sitelights
06-29-2002, 02:24 PM
I've been looking at brass and/or copper spotlight luminaires for the past few years; the idea being to offer our clients the option of a "lifetime" warranty on finish and a 5 year (as opposed to our standard 3 year) warranty on lamp life. Our target is an upcharge of about $100.00 per fixture and a short climb into the upper reaches of our market. I have not found a spotlight that fills the bill but I have two items that I'm going to compare. In my opinion product comparision reviews enrich the process.
Arrayed in front of me are four solid brass spotlight fixtures: three are from Winscape (winonalighting.com 800.328.5291); one is from Cast Lighting LLC (aquariusirrigation.com 800.989.7374).
The three Winscape spotlights are graduated in size from MR-8 to MR-11 to MR16 and are all highly finished machined brass. Since I am going to compare the Cast with the Winscape "Aspen" both of which are lamped with MR-16s, the smaller versions will be described only insofar as they differ from their big sister.
"Beauty and the Beast" refers to the very obvious difference in the appearance of these spotlights. The "Beauty" is the Winscape item which would not have looked out of place packaged in a velvet lined box; the "Beast" is the rough cast totally unfinished, warts and all, Cast item. Do not however, jump to any conclusions. These two items demonstrate the difference between a "designer's" fixture and an "installer's" fixture and the price difference is X3 if not more. Which does the low voltage lighting business really need: another pretty face or a functional, reliable, easy to repair, drive-a-truck-over-it, rather homely heavyweight? The answer is clear.
The Winscape unit (which is "exploded" on my desk) is a machinist's delight and is jewel-like in almost every regard. The items I bought (more on this later) were ordered with a natural brass finish (polished and satin bronze also available) with the patent-pending "watershed" (flush glass) lens which eliminates the lip behind which water can pool. The MR-16 lamp is regressed almost 2" so that when the shroud is removed (a fussy little 2mm hex set screw must be backed out...whoops, you lost it!) the edge of the front glass MR-16 can be gripped to pull straight out of the fixed, embedded-in-silicone (!) run-of-the mill socket. One of their engineers admitted to me that the socket would be a bear to replace in the field and was "nothing special". The socket WILL fail due to metal fatigue/heat, corrosion or rough handling and the lamp, supported only by the pins, will work loose over time but that is someone else's problem...or is it? The fixture body has a series of machined grooves and lips which serve to capture and protect the O-ring gasket. The socket leads (coated, braided) exit the bottom of the body and are routed around the set screw (4mm hex) at the knuckle. The 2mm set screw is steel; the 4mm set screw is blackened brass. At this point braided leads are protected from being abraded by the set screw threads by being covered with a short 8mm length of tubing with rough cut ends. This "fix" made me nostaglic for the pioneer days when Loran's Nightscaping fixes were more like a punk rock garage band than their current guise as the Lawrence Welk of low voltage. The knuckle mating surfaces (truncated cones; one male; one female) are machined smooth and rely on friction to hold aim. Moisture penetration into the body is checked by the silicone embedment of the socket and leads. The stem of the knuckle is standard 1/2" NPT with a totally extraneous gasket on the threads and a teflon bushing on the stem that may protect the braided leads if this unit is twisted onto a pre-set stake. A much more finished appearance may be purchased (all mounting methods require a a dip into their a la carte menu); the unit will mate with a PVC 1/2" NPT stake but this is not recommended. The "Aspen" weighs about 4 pounds. The lock nut is cheap, stamped plated steel that spoils the entire presentation giving the appearance of an expensive car running on a space-saver tire. When using the recommended "Power Mount 60" this lock nut is not visible.
The Cast spotlight is assembled from the same components: shroud, lens, body, socket, knuckle and stem but there is an entirely different concept at work here. The sand castings are minimally finished which gives the unit (to my eye and others) the look of a Bronze Age artifact. The "Flintstone" (I know, wrong epoch) appearance has a kind of rustic charm not out of place in a landscape setting. The convex lens (acrylic) is siliconed into the shroud which is cut at about 45 degrees for glare control (the lamp is not regressed) but the lens base is well below the surrounding lip allowing water to be trapped at angles more than 70 degrees above horizontal. The shroud is captured by a stainless steel set screw with a large knurled head and a deep slot so a tool is optional. The installer is cautioned on the instruction sheet to back the set screw out enough to miss the O-ring; my sample was already abraded. The socket is run-of-the-mill (see "Ushio" on the search engine) with teflon coated leads soldered to 25' of 16/2 (did Nate Mullen just enter the room?) and it "floats" in the housing so that the unit can be relamped using one hand for the socket and one hand for the lamp. A loose spring surrounds the socket and pushes the lamp face up against the inner edge of the plastic lens (!) when assembled. The Winscape item must be relamped by feel. The instructions provided with the Cast unit recommend "Gently rock the lamp free." which is death to a jawed socket even one with spring loading. Pull straight up or push straight down and save your rockin' for after work. The knuckle of the spotlight is not machined on its mating surfaces and has a stout O-ring and a robust stainless steel (Phillips) lock down screw. I have a pre-production version but the production model is the same with more O-rings: top of body, bottom of body at join with stem and in the knuckle. This item comes with a brass stake 8" long standard with a longer one (length not stated) available. The same cheap, stamped lock nut completes the presentation. The cast item weighs about 4 pounds without the included stake; this is the cantilevered weight that the stake must bear.
The Winscape "Cypress" MR-8 and the "Cedar" MR-11 are scaled-down clones of the MR-16 type except for the socket/lamp. The MR-8 is is a 20w rated bi-pin socket. The MR-11 has a 20w rated DC bayonet base. This lamp is soon to be retired because that type of halogen lamp can fit into a socket not suited for halogen use. The weight of these items is proportionately less than their larger sister.
The three Winscape spotlights were purchased through the manufacturer's rep and shipped direct from the factory. The Cast spotlight was an unsolicited pre-production sample shipped to me from Aquarius Irrigation Supply, Inc.'s PA location and will be returned.
Additional comments/details can be found by using the forum search engine for: lamps, sockets, connectors, samples, etc.
Arrayed in front of me are four solid brass spotlight fixtures: three are from Winscape (winonalighting.com 800.328.5291); one is from Cast Lighting LLC (aquariusirrigation.com 800.989.7374).
The three Winscape spotlights are graduated in size from MR-8 to MR-11 to MR16 and are all highly finished machined brass. Since I am going to compare the Cast with the Winscape "Aspen" both of which are lamped with MR-16s, the smaller versions will be described only insofar as they differ from their big sister.
"Beauty and the Beast" refers to the very obvious difference in the appearance of these spotlights. The "Beauty" is the Winscape item which would not have looked out of place packaged in a velvet lined box; the "Beast" is the rough cast totally unfinished, warts and all, Cast item. Do not however, jump to any conclusions. These two items demonstrate the difference between a "designer's" fixture and an "installer's" fixture and the price difference is X3 if not more. Which does the low voltage lighting business really need: another pretty face or a functional, reliable, easy to repair, drive-a-truck-over-it, rather homely heavyweight? The answer is clear.
The Winscape unit (which is "exploded" on my desk) is a machinist's delight and is jewel-like in almost every regard. The items I bought (more on this later) were ordered with a natural brass finish (polished and satin bronze also available) with the patent-pending "watershed" (flush glass) lens which eliminates the lip behind which water can pool. The MR-16 lamp is regressed almost 2" so that when the shroud is removed (a fussy little 2mm hex set screw must be backed out...whoops, you lost it!) the edge of the front glass MR-16 can be gripped to pull straight out of the fixed, embedded-in-silicone (!) run-of-the mill socket. One of their engineers admitted to me that the socket would be a bear to replace in the field and was "nothing special". The socket WILL fail due to metal fatigue/heat, corrosion or rough handling and the lamp, supported only by the pins, will work loose over time but that is someone else's problem...or is it? The fixture body has a series of machined grooves and lips which serve to capture and protect the O-ring gasket. The socket leads (coated, braided) exit the bottom of the body and are routed around the set screw (4mm hex) at the knuckle. The 2mm set screw is steel; the 4mm set screw is blackened brass. At this point braided leads are protected from being abraded by the set screw threads by being covered with a short 8mm length of tubing with rough cut ends. This "fix" made me nostaglic for the pioneer days when Loran's Nightscaping fixes were more like a punk rock garage band than their current guise as the Lawrence Welk of low voltage. The knuckle mating surfaces (truncated cones; one male; one female) are machined smooth and rely on friction to hold aim. Moisture penetration into the body is checked by the silicone embedment of the socket and leads. The stem of the knuckle is standard 1/2" NPT with a totally extraneous gasket on the threads and a teflon bushing on the stem that may protect the braided leads if this unit is twisted onto a pre-set stake. A much more finished appearance may be purchased (all mounting methods require a a dip into their a la carte menu); the unit will mate with a PVC 1/2" NPT stake but this is not recommended. The "Aspen" weighs about 4 pounds. The lock nut is cheap, stamped plated steel that spoils the entire presentation giving the appearance of an expensive car running on a space-saver tire. When using the recommended "Power Mount 60" this lock nut is not visible.
The Cast spotlight is assembled from the same components: shroud, lens, body, socket, knuckle and stem but there is an entirely different concept at work here. The sand castings are minimally finished which gives the unit (to my eye and others) the look of a Bronze Age artifact. The "Flintstone" (I know, wrong epoch) appearance has a kind of rustic charm not out of place in a landscape setting. The convex lens (acrylic) is siliconed into the shroud which is cut at about 45 degrees for glare control (the lamp is not regressed) but the lens base is well below the surrounding lip allowing water to be trapped at angles more than 70 degrees above horizontal. The shroud is captured by a stainless steel set screw with a large knurled head and a deep slot so a tool is optional. The installer is cautioned on the instruction sheet to back the set screw out enough to miss the O-ring; my sample was already abraded. The socket is run-of-the-mill (see "Ushio" on the search engine) with teflon coated leads soldered to 25' of 16/2 (did Nate Mullen just enter the room?) and it "floats" in the housing so that the unit can be relamped using one hand for the socket and one hand for the lamp. A loose spring surrounds the socket and pushes the lamp face up against the inner edge of the plastic lens (!) when assembled. The Winscape item must be relamped by feel. The instructions provided with the Cast unit recommend "Gently rock the lamp free." which is death to a jawed socket even one with spring loading. Pull straight up or push straight down and save your rockin' for after work. The knuckle of the spotlight is not machined on its mating surfaces and has a stout O-ring and a robust stainless steel (Phillips) lock down screw. I have a pre-production version but the production model is the same with more O-rings: top of body, bottom of body at join with stem and in the knuckle. This item comes with a brass stake 8" long standard with a longer one (length not stated) available. The same cheap, stamped lock nut completes the presentation. The cast item weighs about 4 pounds without the included stake; this is the cantilevered weight that the stake must bear.
The Winscape "Cypress" MR-8 and the "Cedar" MR-11 are scaled-down clones of the MR-16 type except for the socket/lamp. The MR-8 is is a 20w rated bi-pin socket. The MR-11 has a 20w rated DC bayonet base. This lamp is soon to be retired because that type of halogen lamp can fit into a socket not suited for halogen use. The weight of these items is proportionately less than their larger sister.
The three Winscape spotlights were purchased through the manufacturer's rep and shipped direct from the factory. The Cast spotlight was an unsolicited pre-production sample shipped to me from Aquarius Irrigation Supply, Inc.'s PA location and will be returned.
Additional comments/details can be found by using the forum search engine for: lamps, sockets, connectors, samples, etc.