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Started By
Message
Posted on 9/25/20 at 12:44 am to DevilDogTiger
Ok I've immersed myself in this nonsense like nothing else all day and night.
Here's a few things I've found:
- the 200 watt ring 'smart transformer' @ $99 seems like the ideal transformer to buy and of course amazon/ring's customer support is legendary so why save $10 buying a dumb/timer transformer?
- for 20+ lights that i'm planning the 12 gauge wire is the way to go. i wouldn't go with anything higher especially if you may want to add to your lighting later on.
- waterproofing is key. the weak link once you've calculated the # of lights, watts & distance..is poor connections. there are several connectors but important to buy the type that has the die-electric grease/gel and seals up. if you're connecting 20 lights, that is 40 potential points of failure (2 connectors per light) so pay a little extra and get good connectors. use something like this:
- its a bit of an art form but i'm getting a general feel of how i can 'paint' my house w/ a combination of spotlights, pathway lights and tree lights. looks like i have to figure out whether to screw a light into the trunk of the tree, put several floods around it or even mount a spotlight in the middle of the trunk pointing up. the trees will take the most amount of thought.
- i'm running 200-300ft of trenches so that $100 wilton trenching spade is a no-brainer. i would pay twice that amount.
- looks like i can buy a diamond blade for my circular saw and cut across one of my driveway expansion joints to cross over. seems like a no-brainer to cut across where there's already a potential gap.
in typical CAD fashion this will probably crash and burn but i'm pretty excited so far. i feel better about maintaining & replacing failed lights now that i know its not magic to connect them.
Here's a few things I've found:
- the 200 watt ring 'smart transformer' @ $99 seems like the ideal transformer to buy and of course amazon/ring's customer support is legendary so why save $10 buying a dumb/timer transformer?
- for 20+ lights that i'm planning the 12 gauge wire is the way to go. i wouldn't go with anything higher especially if you may want to add to your lighting later on.
- waterproofing is key. the weak link once you've calculated the # of lights, watts & distance..is poor connections. there are several connectors but important to buy the type that has the die-electric grease/gel and seals up. if you're connecting 20 lights, that is 40 potential points of failure (2 connectors per light) so pay a little extra and get good connectors. use something like this:
- its a bit of an art form but i'm getting a general feel of how i can 'paint' my house w/ a combination of spotlights, pathway lights and tree lights. looks like i have to figure out whether to screw a light into the trunk of the tree, put several floods around it or even mount a spotlight in the middle of the trunk pointing up. the trees will take the most amount of thought.
- i'm running 200-300ft of trenches so that $100 wilton trenching spade is a no-brainer. i would pay twice that amount.
- looks like i can buy a diamond blade for my circular saw and cut across one of my driveway expansion joints to cross over. seems like a no-brainer to cut across where there's already a potential gap.
in typical CAD fashion this will probably crash and burn but i'm pretty excited so far. i feel better about maintaining & replacing failed lights now that i know its not magic to connect them.
This post was edited on 9/25/20 at 1:08 am
Posted on 9/25/20 at 8:09 am to CAD703X
I’m excited for you. I remember you talking about this months ago.
Does each transformer only run one wire? I was kind of hoping I could run one left and right out if it. But I’ll probably need 2 anyway.
Does each transformer only run one wire? I was kind of hoping I could run one left and right out if it. But I’ll probably need 2 anyway.
Posted on 9/25/20 at 8:55 am to LSURN98
I did it myself. It honestly wasn't hard to do. Just buy a large spool of the LV wiring and the lights that you need with a large enough power supply. If you need to run it under a sidewalk, there's a very simple tool that allows you to run PVC under your sidewalk and connect a hose to it to tunnel it through.
Posted on 9/25/20 at 9:17 am to LSURN98
On recommendation from here I put in a big volt system at my new house. They have great packages at costco. I tried to piece mill the backyard myself and ended up returning everything and doing another volt package because I realized the costs were going to be similar and volt had much higher quality product
Volt at Costco
Volt at Costco
Posted on 9/25/20 at 9:45 am to CAD703X
quote:
looks like i can buy a diamond blade for my circular saw and cut across one of my driveway expansion joints to cross over. seems like a no-brainer to cut across where there's already a potential gap
There was a great thread here recently on how to tunnel a driveway. I would do that and run some conduit before I sawed my concrete.
Posted on 9/25/20 at 10:21 am to LSURN98
VOLT lighting. I did it myself. Super easy and has been great so far.
Posted on 9/25/20 at 10:21 am to OysterPoBoy
quote:my bathroom redo and repairing rotten deck boards has gotten in the way of this project. i haven't forgetten it though!
I’m excited for you. I remember you talking about this months ago.
quote:
Does each transformer only run one wire? I was kind of hoping I could run one left and right out if it. But I’ll probably need 2 anyway.
i think you would just twist-tie 2 or 3 wires together and shove that shite into the transformer opening. its stranded wire and i saw a Lowes video where the woman twisted 4 12g wires together and was able to shove the whole thing into the transformer connector. i'll look for that video.
Posted on 9/25/20 at 10:27 am to CAD703X
my biggest disappointment is the lack of low voltage post lights.
i checked ebay, amazon, home depot and lowes and came up with shite.
i hit a couple specialty landscape lighting sites and they only had about 3 options and they were $300+ each
so unless y'all can find me a decent option for under $100/ea that uses low voltage, i'm seriously considering these heavy duty amazon solar post lights. they would get plenty of sun and since they're mounted on the brick i wouldnt mow them over. i hate the idea of solar lights but if i went this route that would make the rest of the landscape lighting job much much MUCH easier because i would only need to hit the crab apples trees in the middle of the yard and not have to deal with a massive run to the street at each corner of the driveway.
i checked ebay, amazon, home depot and lowes and came up with shite.
i hit a couple specialty landscape lighting sites and they only had about 3 options and they were $300+ each
so unless y'all can find me a decent option for under $100/ea that uses low voltage, i'm seriously considering these heavy duty amazon solar post lights. they would get plenty of sun and since they're mounted on the brick i wouldnt mow them over. i hate the idea of solar lights but if i went this route that would make the rest of the landscape lighting job much much MUCH easier because i would only need to hit the crab apples trees in the middle of the yard and not have to deal with a massive run to the street at each corner of the driveway.
Posted on 9/25/20 at 10:31 am to FieldEngineer
quote:
There was a great thread here recently on how to tunnel a driveway. I would do that and run some conduit before I sawed my concrete.
2 things:
1. i live in limestone TN so there's more rock under my driveway than dirt. going under it would be a huge pain.
2. i'm cutting where the expansion joint is so its already potentially open enough to fish a wire in there; i would just be using the saw to make sure the opening is wide enough.
Posted on 9/25/20 at 10:04 pm to CAD703X
quote:
my biggest disappointment is the lack of low voltage post lights.
I bought some solar landscape lights at Sam's Club years ago that worked really well and used AA lithium batteries. The only problem was they were a weird voltage for AA batteries (not the normal 1.5V) and cost close to $5 each to replace. You will need to replace the batteries every couple of years or more.
Posted on 9/26/20 at 9:36 am to CAD703X
CAD, I'm pretty sure you need the Ring lighting bridge for that transformer.
Posted on 9/26/20 at 10:30 am to mctiger1985
I pointed that out earlier in the thread. It's like $19.
Posted on 9/27/20 at 4:46 pm to CAD703X
Ahh, didn't even read that page. Just went through it. Looks like Amazon has another roll of wire for $57 now if no one noticed yet.
Posted on 9/27/20 at 7:46 pm to LSURN98
Did along front of my house (very wide) for about $300. Quote was $1000. Transformer was about $50 from Amazon. Neighbor worked at Notoco at the time and made fun, but 4 years later, it’s still running.
Posted on 9/27/20 at 10:46 pm to nolanola
quote:I'm intrigued by the kit but it's very expensive for the number of lights I plan to install. The starter kit at $500 only comes with 3 pathway lights and 6 floods. I'll need to spend another $500+ in expansion kits at least to cover what I want.
VOLT Brand Lighting - DIY
Too high for me although I do like the lever connectors. I don't mind to fuss with a little gel and stripping cables. It's not that much work.
I like the little sleeve that you can adjust on the well lights to reduce glare too. Definitely noted that so any lights I buy I'm going to look for that feature.
eta i should clarify: my current budget is $1,000 for this project (pending the sale of a few of those nest cameras I have left!) but for that amount i expect to get 15-20 lights, the wiring, the waterproof connectors, that trenching tool ($129 alone) and the Ring smart transformer so i won't have to depend on a photo cell or mechanical timer.
This post was edited on 9/28/20 at 9:00 am
Posted on 9/28/20 at 9:09 am to CAD703X
quote:I've never had any issues w/ my photocell. If anything the Ring will be more work b/c you will have to change the time for different times of the year w/ the sun set/rise times changing.
he Ring smart transformer so i won't have to depend on a photo cell or mechanical timer.
Posted on 9/28/20 at 9:22 am to Neauxla
quote:
If anything the Ring will be more work b/c you will have to change the time for different times of the year w/ the sun set/rise times changing.
it has sunrise/sunset offset based on your location like all my smart lights do.
Posted on 9/29/20 at 9:36 am to CAD703X
Anyone know about the transformer here? I like the set but can't find any specs on that thing.
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