Hello:

Thinking of adding an outdoor flood light to illuminate
my backyard. Have done a fair amount of house wiring, but
never any outdoor wiring.

It will be very difficult for me to run wires from the "high-up"
flood light thru the wall to where I can put a switch and tap into the AC.

Was wondering about how to run it vertically down the side of the
wooden siding.

a. I guess one way is to use non-metallic emt which I guess they have
available, and some
outdoor water tight boxes for the light mounting, and for the right angle at
the bottom
that will bring the wires indoor.

b. Is it all code permissible to use some kind of outdoor rated NM wire
tacked
to the side of the house without the need for running the wire inside of
conduit, as proposed above in (a) ?
If so, what do I use in the way of boxes ?
Can't quite visualize the type of connector or bushing that would bring the
wire into the
boxes. What would i use with this approach ?

Or, forget the boxes, and just bore a hole thru the siding, and RTV it up ?
But, I guess, I would still want a box for the light to be mounted to. True
?
What kind of bushings with this scheme ?

Thanks,
Bob

On Mon, 9 May 2005 14:43:57 -0400, Robert11 wrote:
Hello:

Thinking of adding an outdoor flood light to illuminate
my backyard. Have done a fair amount of house wiring, but
never any outdoor wiring.

It will be very difficult for me to run wires from the "high-up"
flood light thru the wall to where I can put a switch and tap into the AC.

One thing I saw (at Menards) was a security light system (infrared sensor)
with 2 lights and solar panel to self charge. Not sure of run time of the
rechargable batteries, but maybe something to check out for a wireless
installation.

On Fri, 13 May 2005 08:04:41 +0000 (UTC), (David
Efflandt) wrote:

On Mon, 9 May 2005 14:43:57 -0400, Robert11 wrote:
Hello:

Thinking of adding an outdoor flood light to illuminate
my backyard. Have done a fair amount of house wiring, but
never any outdoor wiring.

It will be very difficult for me to run wires from the "high-up"
flood light thru the wall to where I can put a switch and tap into the AC.

One thing I saw (at Menards) was a security light system (infrared sensor)
with 2 lights and solar panel to self charge. Not sure of run time of the
rechargable batteries, but maybe something to check out for a wireless
installation.


Good point. I do believe there is information about how many times
the light will come on with fully charged battery(times and duration
of each time). Plus information how to keep your battery fully
charged with proper positioning of the panel. But..... I remember it
being a security light, motiion sensing, so it only comes on when
motion is detected and only for a 1 min or so.

So this might not be the solution he wants.

later,

tom @ www.WorkAtHomePlans.com

On Mon, 9 May 2005 14:43:57 -0400, "Robert11"
wrote:

Hello:

Thinking of adding an outdoor flood light to illuminate
my backyard. Have done a fair amount of house wiring, but
never any outdoor wiring.

It will be very difficult for me to run wires from the "high-up"
flood light thru the wall to where I can put a switch and tap into the AC.

Was wondering about how to run it vertically down the side of the
wooden siding.

a. I guess one way is to use non-metallic emt which I guess they have
available, and some
outdoor water tight boxes for the light mounting, and for the right angle at
the bottom
that will bring the wires indoor.

b. Is it all code permissible to use some kind of outdoor rated NM wire
tacked
to the side of the house without the need for running the wire inside of
conduit, as proposed above in (a) ?
If so, what do I use in the way of boxes ?
Can't quite visualize the type of connector or bushing that would bring the
wire into the
boxes. What would i use with this approach ?

Or, forget the boxes, and just bore a hole thru the siding, and RTV it up ?
But, I guess, I would still want a box for the light to be mounted to. True
?
What kind of bushings with this scheme ?

Thanks,
Bob


No offense bob, your question has you rambling. You should post your
'need' and let others help you find your solution. Shooting from the
hip has you saying crazy things like stapling nm to the outside of
your houses wall. Geez, that would be ugly.

With wiring there are many ways to accomplish the same results, just
some are more expensive, some more ugly, some better planned.

IMHO, if I was doing this project I would ask myself these questions:

- Do you know where you plan to have the light(area to be flooded and
where to mount the light)?
- Is there an outlet on the inside of the wall adjacent to where you
want the light for tapping power?
- How do I want to control the light.
If with just a photocell, I would make no plans for switches,
or I would just put a switch inside wall of where the light
is(properly installed and height), since it doesn't have to be
convient since it rarely will ever be operated.
If I wanted the light switch operated, where do I want
switch, and can I run a switch loop easily, if not, I would seek out
one of the smart solutions, where the switch and light can take
wirelessly. Read up on these, there are many options now, but some
are expensive, and senstive to voltage spikes.


Once I figure out a simple solution, I would check if and how I can
get it to meet codes. Meaning what boxes do I need, cables and
mounting techniques. This can only be done by finding out your local
codes. BTW, the fact that you don't have 'local electrical codes'
(which is what I have where I live) means you need to check with the
state (mine adopts the NEC).

Remember, your time and safety is worth something, if you don't think
you can do this safely, and correctly, seek out qualified help. What
I posted here was thinking out loud, not a how-to.

hth,

tom @ www.ChopURL.com

As a neighbor of several people who have those lights, let me suggest
you also consider your neighbors when setting the lights up:

Do not set the motion-detector so sensitive that it goes off when your
neighbor steps out on thier back porch. It should only go off when
someone crosses your yard.

Do not set the light so that it shines into your neighbors windows.

If on a timer, set the timer so that it turns off sooner that 5
minutes.

All of which has happened to me at one point or another and all of
which have been very irritating, to say the least. Especially when
you can't sleep at night because your neighbors nite-lite goes
straight into your bedroom window! And then they keep it on all night
'cause they think it will scare off the crooks. Believe me, not even
black-out curtains (yes, you can still get them) can keep out the
light when it is shining straight into a window.