"aemeijers" wrote in message
...
MiamiCuse wrote:
"John Grabowski" wrote in message
...
I am not sure what these are called. I think they are called step
lights.

From the driveway, I take three steps up to the landing that leads to
the front door. On each side of the steps is a 32" wide 24" tall
concrete "block". There is a pole light on top of these block, and
in the front of these blocks is a recessed rectangular light.

These lights are falling apart. The glass were broken and I pulled
the cover plate off.

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...l/P1020933.jpg

The cover plates:

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...l/P1020933.jpg

There is a piece inside that the two bulb sockets are attached to:

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...l/P1020935.jpg

If I pull the piece out the inside look like this:

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...l/P1020936.jpg

Closer look:

I'm surmising that those are aluminum housings and did not mate well
with the masonry and moisture. Halo makes step lights and there are
probably other brands as well. I think that I have also seen them in
low voltage which might be an easier retrofit in your case.

Is the wiring in conduit?
Wirings are in metal conduit inside the concrete, once they exit into
the cavity then it's just the wires.

I have removed the housing and everything and put a nut on each wire,
then taped over them and push them back into the cavity. There are two
wires that comes into that wall cavity one white one yellow both of
them are solid copper wire not stranded.

*Since the wiring is in concrete embedded conduit it will be difficult
to install a different brand unless the knockouts line up with the
existing conduit. I think that I would pursue the installation of the
same lights because that would be easiest. The manufacturer may have
changed the design to make the new ones more lasting. Of course there
is the possibility that your lights are no longer manufactured.

The light that I removed has no markings or labels. It must have been in
there for the same duration as the original building which would make it
38 years. The metal literally disintegrated as I pry it out.

I went to HD to look at some step lights and all I saw was low voltage
ones, the guy at HD told me they don't sell any that is line voltage.
I'll continue to google.

The wall cavity measures 10" W x 5" H x 3-7/8" D.

Thanks,

MC
Forget HD and the other big-boxes. You need a real electrical supply
house, the kind where builders and decorators go. A light like you had
would probably considered a commercial-use item.

--
aem sends...


I went to an electrical supply house but they don't stock stuff like this
and it's all catalog special order stuff.

So I went online instead and found this:

http://www.1stoplighting.com/shoppin...&kw=ppc-Dabmar

which is smaller than the original one I have but should work. I just need
to fill the extra room with mortar, I guess.