Some tips to help you buy tractor LED work lights

Not all LED lights are the same, and here are some tips to help you buy value for your money:

Most LED’s are produced in China and can be bought in a wide variety of qualities, performances, specification and price. Cheaply made lights are usually light in weight and will usually have poor beam control which produces a lot of bleached white light shining everywhere but none clearly.

A well-designed light will generally be heavier in comparison and this due to better use of components. Extended life expectancy, clarity of performance and clearer detail of what is ahead all come from better components and design.

A well-designed light will include EMC – which is the prevention of electrical interference to radios/two-way radios. Ideally look for an EMC rating called CISPR25-CLASS4 or higher.

IP rating is a quality standard for how well protected the light is against dust or water getting inside. IP67 is okay, but IP68 is perfect.

What you should know before purchasing LED lights

Wattage:  This is the size of the LED chip which produces the light and similar in purpose to a light bulb. Tractor work lights normally range from 27 through to 40 even 60 watts in size.

Lumen: this is the measurement of light given out so at this stage lumens are the best indication of performance and a good rule by which to make your decision. However, there are two types of Lumen – one is ‘raw lumen’, the other is ‘effective lumen’.

Raw is what the light should produce in theory, but effective is what it produces in reality and this is the most important.

Lumen example: A normal 55 watt halogen work light emits 700 – 800 lumen.  A 40 watt LED work light for a tractor or harvester emits around 3500 lumen so about 5 times extra light and for half the power draw.