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

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message

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.

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.

Nate Nagel wrote:

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.

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.

On Sat, 15 Nov 2008 15:07:18 -0500, Nate Nagel
wrote:

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


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.

"mike" wrote in message

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.

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

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

Wayne Boatwright wrote:

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



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.)



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.



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.

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

Wayne Boatwright wrote:

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



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.)



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.



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.


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.

--
Wayne Boatwright
(correct the spelling of "geemail" to reply)
************************************************** **********************
Date: Monday, 11(XI)/17(XVII)/08(MMVIII)
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Countdown till U.S. Thanksgiving Day
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Nate Nagel wrote:

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.

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.

"Wayne Boatwright" wrote in message
5.247...
On Mon 17 Nov 2008 08:32:15p, Norminn told us...

Wayne Boatwright wrote:

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



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.)



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.



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.


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.

--

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

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

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




Thanks, Charlie. It’s worth a shot!

--
Wayne Boatwright
(correct the spelling of "geemail" to reply)
************************************************** **********************
Date: Tuesday, 11(XI)/18(XVIII)/08(MMVIII)
************************************************** **********************
Countdown till U.S. Thanksgiving Day
1wks 1dys 5hrs 47mins
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When we're planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue
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