Mike's Railroad Crossing Forum

If there was a nest inside a lens, I'd put a bug bomb in it (if it could be done, that is...)

I wonder if LEDs eliminated that problem?

I would think any time bugs could get into something it'd be an issue and you'd wonder why they were able to get inside in the first place. Broken lenses and such I can understand, but if all is normal and you still have bugs inside the signals, something's wrong.

Smjh1979 wrote:If there was a nest inside a lens, I'd put a bug bomb in it (if it could be done, that is...)

I wonder if LEDs eliminated that problem?

It's possible that LED's may keep the bug problem down because the signal would not have to be opened as much (to replace the bulb). If there was an infestation though, there would not be any heat generated to help remove the little critters.

I know this is going off subject a bit... if the discussion gets lively we may need to move this...

The no heat issue with LED's is causing problems up north during the winter with LED traffic lights... and I assume could be an issue with crossing signals too. Snow will blow up into the signal and cover the lens up. Since the LED does not generate any heat, it causes the snow to remain on the signal and therefore making it unable to be seen if it is active or not. Here is more on that subject if you are interested:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34436730/ns/us_news-life/

I saw a story similar to that before. Yes, LEDs don't create any heat, so any snow or ice won't melt. I just wish mini CFL lights could be improved a bit for traffic lights and crossing signals. I use one next to my computer, and it's on a good deal of the time. It goes get a little hot, but not to the extent an incandescent would do. I also saw a story showing that LEDs love very cold and extreme cold temperatures, and they start getting slightly more unreliable in warmer weather, such as here in Arizona.

On many crossings, even an incandescent bulb won't generate enough heat to drive out any bees or wasps from inside a lens, since most activation times are less than 3 minutes.

Yes, snow sticking to and blocking the lenses of L.E.D. traffic lights and crossing signals is a significant hazard in the winter around here.