Are strobe hide-a-ways really that much brighter than LED ones?
So I finished putting in my corner strobes yesterday. I will say they are bright, but not as bright as I was expecting. Especially in the sun and with the running lights on.
Do they really draw that much power as well? During the mowing season I leave them on at all our lawns, so I am worried about them draining my battery.
I think it depends on what watt power supply and how many heads you have also. I have a strobe system in my truck and only leave it on if the truck is running. I, on my next truck am going to try a LED system. they are suppose to be brighter all around, however when I see them..like in a police car..etc. I am not to fond of them, but I have never had them in a vehicle of mine.
I do like dash and surface mount LEDs, however how close they are to the hideaways idk.
__________________
97 GMC Sierra 7.4L 454 and 4l80E ( Boss 7'6 V) Waitin for the snow!
mayhem: MPG while pushing snow is somewhere between LOL and WTF! <----
It all depends on the brand ( you get what you pay for). If you get the cheap Jap ones they will not be as bright as the Whelen.
In this case if you are going to be running them 10-12 hours a day in the growing season I would have went with the LED, you could leave those on for 24 hours strait and wont see any draw on your battery. I suggest Whelen or Soundoff hideaways. but well worth it!
I have a set of nova bulb strobes in one truck and whelen vertex diodes in another .
Side by side , the Vertexes are more crisper and brighter to me .
Their pattern selections are also alot more advanced in way by , I can keep them on solid (which I use as reverse lights) and I believe they have 20 patterns that actually syncronize with others WITHOUT A POWER SUPPLY BOX .You can just keep adding endless diodes that will sync together.
Very kool
just my 2cents
Last edited by Spool it up; 12-19-2012 at 08:13 AM..
So I finished putting in my corner strobes yesterday. I will say they are bright, but not as bright as I was expecting. Especially in the sun and with the running lights on.
Do they really draw that much power as well? During the mowing season I leave them on at all our lawns, so I am worried about them draining my battery.
I would not leave strobe hideaways on with out the truck running for any period of time otherwise you will find your self on the side of the road with a dead truck and no lights. If you wanted to do this you should have went with led's its the main reason I went with LED'S also so I dont have to deal with a power pack or burnt out bulbs.
__________________
2000 Ford F250 Powerstroke
Plow: 8' Fisher HD Minute Mount
On the strobes theres 2 key ingredients. The strobe tubes and the power supply. As someone already said if they are cheap ebay ones they usually are half the wattage they claim. LEDs are great but mounting them is key. You can lose more than half the light output if mounted incorrectly. Strobes are less noticeable since they flash 360 degrees. We still sell and install tons of strobes.
I went with LEDs in all four corners. But I always seem to think that the strobes are a LOT brighter than the led ones.
I went with the feniex fairy strobes. 8-4watt leds, they are defiantly bright. I almost surface mounted them they were so bright. But I wanted the stealth look.
So what is the way to go for led hide away's? i see the online led store has their own and strobes n more has their own so for the money what would be the best ones without breaking the bank?
So what is the way to go for led hide away's? i see the online led store has their own and strobes n more has their own so for the money what would be the best ones without breaking the bank?
Personally the ones I got would be. The past month they have been running a 50% off sale. Got both of my mine for $100. Not too bad.
So what is the way to go for led hide away's? i see the online led store has their own and strobes n more has their own so for the money what would be the best ones without breaking the bank?
Strobe Hideaways are cheaper but are a PIA to deal with trying to run all the wires to the power pack. I suggest you go with led you will not have to deal with all the wires and they last forever never have to deal with a burnt out light head or a burnt out power pack. But thats just how I feel as you can see by the OP feels the other way.
__________________
2000 Ford F250 Powerstroke
Plow: 8' Fisher HD Minute Mount
Go with our E series singles, they are the brightest we offer. We have tested so many different ones and they always win. We have a couple sets of class ones that cant touch our E series singles.
This is a "to each his own topic". Each light has it's benefits.
LED's: draw less power, don't create as much heat and have a built in flasher. The installation is more straight forward. The color (if colored) is more vibrant and does not reduce light output. Led's also have consistant output!
Strobes: create more heat and this heat can be good when it comes to snow and ice but bad if placed too close to the housing. The flasher is seperate and can be replaced if needed, as can the strobe heads.Therefore, colors can be changed by simply changing the bulb heads. This is not the case with most led's and the whole unit must be changed. However, the painted strobe tube reduces output. Power supplies also distribute the wattage based on the number of heads.
I have a Whelen 6x90 power supply along with whelen strobes. I have had this kit since 2005 and everything still works. What you must understand with strobe power supplies is that the power is distributed based on the number of strobes (unless the power supply states otherwise). If I run two strobes, they will be much brighter (45wattts) than if I turn on all six. I only have four installed so each bulb is running at around 22watts. If I had and ran all six, each bulb would be at 15watts. So, one must understand how the supply works and what they are looking to accomplish.
Go with our E series singles, they are the brightest we offer. We have tested so many different ones and they always win. We have a couple sets of class ones that cant touch our E series singles.
How many watts are the leds you use in the e series and can you get the split amber/clear?
Also are these made in china like the ones on ebay?
We just came out with a new hide a way LED that is specifically designed for surface mounting and not designed to be mounted in a head or tail light. I cant provide any links or pricing as we are not a sponsor of the site any longer but these new lights are unlike anything else on the market. We saw so many customers mounting lights designed for one application and using them for another we decided to change things up. These new LEDs have optics and come with surface mount flanges. As for brightness brighter than anything else on the market.
While some might feel that LEDs don't have the "pop" of xenon strobes, I think the LEDs are pretty effective. And another good thing about LEDs is, you stand way less chance of tangling with something heavily charged, that's waiting for a path to ground. {BZZZT!}
Quote:
Originally Posted by Strobesnmore
We just came out with a new hide a way LED that is specifically designed for surface mounting and not designed to be mounted in a head or tail light. As for brightness brighter than anything else on the market.
Man, those are bright, especially considering their size. I'm already imagining places I could put pairs of those on my truck.
We just came out with a new hide a way LED that is specifically designed for surface mounting and not designed to be mounted in a head or tail light. I cant provide any links or pricing as we are not a sponsor of the site any longer but these new lights are unlike anything else on the market. We saw so many customers mounting lights designed for one application and using them for another we decided to change things up. These new LEDs have optics and come with surface mount flanges. As for brightness brighter than anything else on the market.
How do the led hideaways get installed without a power pack? Where's everything have to run to?
You run a wire from your battery to a switch then from the switch you run a wire to the red wire on the hideaways. Each hideaway has its own flasher box on the wire (the small black box on the wire) So everything is basically the same just it easier because you dont have to run 4 or 6 wires to one spot on the truck.
__________________
2000 Ford F250 Powerstroke
Plow: 8' Fisher HD Minute Mount
but well worth it!
Linear Mode
