Saturday, June 28, 2014

Cheap Heath Zenith HD-9250-WH-C 270 Degree Journeyman Motion Sensing

Heath Zenith HD-9250-WH-C 270 Degree Journeyman Motion Sensing Security Light with Shields, White
Customer Ratings: 3.5 stars
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HeathCo JourneyMan Motion Sensing Security Light, model HD-9250

We made the mistake of installing 3 of these HeathCo JourneyMan security motion sensor security lights, on the left, right, and back sides of the house. I am constantly replacing the back light, having replaced it at least 5 times. The box claims:

"Built to last a lifetime"

"aged, weather tested rubber gaskets", "seal internal components and controls from severe environmental conditions."

"1.25 Mega Watt Surge Protection."

The back light is the one which is on the most. I rarely use the side lights which usually remain off. I am constantly having to return it to my "home" retailer and replace it. I am sick and tired of having to stand on a ladder and install a new one. It is not, BTW, an easy feat to hold the new light and connect the 3 wires to the outdoor box.

There are 2 sensors on these security lights: a motion detector and a light detector. The light detector prevents the light from turning on during the day thereby wasting electricity. If it's not the entire light failing, it's something else. I have replaced the HeathCo so many times it's making me manic.

All of these security lights are made in China and HeathCo is no exception. HeathCo's China plant needs more quality control and testing. 2 days ago I replaced it because its light detector failed. The new one kept going on and off all night long in 2 minute intervals. There was NOTHING in front of it moving and since it has 2 90 watt floodlight bulbs, it was wasting a lot of electricity.

The only positive element here is it has a "Lifetime Warranty" so I was not forced to pay for a replacement... yet. Unless you really need an automatic light, I suggest sticking with a switched light. The HeathCo is the most expensive and supposedly highest quality light available. There's a 30% chance it will be defective right out of the box! Their Chinese manufacturer appears to be cutting corners and HeathCo needs to manage them better. Apparently HeathCo has no one watching the production lines in China.

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China QC is terrible. Not just an inconvenience, and call backs, but I wonder about potential home electrical fires. I am pulling these all out.

In the last three months I have installed one wall mount motion light, one soffit mount motion light (Heath), three lighted three way paddle switches (Lutron) and three lutron paddle 3way switches with dimmers.

I have had three switch failure right out of the box, 2 switch failures where led doens't work after two weeks, soffit light fails to turn off the first time it senses and trips on, and the wall mount light cycles on about 2 seconds after switch is turned on, never goes to auto, and stay on all the time.

Have checked out all the circuits and settings, and I am engineer. The quality is just junk. Why do the companies here accept this stuff? because the american consumer buys on price mostly. We are our own worst enemy.

Leviton and lutron mexico seem better but not trouble free either.

kcj

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I too have had to replace this unit twice due to sensor failures. They seem to work fine for a year or two tops, then the trouble starts. My first unit would sometimes turn on, sometimes not, and yes it was aimed and calibrated properly. I know this was a sensor problem since it worked fine if switched on manually, and the settings and aiming were not tampered with at all. The second (replacement) unit lasted about the same time before similar trouble developed, and this one likes to stay on in broad daylight, all day long, even without any movement in the field. Very frustrating, like another reviewer said it is not a lot of fun climbing a ladder and struggling to balance the fixture when it needs to be replaced. I chose this unit precisely because the manufacturer touts its reliability and quality as selling points, and precisely because I hoped to avoid these problems by paying more up front. There must be a better unit out there somewhere!

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Extremely hard to properly aim an acceptable coverage area. Light relay sometimes sticks in the on position requiring one to "smack" the unit to shut off the lights.

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Installed when I resided my house. Unit worked as advertised for less than one year. I removed it and put it on the bench to test. Faulty sensors or internal switches. Lasted less than a year. Unfixable. Junk electronics but great housing. Housings don't light the driveway

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Discount American Lighting 043X-4-BS Hardwired Xenon Under Cabinet Lighting

American Lighting 043X-4-BS Hardwired Xenon Under Cabinet Lighting, Brushed Steel, 32-Inch
Customer Ratings: 4 stars
List Price: $129.00
Sale Price: $83.71
Today's Bonus: 35% Off
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As other reviewers have mentioned, these are not packaged well. But that is the shoddy packaging of American Lighting, not Amazon. I had a similar issue with a broken end cap. Amazon took care of it quickly and easily with a cross-shipped replacement.

I have the brushed steel version of this in 3 different sizes, but they are really all the same aside from the cost. The lights put out a decent amount of light, and the light is similar to an incandescent bulb, so somewhat yellow.

Installation wasn't too difficult, but make sure you leave a long enough wire when the electrical is run. On the larger (34 in) fixtures the feed hole can be almost 2 feet from where you make the connection inside the fixture. As other reviews have mentioned, its very tight in there and you don't want to be forced to extend the wires. I'm of average handiness and was able to install 3 of these lights in an hour or 2.

As another review mentioned, it is not possible to use the clamps that screw into the punch-outs and hold the feed wire in place. They are too tall for the low profile lights, and really just poorly made. Ironically, these useless clamps are the piece that sometimes will be bumped into the plastic end caps during shipping, breaking the end caps.

In another review someone mentioned that the magnets that hold the cover up are not strong enough. None of my lights had this problem at all. The magnets were more than strong enough to keep the cover tightly closed.

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These are good lights and are generally good quality. Some reviewers noted that the wire clamps, which are boxed at one end of each fixture, can damage the plastic ends, though the three I ordered did not have this problem. Each of my fixtures held two Xenon bulbs, and one of the sockets in one of the fixtures seems to be damaged in some way and cannot receive the bulb. Amazon is sending a replacement. Lesson from this is that there is some chance you'll be making an exchange. Xenon lights are incandescent and product the same warm light you are probably familiar with from regular light bulbs. They are supposed to be superior to halogen lighting, but both produce a fair amount of heat. I will update my review if the heat generated from these fixtures produces any headaches.

Aside from the plastic ends, construction uses a good amount of metal and is generally high quality. Internal wiring is also decent. When you disassemble the pieces you will want to do so carefully, and never force something apart. There are plastic/metal elements to the front magnetic hinge which can bend and, though this is easily fixed, can lead to future headaches.

Installation Tips:

I am quite comfortable with electrical wiring so that probably impacts my thoughts on this process. If appropriate for your application I recommend tying all connected fixtures to a dimmable light switch. Leave the fixtures set to high and adjust the light to a level that pleases you from a single location. I have not noticed any sort of frustrating flicker at dimmed levels as one reviewer mentioned, nor have I heard any buzzing (mine are on a cheap $15 Leviton dimmer, comparable to R10-IPI06-1LM). The easier ways to install these fixtures are to daisy-chain them from one fixture through side connectors (I am using three, with one chained on the right and another on the left) or using the connector cables (sold separately) with the same ports. You could also connect them with Romex using additional knock-out ports and the push-in wire connectors attached to the internal junctions (see below).

The 14" lights feature three knock-out ports on the back for wiring into the fixture and, as reviewers have mentioned, they *are* hard to open. One reviewer suggested using a Dremel and that would work nicely. I just hammered away at it with my needle nose pliers and got it open. The bolt which attaches the wire clams does not have enough room to turn inside the fixture. To resolve this issue turn the wire clamp itself into the bolt and install the third piece (which clamps down on the wires) after you've got the wires in. Each connection point inside the fixture attaches to a push-in wire connector with room for two additional wires. They work well and could be used to daisy chain additional fixtures with Romex using additional knock-out ports without too much trouble. If your existing wiring was not long enough to get to the connection points inside the fixture (apparently a problem with the longer fixtures) you could create a junction inside the fixture using a two-slot Ideal push-in wire connector and some patience

Oh, and a final note. The instructions with my fixture described mounting screws and then slipping the fixture up onto them and sliding it into place. My fixture had simple screw-sized holes. My instructions described the internal grounding wire as green (which would be fairly normal), but in my fixtures the grounding wire inside the fixture is yellow.

Good luck! Despite some headaches, I'm happy with this product.

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The lights are attractive. Difficult to install. You can not leave the lights on for a long period of time. They get really hot!!! I would not recommend these lights.

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I am completely redoing my ktichen. Spent a fortune on having all cabinets wired for undercaibnet lighting. These lights are beautiful and very slim. My electrician brought his own, but I liked mine much better. They really seem great at a great price point. Especially like the magnetic cover. Fit very nicely under the cabinet and you really can not see them. Did alot of research and find these are a best buy all the way around

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I'll sum it up quickly:

Pros:

Easy to open and change bulbs as face is magnetic

Sleek design, very low profile

Cons:

Difficult to hardwire, knockouts are almost as thick as the unit and they do not knockout out at all. They must be drilled with a cobalt drill bit. I nicked the wiring inside while doing the drilling and also scraped up the unit itself.

If you knockout at the far left back (facing the unit) it's difficult to compact all the wiring back into the unit in order to close the cover. There's just too much wiring passing thru such a small case.

The linking cables are huge.....taking away from the sleek design. If you have two long cabinets flanking a shorter sink cabinet, then find another light!!! The linking cables would ruin the whole look. I thought I would solve the problem by mounting on top of the cabinets and running the linking cable down the filler space.....nope.....not an option....they don't make long enough linking cables.

Overall: Would not buy again. I missed my return window so now I have very expensive over cabinet lighting!!!!!

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ASP Tactical Triad (Led Baton Light) Review

ASP Tactical Triad
Customer Ratings: 3 stars
List Price: $125.00
Sale Price: $105.73
Today's Bonus: 15% Off
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I have had 2 of these lights and they stop working due to impact from closing your baton. I have tried to contact ASP and they will not respond.

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I dropped it once in my driveway just after installing it and now it wobbles back and forth as if something inside has broken.

For something theoretically designed to be attached to a police/defensive weapon, it sure didn't take much punishment. I think I'll try the cheap chinese model next at less than one third the price.

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I purchased two of these units for my two ASP LeverLoc 21inch tactical batons.

Within 30 days or use, both flashlights broke.

Without any actual striking or making contact with the baton ( only taking practice swings in the air ) and occasionally *gently* turning the flashlight on, both units broke in separate places. Plastic is shoddy / cracked with no real use at all.

I spent over $100 and now I have two broken lights.

If this has been a survival situation where a flashlight was needed, I would have died.

DO NOT BUY

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Others report problems with it being fragile, but I never had any problems with it over the last couple years of light field use. The one gripe I do have is that it's far too dim for the price. If you just absolutely have to have a light on your baton, do yourself a favor and save up a bit more for the high output version with 240 lumens. Otherwise, $75 can buy a significantly brighter flashlight that won't take up much more room on your duty belt or in your pocket.

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Having a flashlight at the end of the baton is welcomed addition. Being able to swing the baton around quickly into action makes the light a brilliant addition. This truly makes the light mounted under the barrel of the sidearm or on the baton a toss up. This light is very rugged and doesn't snag on draw.

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Review of Dolan Designs 468 Traditional / Classic 2 Light 12.5" Wide Bathroom

Dolan Designs 468 Traditional / Classic 2 Light 12.5' Wide Bathroom Fixture, Royal Bronze
Customer Ratings: 5 stars
List Price: $84.00
Sale Price: $63.00
Today's Bonus: 25% Off
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Chose this because I liked the design with it's wider back plate to cover an off center wiring hole. Installed with light down, it's looks beautiful over my white framed mirror.

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Friday, June 27, 2014

Reviews of Beautiful 5 Arc Satin Nickel Finish Floor Lamp Nice Valentine's Day

Beautiful 5 Arc Satin Nickel Finish Floor Lamp Nice Valentine's Day Gift
Customer Ratings: 4 stars
List Price: $164.99
Sale Price: $66.11
Today's Bonus: 60% Off
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I bought this lamp for my living room, which has a cathedral ceiling with no ceiling lighting (needed, since this lamp is surprisingly tall). It fits nicely in the corner, with one leg of the corner piece of my sectional passing through the loop of the base so it doesn't go anywhere. The brushed finish looks nice and the dimmer knob has a nice amount of resistance when turning, so it doesn't feel cheap. The body is tall enough that the dimmer knob is easily accessible a couple inches above the height of the back of my sectional.

The major problem with the lamp is that the connection between the body tube and the base is weak. Another reviewer mentioned this, but had a different issue than I had. Instead of welds breaking, for me the problem was the materials. Inside of the bottom end of the body is a rectangular bracket that is welded parallel with the bottom. It has a threaded hole drilled in it that a threaded metal tube fits in. This tube then passes through a hole in the base and is secured on the bottom side with a large washer and a nut.

The threaded tube did not fit securely in the threaded hole in the body with the parts I received in the initial shipment. This meant that when I tightened the bottom nut to secure the body to the base, a very minor sideways force on the body (less than you would expect from reasonable movement of the completed lamp, such as moving it into place) caused enough torque to make the threaded tube jump threads in the hole in the body. It was all downhill from there, as jumping threads caused both the threads on the tube and in the hole to progressively strip. I tried flipping the tube around as the other side seemed to be a bit more secure, but even this didn't work and eventually I could walk the tube out by hand by pulling it while rocking it back and forth.

The lamp was unusable at that point. I contacted the seller and, thankfully, they quickly agreed to send a replacement body and threaded tube. When these new parts arrived a few days later, I was able to successfully construct the lamp and move it into place with no incidents, though I was very conscious of the force I was applying throughout the process.

So, thanks to the seller for being accommodating. Unfortunately, I probably wouldn't buy this product again. It's cheap, but in this case you get what you pay for as the manufacturer clearly has part-to-part consistency and/or materials problems.

Another note for people interested in efficiency: this lamp comes with 40W incandescent candelabra bulbs. It is ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE to find dimmable CFLs of comparable power that have the candelabra base. I found only one source online, but have been reluctant to buy them at $11 apiece without shipping. One might try non-dimmable bulbs, which are much more readily available in this size (and cheaper) and only using the lamp at full power, but I'd still worry about bulb lifetime.

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Straight out of the 50's and 6o's, this heavy duty, well-made lamp speaks contemporary and traditional languages with ease. My only concern at first was that the arms of the lamp were stiff and pointed ceiling-ward. With time, though, tension in the arms has relaxed and the arms highlight contemporary paintings. I especially love the dimmer switch. Pricewise this lamp is outstanding.

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This really a beautiful lamp but beware of its size. It's only suited for homes with high ceilings. It does scorch an apartment ceiling because it gave off alot of light and heat.

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I have had this item for about 2 months now and I am very impressed with this lamp. It provides an abundance of light. It has a dimmer that can limit the amount of light down to next to nothing with no flickering or light surges.

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I bought this lamp to use behind our extra long sectional couch. We didn't have anywhere to put a conventional floor lamp so this was the perfect solution. I especially like the full dimmer switch so that I can easily adjust to brightness for all occasions reading, movies, cleaning, etc. I love this high quality lamp. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

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Cheap Hubbell Lighting Compass ESMXWR3 Combination LED Exit Sign

Hubbell Lighting Compass ESMXWR3 Combination LED Exit Sign and Emergency Lighting Unit with Side-Mounting Heads, Red Letters
Customer Ratings: 5 stars
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Packaging has a bit to be desired, arrived with a broke cover (luckily not needed for my application). The back needs to be drilled if you're not going to top-mount it. It uses a lot less energy than the old incandescent bulb-type. The emergency lights aren't very bright, but they'll suffice for your standard power-outage situation.

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Reviews of Warehouse of Tiffany 2312+BB632 Tiffany-style Grape Desk Lamp, Green

Warehouse of Tiffany 2312+BB632 Tiffany-style Grape Desk Lamp, Green
Customer Ratings: 5 stars
List Price: $122.88
Sale Price: $80.53
Today's Bonus: 34% Off
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Gorgeous lamp-my second like this. Perfect for an area you only want faint lighting with the beauty of colored glass.

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Most gorgeous desk lamp there is , bought two other Tiffany lamps ...I highly suggest too any if you can get one of these lamps you do

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Nice well made lamp! The colors are red and green with a little lime green and aqua blue. Beautiful lamp!

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Love this lamp! It is just what I was looking for. Very pretty when lit up! Very happy with my purchase and with Amazon for their well packed and delivery. Thanks Amazon!!!

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My whole theme in my work area is purple, yes, I'm a purple freak. I have had a lot of comments from co-workers that it looks strange with no purple, they ask me why I got it. Hmmm...one would assume if it has grape in the title it would have purple, but they are red and green.

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