replying to dennisgauge , RetiredinMiami wrote:
dennisgauge wrote:

Sorry, I only had problems with Photocells E127583 and E127585.


I have 4-E127584 photo cells go bad after 2 years. I purchased what I
thought was a replacement, Keystone: KTPS-45-1, but they did not work. I
live in Miami and have 12 outdoor lights with solar photocells. I have
resorted to a wall timer switch. Sad!



--

i had a photocell on my pole light. perodically it would burn out for no apparent reason.

till one day it was just getting dark and i witenesed its death.......

the pole lighht turned on. the incandescent bulb burned out in one of those brilliant sun bright displays.

i went and got another bulb but it didnt light

so i went and got a new pole light sensor from inventory. they were hard to find so i bought several at a time.....

changed the light sensor and all was well.

conclusion..... the brilliant light was from high current that wiped out the sensor. about this time CFLs came out. that light sensor must be over 10 / 15 years old......... the plastic sensor window has discolored turned milky white. i am going to restore my vans headlights, i will try a bit on the sensor

if the OP is using incandescent bulbs you might try a LED bulb.

longer life may be your reward.

In article ,
bob haller wrote:

i had a photocell on my pole light. perodically it would burn out for no
apparent reason.

till one day it was just getting dark and i witenesed its death.......

the pole lighht turned on. the incandescent bulb burned out in one of those
brilliant sun bright displays.

i went and got another bulb but it didnt light

so i went and got a new pole light sensor from inventory. they were hard to
find so i bought several at a time.....

changed the light sensor and all was well.

conclusion..... the brilliant light was from high current that wiped out the
sensor. about this time CFLs came out. that light sensor must be over 10 /
15 years old......... the plastic sensor window has discolored turned milky
white. i am going to restore my vans headlights, i will try a bit on the
sensor

if the OP is using incandescent bulbs you might try a LED bulb.

longer life may be your reward.

LED and CFL bulbs won't work in my mercury vapor lamp. After 15 years,
I noticed that the light was coming on when it got a little overcast.
Replacing the photocell with an exact replacement returned it to normal
operation.

About the same time, a photocell did the same thing on another lamp. I
had added a small photocell to a lamp that used CFL bulbs. Even though
they use less power, there is still some heat involved with CFL and LED
bulbs. I believe it is this heat that makes the photocells go bad, and
use of incandescent bulbs would only accelerate the process.

For that lamp, I made a bigger hole and mounted an external photocell.
When/if the mercury vapor lamp's photocell goes bad again, I will use
the external replacement on it too. Its mounting hole happens to be the
right size for the external photocell.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_7955-30209-A...v12l__?product
Id=3438410&pl=1

Fred

On Tuesday, August 4, 2015 at 12:30:12 PM UTC-4, Fred McKenzie wrote:
In article ,
bob haller wrote:

i had a photocell on my pole light. perodically it would burn out for no
apparent reason.

till one day it was just getting dark and i witenesed its death.......

the pole lighht turned on. the incandescent bulb burned out in one of those
brilliant sun bright displays.

i went and got another bulb but it didnt light

so i went and got a new pole light sensor from inventory. they were hard to
find so i bought several at a time.....

changed the light sensor and all was well.

conclusion..... the brilliant light was from high current that wiped out the
sensor. about this time CFLs came out. that light sensor must be over 10 /
15 years old......... the plastic sensor window has discolored turned milky
white. i am going to restore my vans headlights, i will try a bit on the
sensor

if the OP is using incandescent bulbs you might try a LED bulb.

longer life may be your reward.

LED and CFL bulbs won't work in my mercury vapor lamp. After 15 years,
I noticed that the light was coming on when it got a little overcast.
Replacing the photocell with an exact replacement returned it to normal
operation.

About the same time, a photocell did the same thing on another lamp. I
had added a small photocell to a lamp that used CFL bulbs. Even though
they use less power, there is still some heat involved with CFL and LED
bulbs. I believe it is this heat that makes the photocells go bad, and
use of incandescent bulbs would only accelerate the process.

For that lamp, I made a bigger hole and mounted an external photocell.
When/if the mercury vapor lamp's photocell goes bad again, I will use
the external replacement on it too. Its mounting hole happens to be the
right size for the external photocell.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_7955-30209-A...v12l__?product
Id=3438410&pl=1

Fred

i would replace your existing fixture with ab LED one, they use almost no power and are pretty bright

On Tue, 4 Aug 2015 10:04:43 -0700 (PDT), bob haller
wrote:

On Tuesday, August 4, 2015 at 12:30:12 PM UTC-4, Fred McKenzie wrote:
In article ,
bob haller wrote:

i had a photocell on my pole light. perodically it would burn out for no
apparent reason.

till one day it was just getting dark and i witenesed its death.......

the pole lighht turned on. the incandescent bulb burned out in one of those
brilliant sun bright displays.

i went and got another bulb but it didnt light

so i went and got a new pole light sensor from inventory. they were hard to
find so i bought several at a time.....

changed the light sensor and all was well.

conclusion..... the brilliant light was from high current that wiped out the
sensor. about this time CFLs came out. that light sensor must be over 10 /
15 years old......... the plastic sensor window has discolored turned milky
white. i am going to restore my vans headlights, i will try a bit on the
sensor

if the OP is using incandescent bulbs you might try a LED bulb.

longer life may be your reward.

LED and CFL bulbs won't work in my mercury vapor lamp. After 15 years,
I noticed that the light was coming on when it got a little overcast.
Replacing the photocell with an exact replacement returned it to normal
operation.

About the same time, a photocell did the same thing on another lamp. I
had added a small photocell to a lamp that used CFL bulbs. Even though
they use less power, there is still some heat involved with CFL and LED
bulbs. I believe it is this heat that makes the photocells go bad, and
use of incandescent bulbs would only accelerate the process.

For that lamp, I made a bigger hole and mounted an external photocell.
When/if the mercury vapor lamp's photocell goes bad again, I will use
the external replacement on it too. Its mounting hole happens to be the
right size for the external photocell.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_7955-30209-A...v12l__?product
Id=3438410&pl=1

Fred

i would replace your existing fixture with ab LED one, they use almost no power and are pretty bright

Depending on the bulb type, you can convert your existing fixture to
LED. That's what I did for a metal halide flag pole light. I just
removed the old ballast completely and wired incoming power to the
bulb socket and bought an LED bulb. The old metal halides lasted from
18 to 24 months and were expensive to replace. The LED bulb only was
$10 and hasn't failed yet. It is not quite as bright, but it is
bright enough. No one even noticed I made the change (11 owners at a
condo association). I used a cool white bulb so even the color temp
is similar.

In article ,
Pat wrote:

i would replace your existing fixture with ab LED one, they use almost no
power and are pretty bright

Depending on the bulb type, you can convert your existing fixture to
LED. That's what I did for a metal halide flag pole light. I just
removed the old ballast completely and wired incoming power to the
bulb socket and bought an LED bulb. The old metal halides lasted from
18 to 24 months and were expensive to replace. The LED bulb only was
$10 and hasn't failed yet. It is not quite as bright, but it is
bright enough. No one even noticed I made the change (11 owners at a
condo association). I used a cool white bulb so even the color temp
is similar.

Pat-

My mercury vapor security light has been in continuous use since it was
installed in 2000. The first bulb lasted less than a year. Its
replacement is still going strong. The photocell replacement was the
only other repair needed.

Converting it to LED seems like a good idea considering savings in
electricity, but I have two concerns:

1. I have not had an LED bulb failure in the short time they have been
in use. Although individual LED elements may last a long time, the
associated electronics may not. My experience with CFL bulbs is that on
average, their electronics fail long before the fluorescent tube wears
out. Time will tell.

2. Many of my LED bulbs generate radio interference. I have had to
test each to select ones that do not. The security light is near my Ham
Radio antennas. It uses a 100 Watt mercury vapor lamp. I have not
found a 100 Watt equivalent LED bulb that does not interfere.

Fred