Motion Security Light

[Da Bull]

I am in the market for a new motion security light. Are they all junk? Lowes and Home Depot both sell Heath-Zenith which only last 2 - 3 years then they are done. My latest one stays on all the time now. What do you guys recommend?

 

[The Cobbler]

heloo Neighbor
I've not had any real luck with motion lights.

 

[Mustang51js]

RAB is the best you can get and come with a 10 year warranty

 

[Zippercat]

RAB is the best you can get and come with a 10 year warranty

So far, very happy with mine. As these Amazon reviews show, this light is not cheap but most buyers think it's worth the price. Me included.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000W3YI6W/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[CamarosRus]

I also have a RAB Motion Flood Light, same price as above but different
shaped housings..............RAB is made in China, but much better quality than
any other similar appearing light

You could also buy the RAB Motion unit and fabricate your own set up
using Lithonia or Cooper Floodlights

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000W3UH4O/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Chilliwack Murray]

We've had numerous (10+) of the $30-$50 ones from HD and Rona and Canadian Tire over the years but like you say, never seem to last.

The one's we've bought at Costco seem to have (mostly) lasted indefinitely - 4 were still going after 5 years when we moved except one that pointed into the sun and another that was getting water inside.

Just bought the $50 LED motion sensors - not sure if they are on clearance yet but hopefully have similar luck with these.

Only drawback with Costco is you can't go back in 6 months or a year and buy another matching light.

 

[Toolfool]

I'm replacing all five of my motion-activated floodlights one at a time with Lithonia LED fixtures. Buying off Amazon. Not cheap, but they're bright and the bulbs won't blow when rain mist hits them.

 

[dogdog]

I wonder what happened to that EML branded flood light, I have 3 of their lights when they were selling at costco , it's been installed for 6 years still running day and night, only thing I change is the bulb into LED floods to save energy.

The HD ones don't even last 1 winter before it started acting all weird, as in lights constantly no matter at what setting , and off at night sometimes, it just won't want to turn on.

 

[Da Bull]

Thanks Guys! I will see if they sell RAB up here in Canada.

 

[LifeLongWNYer]

Really dig until you find RAB, it will be worth it and they do have a website.

I had couple of Heath motion sensor lights and it seemed like one failed every year, so I was always replacing one. After a while, Heath started giving me a hard time about replacing them, even though they always failed before the warranty ended.

Finally, I replaced both Heath motion sensor fixtures with RABs and love them. 5 + years with one motion sensor failure. I called them, and told them about the failure, they said no problem send it to us and we'll send you a new one. I asked if there was any way they could send the new one first, as the light is high and it is a real pain to get the ladder up and down. They said "no problem" and about 3 days later the sensor arrived. I made the swap, and returned to old one, and they were right, no problems. They are great to deal with and talk intelligently ( and understandably ) on the phone.

As I was taking the old one down, I noticed it was full of water, I guess expectedly so, since it was right under the drip edge. I put up a short length of gutter up to protect it, and have had no more failures.


.

 

[LEVE]

I've used the Zenith Heath motion lights for over a decade. At first, like most, I found they failed quicker than I'd like. They'd stay on. A rap with my letherman tool up the side of the housing and the lamp would go out, until next time. I opened one up and looked at the relay on the PCB. The relay would stick closed, I suspect the contacts arced closed; I was using high wattage flood-lamps. I swapped out the relays for better ones, and that seemed to cure the problem at $10 per relay. It wasn't the answer I was looking for.

One day I was at WalMart and I found CFL's that were made for recessed can lights. They had the same shape of the floodlight, but drew a lot less current when on. I bought a couple and replaced the flood-lights on the deck to try them out. They worked like a charm.

Like most CFL's they took a while to come up to full brilliance. But I didn't need full brilliance. Most of my lights were set to go off after a couple of minutes. They became my bulb of choice for the lights.

Late last month I just installed three motion activated Zenith lights on my new house, two on the front walk and one between the back door and the detached garage. I plan to add two more this summer under the eaves and lighting the parking area.

I won't have to change bulbs for years, nor will I be frying the relays in the flood-lights due to the lower current draw. It was the answer I was looking for....

 

[dogdog]

I've used the Zenith Heath motion lights for over a decade. At first, like most, I found they failed quicker than I'd like. They'd stay on. A rap with my letherman tool up the side of the housing and the lamp would go out, until next time. I opened one up and looked at the relay on the PCB. The relay would stick closed, I suspect the contacts arced closed; I was using high wattage flood-lamps. I swapped out the relays for better ones, and that seemed to cure the problem at $10 per relay. It wasn't the answer I was looking for. .......
.

If this is the real cause of the problem then you are confirming these sensor lights belongs to landfills.

 

[BillK]

Bull,
The Heath Zenith light on the side of my house is probably 15 years old. Never had an issue with it and it still works fine.

 

[Riverside]

A lot of people have suggested RAB lights. I see that RAB has motion sensor lights selling from ~$30 to ~$125. I'm sure the more expensive ones are better, but are their basic models OK too?

 

[TonkaJoe]

Bull,
The Heath Zenith light on the side of my house is probably 15 years old. Never had an issue with it and it still works fine.

^ I can attest to this also, I was looking for a good quality light at a reasonable price for the man door at the side of my garage. Didn't really want to go with floods and ended up finding a Zenith Lantern style fixture at HD to match my garage Lanterns. It's set on a dusk-dawn sensor and runs at a constant 60W at night unless motion is detected then it hits a full 100W for a pre set amount of time. I really like the fixture and it's been a great solution for myself for the last number of years.

 

[Bigbandguy]

I have had good luck with the one Lowes sells. The latest is about three years old and replaced one that took a near lightning hit. This latest one fades the light up instead of just turning it on. I have never had to change bulbs in this one, no doubt because of this. I like the feature and the light has behaved flawlessly. I wish I knew the brand but I do remember that it came from Lowes and was not a particularly high end model. It is a big improvement over the one it replaced.

 

[bagged89s10]

I have one from lowes I believe. It's 7 years old with no issues and the same bulb. I still have one brand new in the box I never installed on the opposite end of my house. I will take a picture of the box when I get home tonight.

 

[bagged89s10]

This is what I have and it never has any issues.

 

[FlyBy]

I just put in an RAB Super Stealth flood light with a 360 degree motion sensor under the eave on my garage. It's built like a tank, has multiple light modes and a good adjustment in sensitivity. Plus it's all metal construction and made in the USA. Also nice that in the lamp hoods there are rubber gaskets to prevent bugs/moisture from getting to the bulb socket.

They do run on flood-style halogen bulbs, but accept the LED flood bulbs. a pure LED light was too bright/annoying for my garage location. I was tired of the cheap **** they sell at the big box stores.

It's a little pricy, but it has gone lower than the price below on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000W3YI26/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1