walkway lights - recommendation?

[Nate Nagel]

Hi all,

when we moved into our current residence, we bought some little solar lights to stake into the ground next to the walkway to the front door, as it gets rather dark after the sun goes down. However, they were cheap Home Despot jobs and one of them is already broken, and the others are all askew as they have plastic stakes which literally appear to have curved rather than biting into the ground.

Question is, does anyone make a similar product but with quality construction and good metal stakes? We looked at HD and Lowe's and didn't see anything really appealing. It's hard to tell online whether any products have plastic or metal stakes.

thanks

nate

[Ed Pawlowski]

The ones I have (Malibu) are plastic, but the stakes are very good and they stay put. Would be better if they lit up too. Waste of money.

[Pete C.]

Hubble cast AL line voltage landscape fixtures. The basic models aren't terribly expensive, and they are vastly better than the low voltage or solar units so you don't need nearly as many. Get ones you can load with high output CFL lamps.

[Phisherman]

I bought a set of 12v. exterior lights from Big Lots. They are metal (powder-coated paint) with glass covers. The set was less than $20, still shining bright after 8 years.

[cshenk]

"Phisherman" wrote

Hi Phil. I've been thinking to upgrade mine too but didnt want to mess with actually putting a line in the ground out to them. An upscale solar type would suit me well.

Anyone have any brand names they find work well?

[mike]

Have you considered motion-detecting flood lights? They're much, much brighter, and their energy use is next to nil since they are actually on a negligible percentage of the time. Place matching-color electrician's tape on portions of the sensor to block out areas of your yard that might cause nuisance trips, like trees and large bushes.

They have the added benefit of security, and at least one model has an indoor chime feature to alert you to visitors.

You can actually do outdoor work after dark with motion activated flood lights. Not so much with the solar "glowers".

[Wayne Boatwright]

On Mon 17 Nov 2008 03:34:17p, cshenk told us...

I?ve looked at quite a few, but never found any that were bright enough or burned long enough. It?s not from lack of sunlight to charge the batteries, as we live in central Arizona and probably get more sun than most any place else.

I wish I knew the answer, as I would like some, too.

[Nate Nagel]

Um, in my case... that *is* my yard. There's trees and large bushes... and then there's the walkway to the front door.

I might have to think about it, but it would involve a decent amount of wiring.

My next door neighbors have an exterior flood that they leave shining on our (shared) driveway all night every night. I've actually thought about offering to put in a photocell and motion sensor for them. (I grew up out in the sticks, and "light pollution" is something that I've never quite gotten used to.)

nate

[Wayne Boatwright]

On Mon 17 Nov 2008 06:19:08p, Nate Nagel told us...

We don?t have street lights on our street, but my next door neighbor has a commercial street light in his front yard which shines directly into the bedroom window on the side of our house. I know there would be no negotiation over this, so I?ve put room darkening shades on all the windows of that bedroom.

The same light also illuminates half our back yard due to the proximity and setback of the two houses. Not much I can do about that.

[Ed Pawlowski]

*****************************************************

I have both types. IMO, they are not interchangeable and each serves a different purpose.

[Norminn]

That's a violation of the building code where I live. Lights above a certain height have to be shielded somehow - don't recall all the details.

[Wayne Boatwright]

On Mon 17 Nov 2008 08:32:15p, Norminn told us...

In many areas of Phoenix and its suburbs and adjacent cities, there are areas classified as ?county islands?, which adhere/or not to the actual city codes, laws, regulations, etc., of the city in which the county island is situated. We live in such a location. It would seem that damn near anything goes. :)

Had we known this before we built our current home, we might have reconsidered our location choice. OTOH, it also offers some freedoms we enjoy.

Another difference is that we are under the protection of the county sheriff?s office, not the city police department.

[Robert Neville]

The plastic lamp housings and solar powered lights are useless, as far as I'm concerned. I bought a Malibu metal low voltage kit at Home Depot a year ago and am very pleased with it.

The kit came with around 8 bullet lights and 4 spot lights. Used the bullets to line a walkway and the spots to light plants against the house. Both were made of milled aluminum with halogen lamps and the kit came with a 300w transformer.

My only suggestion would be if you buy additional electrical cord, be sure to get the heaviest gauge. They sell lighter stuff, but the voltage drop using it will make the lamps dimmer than they should be.

[charlie]

you might check this specifically. in my area, there are ordinances that specify that a light can't be directed to be visible from outside the property lines.

regards, charlie cave creek, az

[Wayne Boatwright]

On Tue 18 Nov 2008 11:06:00a, charlie told us...

Thanks, Charlie. It?s worth a shot!