Anyone have these, how well do they work?

http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS...D=9876&pos=n19

 

Most solar landscape lighting I have seen Sucks! They only light up, but they do not illuminate a large area at all. Sorta like white christmas lights if you get my jist. Buy the powered stuff.

 

I haven't used those but solar kits usually suck ass. I have a 12 volt system along my sidewalk and I plan on getting more. They run off of one 250 watt transformer. They give nice, bright light and are only about 15 watts each.

 

I have had two different brands of solar lights, and neither was any good. None of them lasted more than a year, and none of them put out enough light to be useful. My neighbor bought a set of rather expensive stainless steel solar lights, and they look good, but don't put out much light either. I now have a low voltage light set (Malibu brand from Lowes) they are very inexpensive, and put out at least twice as much light with only 4-watt bulbs. In my opinion, dont waste your money on solar lights. It is so easy to install low voltage lights, you can bury the cable just about one inch deep, or if you put them in flower beds, just lay the cable on top of the ground,and cover it with mulch.

 

put the dimmer down on a set of lights in your house almost all the way off and that's what you'll have with those suck ass lights. waste o' cash dude, don't do it.

 

I bought a set off of ebay. They were cheap enough. They suck!

 

OK...

I just went through this whole ordeal, so I may be able to comment.

First, the July issue of Consumer Reports has a whole review on 120 volt vs. low-voltage vs. solar. I can scan a copy when I get home and post it, or check your local library... They may have it. Or any place that sells magazines... $4 though.



Anyhoo... I'd avoid 120 volt lights unless you want to hire an electrician, and basically make your house look like a landing strip for a 747.

Low-voltage are nice, but you have to tap into some kind of power source, like a security system. But you have to run wires, bury cable, etc... And if you ever want to move a light, it could be tricky depending on how you ran wire...


I went with solar. Why? 1) I didn't want a TON of light. People here hit it right on the head. They don't give out much light at all. But that's OK. I don't want to attract anything with a lot of light. 2) I just wanted accent lighting, around the plant beds and up the walkway. They look nice, get staked in the ground, can be moved at any time, and don't eat electricity. Mine stay on the entire night; 8:15pm to 5:00am. Run on a simple rechargeable battery.

It all boils down to what you want. If you're just looking for a "little" light, solar is the way to go. They work just fine. If you want to accent trees, shrubs, etc. Go with a low-voltage source, but be prepared to spend some time installing, cutting into wires, etc.

The ones at Home Depot by Hampton Bay were rated highly by CR for solar powered lights. Definitely go with a metal construction. The metal, 3-tiered lights are on sale it seems for $44.25 for 6. This is basically what I got, just a different manufacturer.

BTW... When they say "bright white", it really looks blue.

Good luck.

 

My neighbor has these, and they're fucking awesome. 2-bulbs, great construction. I was going to buy them, but wanted to put money into other outdoor stuff.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...314514924&rd=1

 

Nice reply, Scrib

I like reading about this stuff here instead of having to search the 'net.

 

If the weather cooperates, I'll try to take a pic or two this evening.

 

My neighbor has a solar set that he uses to accent his walkway which looks nice.

The only thing that scares me about these are theft. What exactly prevents someone from just walking up and pulling them out of the ground?

 

Nothing... But one could say the same thing about all the plants and shrubs you plant? Or breaking a window? Stealing your mail?

 

In terms of time invested vs. payoff for a petty thief, these lighting sets could appear very attractive. We knew someone who had their entire set stolen about a week after they put it in, hence my concern.

But there's probably measures one could easily take to prevent theft. Like cementing them in or something.

 

True... But cement makes them almost permanent, and a bitch to move in a pinch.


My theory... Let those fuckers take em'. I'll take good health and happiness any day.

 

Or moving to a better part of town...

I grew up in the "rough" part of my city, so I've got the "nobody better touch my stuff" mentality. Now that I'm in the suburbs, I tend to keep every thing "locked down", but there really isn't much need too.

I would get to aggressive trying to secure $100 worth of lights.

 

wow thanks for the info Scrib, all im looking for is accent lights for the curved driveway. Try to take pics if you can

 

Jesal, Buying grilles, lights for the driveway... No wonder your parents keep you around

 

 

Aye aye captain.

 

Don't be embarrassed. I meant that as a compliment

 

 

This is exactly what I bought about 2 months ago.. I love them.. But I wasn't looking to get a huge amount of lighting out of them.. Just to accent a walkway.. I plan on buying a few more.. Talk about a easy no hassle sloution..

 

Here are some pics. I'll take some later tonight when it's dark.

 

Looking good Scrib The lights look great.

The lilies are coming up, you've even got grass now

Someone has to do something with the rest of the gravel and the edging that is just sitting there at the top of the driveway

 

Grass???

Weeds, my friend.

 

:lol:

 

Here's the nightime pics... They look MUCH better in person.

 

damn that looks good!!

These the $45 ones from homedepot?

 

They're not the exact ones, but close...

I got mine from Menards, made by a company called Malibu.

The reason I didn't get the ones from HD, because they weren't on sale. If I were to buy today, I'd get the ones from HD.

 

Those do look good. Like some people say, they don't give off alot of light, but I think that's a positive.

BTW scrib, your weeds look better then some of my grass

 

lol

I've actually gotten comments on them. When cut, they almost resembles grass. Until you get up close and see all the broad-leaf shit.

 

Haha.. I was actually afraid to put down the scotts broad-leaf killer, thought it was gonna get rid of all the green in the lawn. I decided to bite the bullet, my neighbor asked if I fertilized 'cause he said my grass looked greener I think I might over-seed this fall (I hafta seed a spot in the back where I cleaned out a bunch of pricker bushes anyways).

CUT?? I guess you did buy a mower then... Did you get the honda ??

 

My Dad's neighbor bought a new Honda, so I'm using his 10 year old mower until I get my sod in.

It's a Honda, and it runs like a champ. First pull, fires right up.

I'll definitely be buying a Honda mower this fall. More than likely this one...

http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/M...Name=HRX217HXA


YUMMY!!!!

 

Watchout for those old "tempory" lawn mowers. I bought my $100 tractor as a stopgap till I bought something else, and that was 3 seasons ago. Still running good, but I did tune it up this year (plug, filters, adjust carb).

 

Hey Scrib! Nice looking rocks!! we just put a pool up and trying to figure out what to do around the cage. Did you mix several "varieties"? Or is that just one? Me likes!!! We found this red crimson rock that's beautiful, but it's $82/yd...

 

The rock is called American Heritage. I think it has some granite in it along with other different types of rock.

We're lucky in that there's a wholesaler here locally that sells this stuff to the public. It's $58 a yard. If I go to the nusery/landscaping company that has been in business for 40 years that lives about 1 mile from me, they want $102 a yard.

Rock is horribly expensive, but the alternative is mulch, which while it looks nice, is prone to being blown around in high winds and requires additional coverage every spring.

If you can afford the rock prices, do it, because you'll never have to replace it.