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

"Eric" wrote in message
. ..
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

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

"Eric" wrote in message
. ..
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


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.

Open the unit up and try a small capacitor across the photcell.

I think most of these are like that in an effort to make them as cheap
as possible.

The older commercial units used for street lighting have a photocell
that actually gets warm as the power flows through it when on. This
changes the sensitivity giving it a hysteresis to turn off again.
Electronic units have replaced many of these units for increased
accuracy and reliabilty.

"Eric" wrote in message
. ..
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

Here's one I use:
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg...mId=1611754700




"Eric" wrote in message
. ..
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

On Apr 1, 8:51�am, "RBM" rbm2(remove wrote:
Here's one I use:http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg...shtml?ItemId=1...

"Eric" wrote in message

. ..



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- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

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

Berkshire Bill wrote:


"Eric" wrote in message
. ..
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

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

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

RBM wrote:

Here's one I use:

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg...mId=1611754700


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

On Sun, 01 Apr 2007 00:11:49 -0700, Eric wrote:

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)

If it flickers at dawn, that's ok.

Thanks
Eric

I think a tube that makes it look at a smaller piece of the sky may
make the situation worse, because there can be more frequent and
greater changes in one part of the sky when there are clouds passing
across the field of view.

How about a wide angle lens?

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



"Eric"
wrote in message
. ..
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

On Apr 1, 9:21�pm, "Mark Fields" wrote:
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

wrote in message

. ..



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- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

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

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
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.

Richard P. wrote:

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
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.
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

On Wed, 04 Apr 2007 19:20:24 -0700, Eric wrote:

Richard P. wrote:

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
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.
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


Sweet! Thanks for the follow up.

tom @ www.FreelancingProjects.com

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


"Eric" wrote in message
. ..
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