Converting 7" round sealed beams to quartz halogen

[christover1]

G'day all.
I'm considering replacing the old sealed beams with halogens. Other choices are out of my price range.

I found replacement sealed beam quart style and various other replaceable globe types.
Till today didn't know sealeds were available.

I had some halogens yonks ago that kept leaking water and mud at every water crossing, and thus blowing globes.

Are todays better? or should we go the sealed units?

Only issue I see is if a globe type blows, its $15 to $20, but if a sealed blows, its another 40 bux.

I guess lights don't blow so often theses days, only changed 2 sealed beams in 10 years of zookin.

My current lights are all on relays already. That helped heaps with stock lights.
All and any opinions and info appreciated.

christover

[spannercrab]

Your standard 7" H4 type opens are more prone to leaking than the sealed type - however a bit of silicone can fix this right up - installed a couple of Narva inserts with silicone on the rubber boot (leaving the vent open) and have had no problems with leaking thus far.

The H4's are a lot brighter and less yellow than the sealed beams - just make sure the inserts are ADR approved and the reflector quality is up for the long haul - if the coating comes off, it's a lot more than 40 bucks for a new reflector assembly!

I have had success with the IKI, Narva and Hella inserts - with no signs of leaking, condensation of peeling of the coating.

[christover1]

Thanx buddy, it sounds like a good thing, I just need to use my common sense

[outback_lux]

also remember this when ever you do a night comp or camping trip. if you happen to blow a headlight its just too easy to keep a set of bulbs in the glovebox. its sort of not that easy to keep a full sealed unit .and the semi sealed beam unit takes about 1 min to change.... i changed to semi sealed in my lux and its been great never blown a bulb (because i got hid headlights) but it was worth every cent because there are just so many varieties of aftermarket bulbs in stores these days [

[christover1]

also remember this when ever you do a night comp or camping trip. if you happen to blow a headlight its just too easy to keep a set of bulbs in the glovebox. its sort of not that easy to keep a full sealed unit .and the semi sealed beam unit takes about 1 min to change.... i changed to semi sealed in my lux and its been great never blown a bulb (because i got hid headlights) but it was worth every cent because there are just so many varieties of aftermarket bulbs in stores these days [

THats good point, makes sense.
Too late though, got a good deal on some sealed units, $20 each, so I thought it worth the gamble.
Easy enough to change if not happy.
Seeing is wonderful, wish I'd done it sooner

christover