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New Ariens deluxe 28. Lights and lube question

10K views 17 replies 7 participants last post by  KC Snow 28 
#1 ·
Hello fellow snowblower owners. I have very recently purchased a new deluxe 28 and have completed the belt break in, first five hours of run time, first oil change etc..... In short, this is the best machine ever! Auto steer allows for ease of operation and it has plenty of power

Before the first run, I put a thick coat of wax and used silicone spray for the non-stick effect and yes, it works well. What is everyone else using? I have seen the cooking spray, but want to be sure I am using the best of the best. It isn't everyday, one buys a machine like this and know it will last a long time.

Also before the first contact with snow, I added two 55 watt fog lights on some custom pedestals on top of the intake. They are powered from a power wheels battery and controlled by a switch mounted under the control stand. They work great, but would like to wire direct with the factory light. Any thoughts around this? Will it handle it? I don't have hand warm ears so it might work? My alternative is cree 4000 lumen bicycle headlamps, or maybe led lights.

Thanks for all the feedback and know that this machine is the baddest thing around and only mad, I did not purchase one earlier in life!
 
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#8 · (Edited)
Here's what I did......

I used all 10W CREE LED's. I used two -FLOOD- and two -SPOT-. My blower only has an AC power source, so I used a -BRIDGE RECTIFIER- to convert it to DC so the LED's wouldn't flicker from the AC current. I then used 2 - 2200mfd / 50V smoothing capacitors on the DC side to help clean up and stabilize the DC voltage. I have it wired up with a SPDT switch which allows me to use my stock headlight OR my LED's. I have both left and right DC lines fused with 2A fuses and also have the main AC line to the rectifier fused with a single 2A fuse. I'm running 4 - 10 watt CREE LED's and they are consuming less than 2 amps total. I have attached the wiring diagram below (one I stole from another forum member here). The switch and fuses are not shown. I also have two video links posted below showing them during the day and at night.




-HERE- is a video showing them during the day.

-HERE- is a video showing them at night comparing them to my stock light bulb. The stock one is first....you'll know when I turn on the LED's.
 
#11 ·
If your power output is the same as mine (and I think it probably is) you have 60 watts of AC current to work with. I would definitely go with LED's and JRHawk has already done the legwork for you.
LED Replacement Bulbs for Cars | 12v | Super Bright LEDs
Good source for LED's William. I'll use that to replace the factory bulb on my machine when I upgrade my own lighting in the off season.
 
#13 ·
I shouldn't be given sole credit for it, there were lots of other members who contributed.

superedge88 is the one who really started it and who should be receiving most of the credit. You can see his thread by going -HERE-

-HERE- is another thread related to LED lights started by Blue Hill.
 
#15 ·
Thanks everyone!!! I really like the ideas to get more lights on this machine. Honestly, I want the lights to shine light through the neighbors house as I run the machine.

Has anyone had any luck with the Cree bike lights ? They seem like they would mount right to the handlebar.

I really like the diagram sent, I might have some real questions once I find my lights

Thanks again !!!
 
#16 ·
Be careful though, you don't want to draw more current than what your stator can supply.

Someone mentioned CREE bike lights and the little bit I looked into them it just didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense to me. Below is what I posted in regards to the certain bike likes he mentioned.

In order to get something capable of 3,600+ lumens, you only have a couple options:
- A single Pro 3600.....gives you 3,600 lumens but only lasts 1.5 hours at that setting. This costs $560 on Amazon.
- TWO Pro 1800 Race...gives you 3,600 lumens but only lasts 1.5 hours at those settings. These cost $272ea on Amazon. Looking at a total of $544

Looking into the rated output, max run time and cost of all the available models, I don't agree with what POWERSHIFT93 said above. Even their cheapest light is $45 and it only emits 220 lumens for 1.5 hours. I paid ~$20 per light and each light emits ~900 lumens.
 
#18 ·
Any thoughts on lube spray, so snow does not stick and unit doesn't rust up? I have a thick coat of wax and have tried cooking spray, silicone, and dry spray lube. Only looking to be sure unit doesn't rust up.

What does everyone do at the end of the season or between uses to be sure unit doesn't rust?


Thanks
 
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