Landscape Transformers. Save From the Dump

[etherhuffer]

So, I had a Malibu transformer that had the timer die, rendering it either manual or useless. But after some thought, why toss it? So, take the transformer that has dead electronics and simply remove those. Run wires from transformer to a corded plug. You now have a 'dumb' transformer. Simply buy an outdoor electric timer of your choice and plug the transformer into it. I used a Sylvania timer with lattitude/longitude programming and its been going for 10 years. Not worth it for low wattage transformers, , but 200-300W transformers are not cheap. For about 40 bucks you can 'fix' a dead transformer.

 

[etherhuffer]

Oops, wrong section!

 

[The Cobbler]

moved .

 

[slimpickins]

Have you ever thought about using switching power supplies? They are cheap! 12V 10A is CDN$20 on amazon. 40A is CDN $42. Or even better, salvage your old computer power supplies and use the 12V leg(s) (there are usually several) for your landscape lighting. With computer power supply you will have to figure out the switch leg to turn the thing on. Google is your friend for this.

 

[ordpete944]

I had a Malibu 600 watt landscape transformer with an electric timer die on me years ago. I used a wireless remote switch that HD sells for Christmas lights. It worked great to turn it off and on when I needed to for light in the backyard. It's sad that they don't last a decent amount of time anymore.

 

[Zeke]

Of course Malibu is no longer and the cheap timer/transformers were likely part of the problem. I read bout this and a lot of NOS POS Malibu parts are being sold on the bay, etc. I just got one that was dead timer wise. Rather than send it back, I'm doing what you're doing. The transformers themselves are not the bigger problem. The timer mechanism is.

 

[etherhuffer]

Have you ever thought about using switching power supplies? They are cheap! 12V 10A is CDN$20 on amazon. 40A is CDN $42. Or even better, salvage your old computer power supplies and use the 12V leg(s) (there are usually several) for your landscape lighting. With computer power supply you will have to figure out the switch leg to turn the thing on. Google is your friend for this.

Excellent! Had not thought of that

 

[mrVanagon]

It's great to keep a transformer working with a little elbow grease but the key question is always- how big a transformer do you really need? I have a lot of customers who originally had halogen lighting systems for their landscaping. Over time they replaced all those 20 or 35 watt lights with modern LEDs that use 3 or 5 watts. Now they have a 1200watt transformer and a system that would work great with just a 100w transformer. I have many customers who will see more than a $100/month savings just from upgrading their transformer(s) to the right size.

I have a truck bed full of working old 300-1200W transformers waiting to go to the scrap yard.

 

[Innovate1]

It's great to keep a transformer working with a little elbow grease but the key question is always- how big a transformer do you really need? I have a lot of customers who originally had halogen lighting systems for their landscaping. Over time they replaced all those 20 or 35 watt lights with modern LEDs that use 3 or 5 watts. Now they have a 1200watt transformer and a system that would work great with just a 100w transformer. I have many customers who will see more than a $100/month savings just from upgrading their transformer(s) to the right size.

I have a truck bed full of working old 300-1200W transformers waiting to go to the scrap yard.

I agree with most of that but the $100 a month savings is rediculous. It's not like a 1200W transformer will draw 1200W when lightly loaded. My electric bill for my whole house is only about $150 a month. For round numbers consider power to be $0.10 per kWh which should be fairly close in this part of the country. $100 would be 1000 kWh. In a month you have about 720 hours. That would be saving over 1 kW continuously if running 24 hours per day. I doubt many people are going to save an average of over 1000 watts of power by going to smaller transformers. Maybe for large commercial accounts but even then it seems doubtful. They will save a little though.

 

[mrVanagon]

I agree with most of that but the $100 a month savings is rediculous. It's not like a 1200W transformer will draw 1200W when lightly loaded. My electric bill for my whole house is only about $150 a month. For round numbers consider power to be $0.10 per kWh which should be fairly close in this part of the country. $100 would be 1000 kWh. In a month you have about 720 hours. That would be saving over 1 kW continuously if running 24 hours per day. I doubt many people are going to save an average of over 1000 watts of power by going to smaller transformers. Maybe for large commercial accounts but even then it seems doubtful. They will save a little though.

I should have pointed out that the $100/month savings was based on the customer having two 1200W systems (typically a front yard system and a backyard one)

 

[Innovate1]

I should have pointed out that the $100/month savings was based on the customer having two 1200W systems (typically a front yard system and a backyard one)

Still not going to realize anything close to that for just the transformer change which is what you claimed. It might be possible with bulbs too but still seems a stretch. Here's a link to an discussion of this I found.
https://www.ecmweb.com/content/article/20885436/ask-the-experts
Comparison is 75kVA transformer 30% loaded vs 30 kVA transformer 75% loaded. Annual savings was about $28. And it is a MUCH bigger system. So there is a savings but it is fairly small.

 

[mrVanagon]

Still not going to realize anything close to that for just the transformer change which is what you claimed. It might be possible with bulbs too but still seems a stretch. Here's a link to an discussion of this I found.
https://www.ecmweb.com/content/article/20885436/ask-the-experts
Comparison is 75kVA transformer 30% loaded vs 30 kVA transformer 75% loaded. Annual savings was about $28. And it is a MUCH bigger system. So there is a savings but it is fairly small.

Fair enough. The bulk of the savings is from converting to lower-consuming bulbs as you pointed out.