Security lights

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alice_in_hell, Aug 1, 8:23am
anyone know a good brand of security lights for the yard! The kind with the sensors. I bought the Elite brand but these are useless as they come on and off intermittently.suppose that reflects the low cost.
russ18, Aug 1, 8:55am
Securimax, Philips, etc.
alice_in_hell, Aug 1, 9:11am
great, thanks. :)
mrfxit, Aug 1, 9:41am
For the majority of problems with sensor lights, it's HOW they have been set up.
Sensor security lights are NOT generally a "plug & play" device
Why do you thing they put those "ADJUSTER" buttons on them
alice_in_hell, Aug 1, 10:09pm
so every product that has adjuster buttons automatically gaurantees the product is faultless!
russ18, Aug 1, 10:28pm
No most problems are because they are old and broken or cheap and nasty.
emerald9, Aug 1, 10:36pm
What are the best security lights with a sensor that you don't need an electrican for! Any suggestions!
russ18, Aug 1, 10:39pm
If you are replacing an existing light fitting with another and it's your own home (own and occupy) then you don't need a sparky, you can do it yourself.
mrfxit, Aug 1, 11:19pm
HELLO . did I say that!
mrfxit, Aug 1, 11:21pm
Rubbish.
The 2 sets I have on my house are "cheap & nasty" (as YOU put it) & they run faultlessly.
The other house has a "cheap & nasty"set on it & it's running well
Mixed ages of the units are about 15 years apart
russ18, Aug 2, 12:30am
And your experience proves the rule does it!
What would I know, just a sparky of 20 years experience in these things.
mrfxit, Aug 2, 2:58am
The really cheap units tend to do what most really cheap gear does normally.
Either fall apart upon assembly/ shortly during - after installing or last a long time

Yes the dearer gear normally lasts longer in adverse situations (rough weather/ balls/ branches /birds knocking. /continual adjusting (to "get it right") etc, but for the price as long as it does the job, who really cares.
Thats what warrentys & the cga are for.

In that case .you of all ppl, should know that mounting & setting them up correctly in the 1st place is over half the job.
morticia, Aug 2, 3:01am
Our cheap and nasties have all but died and have become quirky and unreliable, but it took them 15 years to do it.
mrfxit, Aug 2, 3:03am
LOL so true Mort.

Seen plenty of what was in it's day, expensive units crap out with the same faults as the cheapys.
Probably half the problem is WHERE ppl mount them (in full weather exposure)
kamitchell, Aug 2, 3:42am
Buy your cheap lights an fit a quality sensor like Clipsal. Not cheap but last one I had lasted 15 years and was still working when I moved. But saying that I've seen cheap ones last 10+ years. Luck of the draw.
russ18, Aug 2, 4:23am
They typically only have two adjusters, daylight sensitivity and a timer, it's not rocket science.
alice_in_hell, Aug 2, 11:08pm
Bought Arlec security lights yesterday. Swapped out elite lights with these ones, not once did they switch on/off for no reason over the 4 hour period that we watched them last night.

In fact I thought they wern't working as the cats wern't even setting them off, soon as I went out there, on they went.

Deciding to keep the Elite unit, they work fine as lights so just going to wiring them to a switch out the back.
tmenz, Aug 3, 1:27am
I've got a PDL one which starting playing up intermittently - found that ants had built a nest in it on the electronics - goes fine after evicting the ants!
rsr72, Aug 3, 1:32am
Moisture in the sensor and contacts corrosion gets them eventually.
mrfxit, Aug 3, 1:33am
LOL yea seen that a few times on various things
I hope you CRC'd it heaps, last time I crc'd it & coated it in grease
mrfxit, Aug 3, 1:33am
Yep gets them all almost regardless of price.
elect70, Aug 3, 3:45am
Set them up at night, they doget worse with age as the UV discolours thePIR lens
taipan4, Aug 3, 6:22am
oh yeah there are some out there that should not attempt this, to protect them from themselves
studio1, Aug 4, 10:10pm
Most of the cheap '2 lamp and sensor combined' units you buy from Bunnings, Mitre10 and the like are made in china and nothing but junk. They are very much hit and miss as to whether they will work, and if they do, whether they will last. As mentioned above you are better off to get a separate sensor and hook up individual lamps to it. A couple of 250 or 500 watt halogens give better light and last longer than the PAR38 lamps seem to on those dual fittings.
The sensors use passive infra-red technology which does not like the hostile outdoor environment - wind, rain, sunlight, cats and dogs moving around etc, so it's always a bit of a compromise.
richms, Aug 4, 10:52pm
I have usually got less than a year out of the elite/elto ones - they either start to come on all the time, or else just not come on at all unless you wave about 100mm infront of the sensor. Seems they just fill up with water and the lens goes opaque and cloudy within a year.

I had the reciept for one so took it back and got all sorts of lame excuses about how they are only any good under eaves and other crap like that. Guess thats what you get for $12 tho.