Outdoor light at my mailbox.

[Chukster]

Looking for suggestions on replacement for light fixture on top of my mailbox. Simple, right? Not so.

Mailbox post is a brick structure about 7 ft tall, 20 in. square, with a tongue sticking out front, about 4 ft tall for the mailbox to sit on. Simple, & brutally solid. Right next to the driveway.

At the top is an octagon electrical box, and I've had to do a variety of fixtures (over the course of 30 years) there to get a light on it. Post-lamp fixtures, jelly jar fixtures, etc. Most have failed one way or another; first the bulb goes, I don't get to it right away, then when I go to change it out the socket is filled with dirt & dust & bug legs, and unshiney contacts. It's to the point I don't even bother any more.

Electrical feed is plain romex; 2 conductor, up thru a conduit embedded up thru the center of the bricks. Very short pigtails to attach to. And yes, romex all the way back to the house, about 70 feet and in thru a hole in the foundation. Buried probably less than a foot, maybe not even 6 inches.

House built around 68, so all the lighting done is two-wire, no grounds. Yeah.

So, if I want to do it right:
1) Take feed from a grounded circuit
2) Buried, UF cable? or appropr. cable inside buried conduit?
3) Sure have to come up the back side of the tall section; not pretty, but it will be what it will be.
4) How can I keep from losing bulbs? What magic paste or unholy incantations do I need?

Funny thing is there's a common 4" diam. metal post light at the front sidewalk, same kinda wiring scheme, it's never given us trouble beyond a bulb replacement not and then.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

what kind of bulbs are we talking here? whats their life expectancy? how often does this bulb run? dusk to dawn? 24/7? motion?

yes the wire should be replaced with either THWN in pipe or UF-b. If you put it on a GFCI at the house, you wont have to bury it more than 12" assuming its not under concrete. see table 300.5

 

[Neggy]

run a new cable to it !!!

without a GFCI someone is going to get fried at some point if the insulation along the run goes bad from age or compromised.

18" min depth below grade, do it in Pipe and over size it

Dig 10' a day and in a week you are there

 

[aka Larry]

No pictures?

 

[alfredeneuman]

do it in Pipe and over size it

It's a very small, fixed load. Oversizing it would do nothing except increase the cost.

 

[djhutt]

Put a low voltage led fixture at the mailbox use the existing wire and put the transformer in the house.

 

[Neggy]

It's a very small, fixed load. Oversizing it would do nothing except increase the cost.

I was thinking more the size of the conduit, not the wire.

 

[alfredeneuman]

I was thinking more the size of the conduit, not the wire.

It runs directly to light and you won't be adding any more wires to it.

 

[greg13]

you could try a solar light, prices have come way down and the quality has gotten much better.

 

[Chukster]

Put a low voltage led fixture at the mailbox use the existing wire and put the transformer in the house.

OOoooh, I kinda like that idea; I've been wondering about the idea of LV LED's in the tin shed in the back yard, which is dark on the brightest of days. (too many hardwoods overhead). Tho I'll probably pull new wiring, appropriate for LV. Something about using Romex in a non-standard way - smacks of the firehouses I've seen running lamp cord from the radio receiver & relay out to the siren contactor - electrically it works, but soooo wrong, esp if someone expects it to be speaker wire and cuts it.


There used to be an outdoor floodlight on a pole at the far corner of the driveway pad, also fed with 2 wire Romex, buried only about 6" down. I found that wire the day I went to plant some hydrangea bushes by the deck.

The switch is by the kitchen door, and we've done it several ways over the years. Plain switch, straight and try to remember to turn it off in the AM. Photocell off the fixture, too, but again, that becomes intermittent somehow.

Pics coming.

 

[alfredeneuman]

Put a low voltage led fixture at the mailbox use the existing wire and put the transformer in the house.

The wire still has to be suitable for wet locations. NM is not

 

[PoorUB]

How about solar powered LED? Maybe something like this? LED Post Light

Another thing you could do to make the existing wiring safer is put it on a GFCI.

 

[Shiftless]

How about solar powered LED? Maybe something like this? LED Post Light

Another thing you could do to make the existing wiring safer is put it on a GFCI.

The lumen output of that style light is quite low. They are good for accent lighting, or maybe every 4 feet along a pathway, but if you rely on a single one of them to illuminate a pathway for any distance, you won’t be happy.

 

[Bretny]

The lumen output of that style light is quite low. They are good for accent lighting, or maybe every 4 feet along a pathway, but if you rely on a single one of them to illuminate a pathway for any distance, you won’t be happy.

This is basicly mood lighting at a mailbox. My mail box dosnt have a light, I'm not sure how I ever find it.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

The NM lasted 50 years. I'd replace it with wire rated for underground. You should be able to use the conduit in the current base.

Bugs, dirt etc. have more to do with the fixture than the wiring. On a few outdoor situations where bulb have a short lifespan I've found that the fixture (or a portion of the base) was mounted with 2 screws and wasn't very solid. The fixture would "rock" or rattle when the wind blows. Most have a foam gasket that reduces this. Thick rubber works better and lasts longer.

 

[PoorUB]

My post on the LED post light was just meant to to create some thought in a different direction. By no means was I suggesting that specific light.

 

[Shiftless]

My post on the LED post light was just meant to to create some thought in a different direction. By no means was I suggesting that specific light.

And that was a good suggestion. Solar powered lights are often the best way to go when wiring to house current is too difficult or expensive. The yard lights sold in the $10 range with photovoltaic cells the size of a postage stamp and crappy little batteries have limited usefulness. There are much better options but of course, they are more expensive.

I have no connection to these guys but here is a link to some serious solar powered post lights.

Premium Solar Lamp Post Lights – Elegant and Eco-Friendly Outdoor Lighting

Discover elegant and eco-friendly solar lamp post lights at Outdoor Solar Store. Shop our premium collection, featuring durable and weather-resistant designs perfect for any outdoor space. Easy installation and low maintenance.

www.outdoorsolarstore.com

 

[Chukster]

And that was a good suggestion. Solar powered lights are often the best way to go when wiring to house current is too difficult or expensive. The yard lights sold in the $10 range with photovoltaic cells the size of a postage stamp and crappy little batteries have limited usefulness. There are much better options but of course, they are more expensive.

I have no connection to these guys but here is a link to some serious solar powered post lights.

Premium Solar Lamp Post Lights – Elegant and Eco-Friendly Outdoor Lighting

Discover elegant and eco-friendly solar lamp post lights at Outdoor Solar Store. Shop our premium collection, featuring durable and weather-resistant designs perfect for any outdoor space. Easy installation and low maintenance.

www.outdoorsolarstore.com

Hate those little Walmart-level lites with a passion - cheap design, cheaply made, no reliability. Total FWOMPT & resources.

 

[PoorUB]

My wife has a couple decorative lights she picked up at a second hand store. They look like an old fashioned oil lamp glass chimney with a wire frame. She wanted lights in them and I ended up finding two LED rope lights with a solar panel and batteries. I stuffed the "rope" into the chimney and hung them from the eaves over our deck. They gave out nice mood lighting after dark. After a sunny day the would run until 4 AM. One finally quit after 3 years of continuous use. Not bad for $15.

 

[Chukster]

Ah! Got pictures!

Standard brick construction, conduit or maybe just a channel up thru the middle of the stack; well mortared in place. Grrr. Well, guess they didn't know any better back then.

You can see why I figure I'll have to run a conduit up the back, away from the street.

 

[Shiftless]

Nice!
While you’re at it, maybe put that illuminated address plaque back in service. Good for emergency responders to find your house at night.
I have that exact 3 tier pagoda light fixture near some stairs. I put a 12 volt led bulb in and wired it into my landscape lighting circuit.

 

[Chukster]

Nice!
While you’re at it, maybe put that illuminated address plaque back in service. Good for emergency responders to find your house at night.
I have that exact 3 tier pagoda light fixture near some stairs. I put a 12 volt led bulb in and wired it into my landscape lighting circuit.

Ah, but this is another attempt that didn't work out. Been dark for a couple years. That's why I'm on here.

Oh, and 10-4 on the illuminated sign, I'll have to find some way to run that too. One of those cheapo bargain outlet things from a few years ago, that (I predicted) didn't last. I hate cheap designs; FWOMPT. And it doesn't really matter at the mailbox; The house number is for the street that's in front of the front door. The driveway & mailbox are at the side of the house; on a cul-de-sac. Don't worry, house number at the front door is very visible.

FWIW, wife ordered some landscape lighting from here; https://www.voltlighting.com/

Good quality construction etc. I'll be looking at that for this project.

 

[Shiftless]

Volt lighting is among the best.