# LED light bar



## My bowtie (Jan 15, 2008)

I was talking to a friend about light bars, and he will not use LED light bars because they dont throw off enough heat to melt the snow/ice making them hard to see and less efective then halogens. Is he nuts???


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## plowman4life (Jan 16, 2008)

ive never heard anyone use that as a reason to shy away from LEDs


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## Clapper&Company (Jan 4, 2005)

Hes nutty !!!!!!!!


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## LawnProLandscapes (Nov 15, 2007)

use a snow brush to clean it off before you start and youll be fine. he is a little crazy if thats his only hold back


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## Pirsch (Jun 1, 2007)

The Bar is COLD... The LED's Don't put out enough heat to do anything but light themselves. Once he just brushes the snow off he'll be ok. If there's ice on then lense... should just make it abit more brilliant.


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## F250 Boss v (Feb 1, 2008)

Any warning light lens will become obscured if the weather conditions are right and its been exposed to them for a period of time. Drivers need to be aware of this and clean 'em off, every once in awhile. -Depending on the 'lights heat' to melt ice/snow from the lenses is kind of silly... IMO!


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## My bowtie (Jan 15, 2008)

He's a older fellow, and i think he's old school.....Kiinda like if it aint broke...dont fix it..

Im looking for a mini light bar and have searched the sho-me minis..Can get one for around $230.00 They look like nice units..............ussmileyflag


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## Clapper&Company (Jan 4, 2005)

Whelen is that way to go 


Then again thats all I use, to me cost dosent matter when it comes to this type of stufff


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## Fiafighterdude (Jan 2, 2008)

Wow................


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## RBRONKEMA GHTFD (Dec 17, 2006)

F250 Boss v;570623 said:


> Any warning light lens will become obscured if the weather conditions are right and its been exposed to them for a period of time. Drivers need to be aware of this and clean 'em off, every once in awhile. -Depending on the 'lights heat' to melt ice/snow from the lenses is kind of silly... IMO!


Same thing applies to the back of one of our fire trucks. It has leds on the back and in the winter we'll have to wipe off those lights so people will see them.


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## M&A Property Maintenance (Sep 29, 2006)

My bowtie;570912 said:


> He's a older fellow, and i think he's old school.....Kiinda like if it aint broke...dont fix it..
> 
> Im looking for a mini light bar and have searched the sho-me minis..Can get one for around $230.00 They look like nice units..............ussmileyflag


I saw a used on on ebay, i think the current bid was $100

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/items/mini-light-bar-led_W0QQ_nkwZminiQ20lightQ20barQ20led

the one on the bottom is the used one


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## My bowtie (Jan 15, 2008)

MFIGGS422;571508 said:


> I saw a used on on ebay, i think the current bid was $100
> 
> http://motors.shop.ebay.com/items/mini-light-bar-led_W0QQ_nkwZminiQ20lightQ20barQ20led
> 
> the one on the bottom is the used one


Thanks for the link....I have to keep track of the progress............ussmileyflag


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## Ford-101 (Nov 9, 2007)

I use LEDS on my truck, and that is all I will use on my pickup,,,,,BUT,,,, On my town truck I would run a rotator rather then LED because there is not enough heat to melt it off. The time it would take to keep it clean would waste time. Reason being the snow,ice and slush from the plow and wing would keep the light covered. As far as in the rear ( in the box ) I run LEDS


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## ultimate plow (Jul 2, 2002)

Ford-101;571714 said:


> I use LEDS on my truck, and that is all I will use on my pickup,,,,,BUT,,,, On my town truck I would run a rotator rather then LED because there is not enough heat to melt it off. The time it would take to keep it clean would waste time. Reason being the snow,ice and slush from the plow and wing would keep the light covered. As far as in the rear ( in the box ) I run LEDS


As for snow and ice accumulating on the lights from the plow and wing, It will happen even on a edge bar that has 8 inch riser mounts. LEDs are ideal for plowing. and Zero maintance.


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## MSS Mow (Mar 19, 2006)

I've got an LED mini bar that will ice up in the right conditions. Obviously snow is not a problem, just wipe it off, but when the ice builds up, it's nearly impossible to get that off. It also renders the light basically useless from that particular angle. So, your "Old school" friend is not crazy. He has a point to consider.


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## NoFearDeere (Nov 7, 2005)

My bowtie;570912 said:


> He's a older fellow, and i think he's old school.....Kiinda like if it aint broke...dont fix it..
> 
> Im looking for a mini light bar and have searched the sho-me minis..Can get one for around $230.00 They look like nice units..............ussmileyflag


Dont waste your time with Sho-Me...not good imo. For $299 you can get a Whelen Super LED Responder from www.strobesnmore.com These are the brightest LED's I have ever seen and it is all i'm putting on my trucks. I just ordered 2 more last night!


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## M&A Property Maintenance (Sep 29, 2006)

NoFearDeere;571840 said:


> Dont waste your time with Sho-Me...not good imo. For $299 you can get a Whelen Super LED Responder from www.strobesnmore.com These are the brightest LED's I have ever seen and it is all i'm putting on my trucks. I just ordered 2 more last night!


I am a big fan of show-me. It has never let me down, and I think they are very bright.

IMO i think that the whelen is very boxy and does not cover 360 around the truck


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## nbenallo33 (Oct 23, 2007)

here is a picture of the show me light.. i love em this one plugs into your cigarette lighter and has a bunch of diffrent patterns for strobes


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## BulldogPS (Nov 23, 2007)

I have that Able2 light on one of my trucks, and its pretty damn bright. Lots of cool flash patterns. But I prefer Whelen LED products, The Mini Liberty blows this light away, but at a greater cost. When it comes to safety lighting, spend the extra money, you get what you pay for. The Able 2 is not nearly the quality of a Whelen light. Even the Mini Justice or Responder is nice, but the intensity is slightly less.


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## groundbreakers (Jan 16, 2004)

BulldogPS;574069 said:


> I have that Able2 light on one of my trucks, and its pretty damn bright. Lots of cool flash patterns. But I prefer Whelen LED products, The Mini Liberty blows this light away, but at a greater cost. When it comes to safety lighting, spend the extra money, you get what you pay for. The Able 2 is not nearly the quality of a Whelen light. Even the Mini Justice or Responder is nice, but the intensity is slightly less.


i have to agree on that note .... able 2 is good .. but not the best ... i just seen the whelen mini justice bar ..... now theres a light to have ...... got mine on order .. over 90 flash patterns in that puppy ....


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

Shoot, if you're having problems with your light bar icing up, you're not going fast enough. 

Haven't had a problem with the LED's yet after the initial cleanoff.

And halogens WILL melt the snow off with their heat. Even strobes will.


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## My bowtie (Jan 15, 2008)

groundbreakers;574085 said:


> i have to agree on that note .... able 2 is good .. but not the best ... i just seen the whelen mini justice bar ..... now theres a light to have ...... got mine on order .. over 90 flash patterns in that puppy ....


Who needs 90 flash petterns?? 1 is enough.............ussmileyflag


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## Watkins (Oct 27, 2008)

Very nice, I think this year will be my year of led's after I seen that my 89 chevy pickup has a " small case" and the local guys told me it cannot be built over 130 amps, I also was told I need to have at least 3500 rpm's to be charging.
My battery is usually very low after 16 hours.
Led's are my solution perhaps.


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## Snowzilla (Oct 24, 2009)

This is a controversial topic. I don't think your friend is crazy either. Rotators also have some stage presence with the general public even when off where the LED's are not always identifiable. IMO


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## SafetyLighting (Jul 23, 2005)

You can get a SoundOff Pinnacle for less than $230 shipped.

http://www.soundoffsignal.com/warnamber/lightbars/lb_EPL7000.htm

Ask around, people like them. They have great 360 degree coverage, as opposed to the cheaper Whelens.


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## Shortstuff (Feb 4, 2009)

I put a new Whelen Guardian GP2 on my back rack and it is a 2-halogen rotator and I know I won't have to worry about them getting iced up. They really do throw quite a bit of heat in use.

Call me "old-fashioned" or "old-school" but they work just fine for me.

Steve


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## show-n-go (Feb 5, 2009)

SafetyLighting;888028 said:


> You can get a SoundOff Pinnacle for less than $230 shipped.
> 
> http://www.soundoffsignal.com/warnamber/lightbars/lb_EPL7000.htm
> 
> Ask around, people like them. They have great 360 degree coverage, as opposed to the cheaper Whelens.


That light is also 3" shorter than the sho-me.. I do like how it looks though.


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## SafetyLighting (Jul 23, 2005)

Watkins;887865 said:


> Very nice, I think this year will be my year of led's after I seen that my 89 chevy pickup has a " small case" and the local guys told me it cannot be built over 130 amps, I also was told I need to have at least 3500 rpm's to be charging.
> My battery is usually very low after 16 hours.
> Led's are my solution perhaps.


Are you running a single battery?


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## benjaminlawns (Dec 8, 2009)

Clapper&Company;570919 said:


> Whelen is that way to go
> 
> Then again thats all I use, to me cost dosent matter when it comes to this type of stufff


I got the Whelen Responder Mini after looking at the SoundOff and the Sho-Me. It has newer generation linear lighting and is really bright with the clear lens.


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## KL&M Snow Div. (Jan 2, 2009)

He's crazy, personally I like it when there is ice obscuring the light. Makes it stand out more IMO, snow though...just brush it off.


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## Watkins (Oct 27, 2008)

SafetyLighting;888152 said:


> Are you running a single battery?


Nah, I use 3 batteries, 2 matching 900 amp batteries and an additional deepcycle battery not directly connected to the other 2.
I've purchased a 153 amp alternator, and seems to have fixed it during a 8 hour day of plowing.
My problem is that it's a 1989 chevy truck and the case is so small it's hard to run stock mounts and use a larger alternator.
I did find one, it's a 216 amp alternator tested, but it's about 230 bucks and i'd have to remake the mounts and brackets for the alternator.


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## cubanb343 (Dec 13, 2007)

My bowtie;570912 said:


> He's a older fellow, and i think he's old school.....Kiinda like if it aint broke...dont fix it..
> 
> Im looking for a mini light bar and have searched the sho-me minis..Can get one for around $230.00 They look like nice units..............ussmileyflag


i have a used sho-me light bar i'll sell you if you'd like... PM me if you are interested


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## SafetyLighting (Jul 23, 2005)

Get me the model number of your alternator, if you want.


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