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Failing floodlights.

linnfomaniac83

linnfomaniac83

I bet you can’t wheelie a unicycle!
About three months back, I had a new LED floodlight installed in my front garden, at one time I’d have done it myself because I’m more than competent but since I’m disabled, I can’t get up there, so I paid someone else. First one lasted a day and then failed (only stayed on for about 5 seconds rather than the 5 minutes it was set to), it’s just failed again (totally dead), realised as I thought I’d heard someone in my front garden and went out to check (there are literally hundreds of pounds worth of plants out there), nobody there but no light either. I’m extremely pissed off, I now need to get someone in to replace it again, doubt the retailer or manufacturer will cover the costs I’ve incurred as a result of their unfit product. I’m not going to accept a direct replacement anyway because it’ll probably just fail again... so can anyone recommend a reliable make/model of LED floodlight, 20-30 watt? More would be overkill.
 
l had the same problem as yourself a few years ago however mine was with Halogen bulbs keep blowing ( tried everything to cure it) and went to LED and have not had a problem since- odd.

Hope you get it sorted.
 
Tarzan said:
l had the same problem as yourself a few years ago however mine was with Halogen bulbs keep blowing ( tried everything to cure it) and went to LED and have not had a problem since- odd.

Hope you get it sorted.
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Me too - I was resigned to regular (every couple of years) replacement of either the halogen bulb, or in many cases the whole unit.
Moved to using led instead and had no more problems, and that's using Homebase Masterplug units.
My last halogen is just on it's way out - seems to have actually broken the support bracket all by itself!
 
Even more strangely we have a floodlight ( Halogen) at the front of the property which is the same spec brand etc and we have replaced the bulb once in the 13 years we have been in the property....weird.:D
 
doctorf said:
Chinese LED units often have serious quality issues. I would suggest you either buy a unit from a big name company or, better still, find an electrical company who will fit a unit of their choice and are prepared to give you a warranty with it.
Good luck.
Click to expand...

I agree, and heat is serious destroyer of LEDs, if the heat sinks are poor and the unit is enclosed the inevitable will happen.

ours are phillips - similar to these: https://www.lighting-direct.co.uk/p...rolled-floodlight-with-mdu-motion-sensor.html
 
I had a couple of cheap Maplin LEDs which last about a year. At the other extreme I put expensive 240W floods in a shed to achieve daylight levels and they've all done five years.
 
You get strange anomalies with bulbs. There are people here who complain that halogens don't last. I've had 9 of them in my kitchen for 4 years since I moved in and not one has blown.They are all turned on and off several times a day.
 
doctorf has the best suggestion for your situation where you don't have the physical ability to climb the ladder, get them to own the problem by supplying and fitting, then you have comeback.
 
doctorf said:
Chinese LED units often have serious quality issues. I would suggest you either buy a unit from a big name company or, better still, find an electrical company who will fit a unit of their choice and are prepared to give you a warranty with it.
Good luck.
Click to expand...
That’d probably make most financial sense. I need it working for various important reasons, most importantly because it’s a fairly large and dark front garden and driveway and I can’t see sod all if I come home from work late at night (2AM is not unusual), and of course there is the added security, I’ve spent a small fortune and a huge amount of time getting the front garden looking how I want it.
 
I’m not worried about spending money on a proper high quality unit. I do like the idea of something with a remote control to easily override the PIR sensor, the garden is sufficiently enclosed to sit out there at night with a drink and not be seen from the road/pavement, and I do sit out there quite often.
 
We have a 500w light at the back of the house. I think it still works, but switched it off at the thought of all those kW hours!
 
Jamie said:
We have a 500w light at the back of the house. I think it still works, but switched it off at the thought of all those kW hours!
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Yeah, that’d mount up. I also have a 500w at the back, switched off for the same reason. I have some low level bulkhead fixtures at the back which provide a nice ambient light... although it’s a building site out back at the minute due to two retaining walls collapsing (garden is on split levels). Part of the restoration project out the back is to have lots of low level lighting on separate circuits to create different scenes, with it all lit, there won’t be any need for a floodlight so the 500w one won’t be getting replaced.
 
Q1: Is my garden Wembley stadium?
Q2: Do I want to read the paper outdoors at midnight?
If the answer to both these questions is "no" then you don't need a 500 watt halogen ligyt.
 
I didn't buy / fit mine. It came free with the house. I have no need, which is why it is off.
 
stevec67 said:
Q1: Is my garden Wembley stadium?
Q2: Do I want to read the paper outdoors at midnight?
If the answer to both these questions is "no" then you don't need a 500 watt halogen ligyt.
Click to expand...
I didn’t buy/fit the 500 watt one in my back garden either, there was one already fitted front and back when I bought the house last year. I’ve never used either and replaced the one at the front with a 30 watt LED PIR a few months back, the light output from that was absolutely perfect (until it broke) and of course, the energy useage is negligible.
 
I have 3 x 500w equiv LED floods at the rear purely as security lights turns the place into the surface of the sun when they flick on, scares the bejesus out of me when I go out late and forget about them. I have overrides to deactivate when sitting out there with the normal garden lights instead.
 
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