So with all this snow we have had lately, ive put our ariens 926 to the test and its kicking oven…
old pic when first bought…
Anyway my only gripe with it is the headlight seems weak especially after i am all about LED’s and HID’s… So my thought was to swap in a HID conversion kit , just one of the cheap ones (dosent have to be precision aimed since its for aiding in where im blowing the snow so light scatter would help here)…
The only info i can find on the headlight / bulb is … 37w and a halogen part #…
Question is , if i swap in a 35 watt HID ballast / bulb and make it fit in the housing, will the snowblower be able to handle it? I would assume it would have not problem since it is 2 watts less required power as the stock halogen. And the housing should be ok since it is less wattage also…
Main thing that worries me is when the snowblower idles down , or at start up, is the reduced power going to affect the ballast / and bulb? As of now when you idle down the halogen bulb just dims. I could put a switch on the power wire so i would only have it on when i need it anyway.
OR. would i be better off trying to find a LED bulb to go in housing that would work?
Heres some diangrams from the manual- thanx in advance for advice.
btw- i dont have the hand warmers so no extra power taken there…
Ballasts have a regulated output. so it draws constant 42W (approx, including losses)
I have run my bike light down to 9V and light output stays the same but it will draw significantly more current. 42W at 12V is around 3.5A, at 9V that would increase to 4.7A. not too sure if your generator and regulator can handle the increased draw.
Knowing that you can get similar results from LED’s, and knowing how the charging/battery system is on these smaller engines … I’d opt for the LED’s.
You’d get less current draw, which means you could mount more than one and create a fanning out pattern with an additional light(s) with minimal effort. I would start looking at fog lights first, something with it’s own mounting bracket and housing. Add some stainless steel screws and you could do direction mounting on the snow intake hood.
Ariens FTW!
Maybe contact the dealer and find out the amperage of the alternator/generator.
Without those handwarmers, you might have a bunch of reserve.
I like the fog light idea. Attach one to the handle aimed straight ahead & attach one to the discharge spout that follows your aim. You got me curious what those LEDs draw.
Thats a good idea attaching one to the discharge chute… I know led’s dont draw much but for the good high output, they are $$… I want to get maximum light output at minimun $ … LOL isnt that how it always is!
Damn i forgot about this thread… and this mod i wanted to do.
On the other hand i have a LED light on order right now that i was going to rig up under my hood of my truck. Damn GM and there penny cutting not putting a light under there.
