post light photocell

[Eric]

Hi, I've got an outside light that has a small 1/4-1/2 inch dia. (whatever is std) photocell sticking through a hole on the side of the post to control the light (on at dusk off at dawn). Trouble is its instant on/off so in certain light/weather conditions it flickers for 5-10 minutes or so. Where can i buy a replacement that has a built in on-delay of at least 10 minutes and preferably a half hour? (I dont care about off-delay one way or the other, just the on-delay) Thanks Eric

[Berkshire Bill]

It doesn't sound like you can point the photocell in a different direction. How about making a shield ? A couple inches from the core of a toilet paper roll or towel roll would be enough to experement with to see if stray light is triggereing it.

Bill

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[John Grabowski]

I don't know about a replacement for that small of a unit. You can usually buy photocells that will fit into a 1/2" trade size (7/8" diameter) at a local electrical supply company. You could drill the hole bigger with a unibit. Have you tried to find a replacement at a lighting store? If you pulled the unit out there might be a manufacturer's name on it.

[RBM]

Here's one I use:

[hallerb]

if it didnt alwas flicker just replace it. mine goes bad very 4 or 5 years, its so cheap and easy to replace i havent bothered upgrading flicker is one of 3 failure modes. always off the most common, always on rare and flicker.

high current at bulb burn out is generally what fries the controller, you know when a bulb goes brilliant white for a second.

I buy lng life bulbs to minimize such events Tried CF, low energy use nice but more control failures.

these controllers must cost under a buck to make, they are really cheap

[Eric]

This was a replacement, and its just a very poor design, there doesnt seem to be any hysteresis in it and so it just wavers from on to off (flicker) until it finally gets dark enough. Its got a shield already. Thanks Eric

[Eric]

That sounds like what i am looking for, if i cant find one locally I'll order it Thanks Eric

[Mark Fields]

What direction does it face? For northern hemisphere the photocell should face north. If facing south, east or west it will not work properly.

Mark

[hallerb]

nah mine faces south works fine I li=3Dve in pittsburgh, facing the other way it would look at my living room window, lit up most of the time

[Richard P.]

Hey Eric, I used to work in the Electrical/Lighting department of a large hardware store chain here in Canada. I haven't heard of that problem with post light photocells. I wonder if the CDS cell has gone bad or something. Have you tried replacing just the photocell unit? I sold them at my store..

"Eric" wrote in

[Eric]

I've got it fixed now, the original one quit, then i bought a replacement which was just a very cheap cell. it had no delay on or delay off at all so when the light was just right it flickered something awfull. I just bought a decent cell to replace that one and its working fine now. Guess you get what you pay for... Eric

[Just Joshin]

Sweet! Thanks for the follow up.

tom @

[Mark Fields]

What direction is the photocell facing?

Mine faces west and I live in northern hemisphere. I understand they should face north to properly work.

You might experiment adding a short tube to the photocell to control how the light levels eventually cause it to work properly.

Mark