Two Composite Spotlights

[sitelights]

Is "composite" just a fancy word for "plastic"? Perhaps, if you reflexively link "cheap" to "plastic". Certainly the common low voltage lighting kits with their absurdly low prices and flimsy molded parts spring instantly to mind. But "plastic" as a neutral term merely denotes a class of materials whose molecular characteristics allow them to flow and be shaped by the application of heat and pressure. It is the chemical components of the material that determines its suitability for specific applications. Some of the most critical components of advanced aircraft and automotive construction use composite materials in place of metal alloys. Similarly, it is quite possible to create a low voltage landscape lighting luminaire composite that has all the advantages of traditional materials but none of their disadvantages. Indeed, the composite material can be stronger, lighter, more durable, more resistant to corrosion and chemical assault and much less expensive than traditional pure metal and alloy construction.

Composite low voltage landscape lighting luminaires have been around a long time. The Hadco IL516 composite in-ground that I used for about 15 years shrugged off the harsh environmental conditions here in the NE and while the fixture design left much to be desired (search: IL516) the parts made of composite material did not deteriorate to any measurable degree. Thus the longevity of composites is not really an issue and since the color is not applied but rather permeates the material, there is no cosmetic downside. Except for the IL 516 (since dropped from my line and replaced by another composite) I have not used any other composite low voltage luminaires but I have been looking closely at them for a few years. An upcoming project in the Dominican Republic where I will be installing lighting within 100' of the surf accelerated my search.

I have narrowed my choice down to two competing products: the Vista GR3250 and the Hadco BCL16. Both are rated for 50w and constructed of the injection molded composite material "Ryton PPS" and both are black (I do not use any other color). The Vista is a bit larger and has a short, straight shroud. The Hadco could actually nest within the Vista if the internal parts were removed. The Hadco has a longer, angled shroud quite similar to the BL5016 in that the shroud has a slanted lens and 2 O-ring gaskets; the lens has a silk-screened pattern of dots on the inside surface that hides the area surrounding the MR-16 lamp surface. This is a feature of many Hadco fixtures and provides a nice finishing touch. In fact, Hadco goes as far as painting the head of the stainless steel locking screw to match the fixture color. It has been a source of puzzlement to me that Hadco can get so many design elements just right and still fail to address issues like socket/lamp integrity. The Vista shroud contains a flat lens set into the shroud 1/2" and a hole in the shroud lip allows water to drain off; this hole could be easily clogged by debris. The body of the Vista is attached to the stem knuckle with 2 bolts through a gasketed circular flange mount; the stem and knuckle are thus entirely separate moldings. The Hadco knuckle is formed as part of the body and the stem is equiped wiith a hefty molded lock nut. Both have toothed mating surfaces with O-ring gaskets within the knuckle. The wall thickness of all the molded parts appears the same on both units but the Hadco mold line on the body is a bit more apparent; the Vista mold lines (2) are around the circumference of the body not front to back and the rear sprue point on each fixture body is unfinished. These points are just snapped or nipped off and the Vista's is more apparent. The Vista has a hole in the rear of the body above the stem attachment point to drain the fixture; this demonstrates their lack of faith in the integrity of their lens seal and gaskets and provides another entry point for insects that love to nest in a warm environment.

The interior of the body cavities are quite complex and indicate multi-use molds. The Vista contains a 2 1/4" "tower" attached to a bottom plate that holds the socket equiped with a lamp clip*. The tower is radially finned aluminum and acts as a heat sink. These expensive details and the size of the body cavity lead one to suspect that this unit could handle a 75w lamp. The Hadco exhibits similar ingenuity and contains 4 long integrally-molded shafts that position the socket and its large heat shield; the tops of the shafts have molded pins that bear on the outer circumference of the back of the MR-16 reflector and hold the lamp against a circular insert clipped into the interior of the shroud; these pins must be snapped off to accomodate any accessory lens or hex louver baffle. The socket, which "floats" on its long leads makes lamping quick and easy. This would be, with the addition of a lamp clip, an ideal solution to the problem I found with the BL5016 (see that review).

And the winner is: Hadco's BCL16. I found this to be a difficult call but the Hadco size, ease of lamping, superior mounting method (the stake/cap and their LVC3 pierce point connectors), simpler construction and level of finish won the day. I've been agonizing over the lack of a lamp clip through many posts but other considerations come into play. On the tropical project I will be relying on the villa groundskeeper's ability to maintain the system after a brief training session and will be leaving a supply of spare parts, lamps and tools. Sockets will fail and a new socket, a wire stripper with crimp jaws and a supply of butt splices will keep maintenance easy. I'm faulting Hadco on the point of the lamp clip but the GR3250 from Vista requires a much more labor intensive installation method, has inferior twist connectors (search: pierce point) and the relative difficulty of socket replacement all have aided my decision.

*The clip is illustrated in an attachment to "MR lamp clip" on this forum.

[j sosa]

I have used both fixtures in the past; I feel the knuckle attachment of the Vista fixture to be more thought out. If you had an impact (kids, dog, wives with cars) on the body, it could wreck the molded half of the Hadco fixture requiring a whole new fixture. I agree the two fixtures are pretty good, most applications either would do great, high traffic areas like resorts may be better suited to Vista's fixture from a maintenance stand point. I generally prefer Vista because I do not have any in stock product and they get anything I order to my (Southern California) distributor the next day after its ordered. That’s just my opinion...

[sitelights]

While I agree with you that the Vista could be more readily repaired if the knuckle was impact-damaged the cost and availability of replacement parts is a problem.

Hadco has very cleverly designed a mounting system that allows the installer to drive the stake with a mallet and then set the fixture with its thread-on stake cap which is secured by three triangulated stainless steel screws to the stake. The stake cap will break or break away from the stake on heavy impact; the fixture itself is seldom broken so replacement of the stake cap and remounting of the fixture is all the repair nomally required. The Vista mounting requires that the fixture be threaded onto the stake before installation; this is a clumsy and time-consuming process and is less forgiving of impact damage. The service call to repair a broken Vista knuckle requires having the part on hand; the service call for the Hadco is almost invariably simple replacement of the cap which is quite inexpensive, readily available (every stake comes with a cap) and we always carry spares on our service vehicles. I think that a spare knuckle assembly from Vista would be almost as expensive as an entire fixture. Since you do regular business with Vista it might be worth inquiring about the cost and availibility of the knuckle assembly. Our policy is to never invoke the manufacturer's warranty; RGAs (Returned Goods Authorizations) consume more time and money than the actual cost of the product so we do not return: we cannibalize. Our one exception was the Hadco UWL516 that we foolishly used in the past and routinely replaced with new units on every call since they never survived beyond Hadco's 3 year warranty.

The main goal in a service call is to fix everything on the first visit; this requires a complete stock of every replacement part on the service vehicle at all times. Imagine the unrecovered costs of ordering the part and then returning to the job to install it. This is a trip to the site, a trip (or call) to the distributor, a trip to pick up the part and another trip to the site to install it. How can one hope to recover the costs without having the client think they were gouged?

Only recently have we added a Vista fixture to our regular line: the composite in-ground that I reviewed in an earlier post. Since we are an east coast operation I've asked my Vista distributor to establish a min/max stock on this item of 25 units. Thus I draw from my distributor's stock on a job-need basis and avoid second-day air freight charges; in terms of stock on my shop shelves my goal is zero inventory and next day availbility.

I think that my response shows that I value your opinion and I take it seriously. Every aspect of our business comes under very close scrutiny in terms of cost, reliability, ease of maintenance and our goal of 100% operational systems 100% of the time. The client should never experience any problem that cannot be dealt with immediately. We routinely replace in its entirety any fixture that we cannot repair in the field with a new unit at no charge if the system is under warranty (our liberal 3 year unconditional warranty even includes lamps) or covered by our service agreements. We salvage from any broken or non-repairable in-the-field item any useful parts for use in future repairs. We stock (in addition to the full range of replacement lamps) at least two of every fixture type and every part for every fixture for every project that we have completed on every service vehicle.

This post probably belongs under "service" and I will post a reference there.

Since you are a regular user of Vista products I'd like to know your opinion of the lamp clip MR-16 socket and whether or not you have noted any decrease in service calls that turn out to be just loose lamps.

[j sosa]

Your operation sounds a bit larger than what I do, you sound as though the Boy Scout motto is in effect "always be prepared". I have had pretty good go at replacement parts or fixtures through Vista, it's an over the counter swap through the distributor (at least I think its the manufacturer, I do not have to talk to them, the distributor does it). I do agree with you having stock would lessen my need for calls and or interaction with my suppliers, I am not yet ready for the investment. We do offer to the customer the whole gamut of product, if we refined it to some key items I would look at inventory more seriously. As to the important part of your question, I do like the spring clip, it keeps me from having to open the fixture to check, replace or re-install the lamp, I need only test it and install it. Does the Hadco product come with the lamp installed? The few times I used it I took it off of the shelf, they were not supplied with the lamp like Vista. If there is not a lamp supplied the spring clip is less important because you have to open the fixture anyway. Shipping to you from Vista is different from my accounts, I am local to them, UPS has less chance to abuse the product I get compared with east coast shipments.