with a bracket instead of tape…
Then I remembered they’re free swinging on the (smaller) Zero-Turns I’ve seen around here, hence why I suggested battery packs instead. For a golf course (where it seems you’d be likely to use a rig like this), batteries by the pound, for my yard, a watch-cell.
Of course, if your mowing job doesn’t involve fully swinging the casters around too much, the wire would do…
But essentially, as you said “very, very cool”!!!
And having the low light would of course be perfect for the operator!!!
Sorry to “step on toes” re: Throw vs. Flood. I was joking.
PS: If you have any Highway Construction companies nearby, ask their Roller Operators if they’d appreciate a low, bright light setup like this. I’d bet you could sell a few.
Don’t get me started! I quit driving American cars for a long time after I heard about what the “good old boys” and their cronies did to him! Still refuse to go to “the dealer”.
But :zipper_mouth_face: I stole the idea from Ol’ Preston…
And Cadillac, but they stole it from him too. (I actually saw an ancient Caddy (spoke wheels, flat glass, open lights & fenders) with extra headlights on the bumper with connections to the steering linkage visible behind the bumper, which the friend who restored it demonstrated, but that was many brain cells ago… Now Google isn’t helping either, so that may have just been magic mushrooms — except SWMBO saw them too… Maybe it was the car of a proto-BLF-member…)
Right now, 10:53PM, I am uploading video to YouTube. YouTube is working on the video right now, says it is taking longer than expected and that it is put in the que. My wife and I were out late tonight at the Eastern States Exposition, a State Fair. I knew I had to get this done and around 8PM while at the Fair I happened to exclaim “It’s getting dark!”. She looked at me kind of funny and said “So??” LOL
I just came in from shooting the video, you all must understand how hard it is to drive a zero turn with one hand while holding a camera in the other. You really need 2 hands to move each stick! Tomorrow night I will shoot some beam shots while off the mower!
Nice videos! More output than I expected too, although the beam seems a little narrow (or at least a little narrower than I'm working toward - still very useable though). Looks warm (actually like a neutral tint that's close to the warm side) and good for seeing detail. Do you feel the videos show the output correctly? Does what we see in the videos accurately represent what you saw with your own eyes? Seems your two housings could probably even be spread apart further to widen the hotspot. That or tilt them away from each other very slightly.
Now you have to get working on a set for the snowblower!
Now I’m thinking that in addition to installing the “bezels” to point the 2 outermost bulbs a little to the left and right, I have to install some kind of reflective “eyebrow” over each pair. Any ideas on that, anyone?
Next time you go to Lowes have them actually scan the item for price. I find that often times it will actually have gone thru multiple price reductions but the listed price will not change. Better yet get the Lowes app and be sure that it is set for the store you are in and use it to scan the barcode itself. I scored another deal today at Lowes with the app.
Well then, you did all the right things. The ones I got were on clearance for some time. I don’t remember the price, but it was not low enough for me to consider. One day I went in and they were moved to a clearance shelf with all kinds of other items, unmarked. It was only because I had the Lowes app I was able to scan for price myself and see that they would ring up at $1.25. Had they been marked, I know they wouldn’t have still been there. My point is, I was more than just extremely lucky, I was diligent.
There is another thread on BLF about the Home Depot Super Thrower. Original price was 22.97, and we all in the thread bought one at that price. A lot of us that got one and saw how good it was, suspected that one day it would go on clearance. We waited and waited and sure enough, months later it did. Some at $15, I got more at $12 and a couple of members in Canada got them for $6.16! Diligence.
Installed the fan and filters today. A simple job like that took much to long. I couldn’t find my tools, the shop is much too messy! I was going to mow the lawn today but instead I really must cleanup the shop.
It has been another season since I installed the lights and I have to say it has been a success. Not one breakdown or manufacturer recall during the year.
I have to admit that I am a little bit surprised because of the rough environment. Lots of heat, dust and vibration, but so far so good. The work in the fall, during the leaf collection process is especially grueling.
Here is a picture of my gasoline powered - self propelled - rolling flashlight, about to be cleaned and put to bed for the winter.
The 4 MR16’s with 8 Nichia 119’s each on top and 4 XM-L’s on the bottom. Notice the tint difference between the Nichia’s and the XM-L’s
The XM-L’s were added here: Light Bar Build 2.0
