ok guys heres the scoop,we will talk about our first lighting setup..im talking about putting up a yard in your back yard or something of the like.
i actually have more than one example,so if you have more than one that would be wonderful!
The First Light i installed wasn't even meant for an outdoor fixture...i fabricated a pole and arm from any pieces of pipe i could find...and i fixed a clamp on work light to the pole,the lamp inside was switched between a GE 10W 6500K and a GE 13W 2700K,besides the fact that the fixture isnt UL Rated for outdoor locations my wiring was terribly out of code,im talking wiring from a window with open splices,so when it rained the wiring shorted out as would be expected,That Little GE 10W CFL was Suprisingly Tough...the Thing got Drenched in rain...i let it dry off and it still worked amazingly.
my Second Light was a little Stebar Incandescent floodlight i found on the ground,which is actually a UL Rated Outdoor Fixture...i Took out the original Socket and PAR-64 500 Watt Lamp out and put a Reflector/socket into the fixture and stuck a 10W 6500K GE CFL in it,the wiring was still out of code,but an improvement over the previous fixture,the pole was the same one i used from the previous light.
my Third light was sort of like a Mini Bucket light...i took a piece of cast aluminimum from the Reciever of a Huge,Outdated Satalite dish we had in the backyard,and i took a CD Cover for a Stack of CD's,scratched a pattern in it with a knife and used the hole at the top for a Photocell to neatly sit in,the Photocell i used was an Intermatic 120V PC from a Local Small Hardwarestore....the lamp was also switched between a 13W and 10W as the above fixtures.
The Last Light i had in the backyard was a Regent NH-1204 175 W Mercury Blaster i purchased at a small hardware store in a small town 10 miles west of me (Chandler) for roughly 30 bucks,i also bought an extension arm for it for an additional 10,now the pole on this one was not the same as the other ones...i started with a Fence Post.....Strapped a tall PVC Pipe to the fence post...bolted the arm to the top of the fence post and stuck it in the ground,which is a suprise the pole stood as long as it did cause it was burried quite shallowly,the wiring on this one was the same as the others,but what makes it more of a hazzard was the current a 175 Watt Blaster Draws is much much more than a 10W or 13W CFL...the wiring to the blaster was spliced sections of random wire between 16 AWG and 24 AWG...now the 16 AWG held up just fine but the 24 AWG as you would expect got very warm from the 5 Amp Startup current of the blaster,settling down to a little warm when the blaster was at 2.7 Amps (too much for the little wire),i took the pole and blaster down and brought it inside...took the blaster apart and never put it back up.
the Next time i put a Security light up...i plan for it to be well Planned,constructed to a high degree and most importantly ELECTRICALLY IN CODE!
i might draw some plans for it but not anytime soon.
lets hear what you guys have to say now.
