Opinions on the Tomar Heliobe?

lotsofbars

Member
Jul 20, 2010
1,999
NYC, New York
Hey all, I just bought a blue, fully functional, 13 strobe Heliobe for $30. How much of a good deal would this be considered? What is YOUR opinion of the strobe Heliobe?
 

cajunblitz

Member
May 20, 2010
1,217
Saint Martin Parish LA
lotsofbars said:
Hey all, I just bought a blue, fully functional, 13 strobe Heliobe for $30. How much of a good deal would this be considered? What is YOUR opinion of the strobe Heliobe?

$30.00 for a $1400.00 light bar? Terrible deal.....
 

Fast LT1

Member
May 24, 2010
2,018
Sedgwick County, KS
Lol it was a really bad deal, he he he, you should sell it to me for what you paid for it :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
May 21, 2010
1,591
Berlin, MI, 48002
The bad parts are they're ugly, they weigh a lot, & the strobe modules are sealed; meaning you can't change lens colors (easily).


BUT the good parts are it'll probably last forever, they're durable, 10 year strobe p/s warranty & the sealed strobe modules are waterproof. Also I've found that the black plastic endcaps make the bar look less ugly lol.
 

lotsofbars

Member
Jul 20, 2010
1,999
NYC, New York
cajunblitz said:
$30.00 for a $1400.00 light bar? Terrible deal.....

Haha, I know that much, but I just wasn't sure of the quality of the Tomar bars. Since I've posted the topic, I've done research on them, and they seem extremely durable and worth the price. Ten year warranty? Wow. One thing I'm noticing about the bar is how much the supplies flash, so I'm kinda thinking it'll go through strobe tubes quicker than say a Whelen bar. Also, as someone else pointed out, all the lights ARE sealed, so that's a pain if say I wanted a red bar out of my blue bar. But it's ok, I like the blue. I never thought they were especially ugly, though.
 

cajunblitz

Member
May 20, 2010
1,217
Saint Martin Parish LA
lotsofbars said:
Haha, I know that much, but I just wasn't sure of the quality of the Tomar bars. Since I've posted the topic, I've done research on them, and they seem extremely durable and worth the price. Ten year warranty? Wow. One thing I'm noticing about the bar is how much the supplies flash, so I'm kinda thinking it'll go through strobe tubes quicker than say a Whelen bar. Also, as someone else pointed out, all the lights ARE sealed, so that's a pain if say I wanted a red bar out of my blue bar. But it's ok, I like the blue. I never thought they were especially ugly, though.

The constant flashing is by design, as that is the NEOBE pattern, which in some circles is called the "never dark" pattern. I've seen many strobe light bars shuffle through patterns and at some certain times, the whole bar is unlit. You won't have that problem with the Tomar bars.


As stated elsewhere on this board, the power supplies don't burn through strobe tubes any faster than any other brand. Keep in mind that the Tomar power supplies are 65 watts total running 4 to 6 mixed style fixtures, so when you break that down it really isn't overpowering the tubes. I've seen some 8 year old bars out there still running their original fixtures.


Changing colors is as easy as changing the sealed fixtures. There are quite a few folks out there (myself included) that have an abundance of used and new fixtures available to do that. I am a fan of Tomar products as you may have figured out by now, so I think you've got yourself a fine bar for the money.
 

Pimp

Member
May 16, 2010
1,872
Louisiana
Deep down, I'm a fan of them.
 

03crownvic

Member
May 8, 2010
1,033
Louisiana
Tomar makes some great stuff but their 930 bar is butt ugly. Their 925 bars in the Jetstream style housings were much more wind resistant and better overall IMO, even with the double flash pattern.
 

InstallDude

Member
May 24, 2010
66
United States/Texas
We just removed one,that went into service in 2001,on an E.M.S.command unit.It never had any repair work oders on it.Replacement got a Scorpion.
 

lotsofbars

Member
Jul 20, 2010
1,999
NYC, New York
03crownvic said:
Tomar makes some great stuff but their 930 bar is butt ugly. Their 925 bars in the Jetstream style housings were much more wind resistant and better overall IMO, even with the double flash pattern.

As I said before, I don't really think they're too ugly… things like the Code 3 360 are ugly (and I have one, too), but the Heliobe seems to be a pretty good design, especially with the front two corners of the bar having intersection-style lights. They are ridiculously heavy, though.
 

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