Our house is about 30 years old. When it was built, we had a pole lamp
installed down at the end of the driveway.

It was electric with the wires running in a piece of thin-wall conduit
from the house to the pole.

Now apparently the wiring has failed. I was waiting for spring thaw to
start digging up the front lawn to replace the wiring and probably the
fixture.

A friend mentioned that I should look for a solar pole lamp to replace
what is there and save all the digging and wiring.

I don't need a lot of light, just something for the newspaper delivery
person to aim at. I did some searching and found some lights. The big
problem is I don't like the styles that I had found. We need something
a little more modern looking than the typical coach light style.

My questions a

Does anyone have experience with solar pole lamps?

Any recommend sources?

Or, any other alternative ideas to eliminate the need to dig a trench
through my front yard?

Thanks,

Joe

In article ,
Joe Beda wrote:

Our house is about 30 years old. When it was built, we had a pole lamp
installed down at the end of the driveway.

It was electric with the wires running in a piece of thin-wall conduit
from the house to the pole.

Now apparently the wiring has failed. I was waiting for spring thaw to
start digging up the front lawn to replace the wiring and probably the
fixture.

A friend mentioned that I should look for a solar pole lamp to replace
what is there and save all the digging and wiring.

I don't need a lot of light, just something for the newspaper delivery
person to aim at. I did some searching and found some lights. The big
problem is I don't like the styles that I had found. We need something
a little more modern looking than the typical coach light style.

My questions a

Does anyone have experience with solar pole lamps?

Any recommend sources?

Or, any other alternative ideas to eliminate the need to dig a trench
through my front yard?

Thanks,

Joe

We just bought a house with failed pole lamp wiring, and the previous
owner had installed a solar fixture on the pole. IMO, the amount of
light it gives off is completely useless. Roughly on the order of an
anemic firefly. By the time the paper "boy" comes around at 3 in the
morning, it'll be dead anyway. I'm going to be looking for a way to get
some fresh AC wires out there.

on 2/24/2009 10:09 AM (ET) Joe Beda wrote the following:
Our house is about 30 years old. When it was built, we had a pole lamp
installed down at the end of the driveway.

It was electric with the wires running in a piece of thin-wall conduit
from the house to the pole.

Now apparently the wiring has failed. I was waiting for spring thaw to
start digging up the front lawn to replace the wiring and probably the
fixture.

A friend mentioned that I should look for a solar pole lamp to replace
what is there and save all the digging and wiring.

I don't need a lot of light, just something for the newspaper delivery
person to aim at. I did some searching and found some lights. The big
problem is I don't like the styles that I had found. We need something
a little more modern looking than the typical coach light style.

My questions a

Does anyone have experience with solar pole lamps?

Any recommend sources?

Or, any other alternative ideas to eliminate the need to dig a trench
through my front yard?

Thanks,

Joe


No Problem. Look here.
http://tinyurl.com/b56dts

Pick one with a stake that goes into the ground and you can insert the
stake into the pole top.


--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

Smitty Two wrote:
In article ,
Joe Beda wrote:

Our house is about 30 years old. When it was built, we had a pole lamp
installed down at the end of the driveway.

It was electric with the wires running in a piece of thin-wall conduit
from the house to the pole.

Now apparently the wiring has failed. I was waiting for spring thaw to
start digging up the front lawn to replace the wiring and probably the
fixture.

A friend mentioned that I should look for a solar pole lamp to replace
what is there and save all the digging and wiring.

I don't need a lot of light, just something for the newspaper delivery
person to aim at. I did some searching and found some lights. The big
problem is I don't like the styles that I had found. We need something
a little more modern looking than the typical coach light style.

My questions a

Does anyone have experience with solar pole lamps?

Any recommend sources?

Or, any other alternative ideas to eliminate the need to dig a trench
through my front yard?

Thanks,

Joe

We just bought a house with failed pole lamp wiring, and the previous
owner had installed a solar fixture on the pole. IMO, the amount of
light it gives off is completely useless. Roughly on the order of an
anemic firefly. By the time the paper "boy" comes around at 3 in the
morning, it'll be dead anyway. I'm going to be looking for a way to get
some fresh AC wires out there.
Hi,
Mine does last few days. Solar charged battery lights up a LED torch
controlled by light sensor. Been working few years out at my cabin
driveway. In my case this not for illumination. This works as a marker
so I can find entrance to the drive way in the dark.

Solar lights work for a while, then they die. If you don't want to run
new AC, try retrofitting it with low voltage AC. You'll still have to
run new wire, but you can cut the lawn and tuck the wire down just a
few inches instead of trenching.

On Feb 24, 12:28*pm, Rick-Meister wrote:
Solar lights work for a while, then they die. If you don't want to run
new AC, try retrofitting it with low voltage AC. You'll still have to
run new wire, but you can cut the lawn and tuck the wire down just a
few inches instead of trenching.

Thats what I helped my neighbor do, sort of. She had a coach light
that went bad and already had some outdoor low voltage lighting so I
converted her coach light to low voltage and connected ito her
existing lights that ran with in a couple of feet of the light. You
could make this LED. Lets not talk about the price she was quoted to
replace coach lamp and wiring.

Jimmie

Joe Beda wrote:
Our house is about 30 years old. When it was built, we had a pole lamp
installed down at the end of the driveway.

It was electric with the wires running in a piece of thin-wall conduit
from the house to the pole.

Now apparently the wiring has failed. I was waiting for spring thaw to
start digging up the front lawn to replace the wiring and probably the
fixture.

A friend mentioned that I should look for a solar pole lamp to replace
what is there and save all the digging and wiring.

I don't need a lot of light, just something for the newspaper delivery
person to aim at. I did some searching and found some lights. The big
problem is I don't like the styles that I had found. We need something
a little more modern looking than the typical coach light style.

My questions a

Does anyone have experience with solar pole lamps?

Any recommend sources?

Or, any other alternative ideas to eliminate the need to dig a trench
through my front yard?

Thanks,

Joe

If you have conduit in place, why not just pull new wire through it?

keith

K wrote:
Joe Beda wrote:
Our house is about 30 years old. When it was built, we had a pole lamp
(snip)
Thanks,

Joe

If you have conduit in place, why not just pull new wire through it?

keith


Because after 30 years, the conduit is probably rotted away and/or full
of water? And if it goes all the way, how would you get the wire through
there? (probably 3/4" at most...)

I'd be surprised if the conduit runs all the way out, unless local code
required it. Common practice was to use conduit through the foundation
wall, and burial-rated wire the rest of the way. The coiled wire was
usually tied off to the side of the house until finish grading was done,
an then buried shovel or ditch-witch blade deep out to the light. Not
uncommon for it to get lost or cut otherwise. I had to hunt for a few of
them back in the day. (being the kid on site, I always got stuck with
the odd chores like that.)

--
aem sends...