Steerpike

Anyone know how to remove the bulbs on these suckers? They are low voltage garden spotlights. There's a 'shroud' that is easily removed, but once removed, I have no idea what to do next. I've tried twisting, pulling, etc. Since they've been out in the sun for several Arizona Summers, they've probably welded tight! Upper left shot is with the 'shroud' removed. The black ring is a gasket that 'seals' when the shroud is in place.

zzrmark

That doesn't make sense (about the gasket), the shroud is on the exterior of the unit and a rubber gasket where it is would just let water collect in between the two. Is the gasket surface mounted onto the unit, gentle investigation with a jeweller's screwdriver should tell you, I reckon it's actually a sealing gasket for the top part of the unit. Which means the part above the gasket should unscrew.
A little time googling the unit might reveal bulb replacement instructions.

Pulaski

My guess would be that it screws off. .... Have you tried a strap wrench?

tom169

I know on mine I have to remove the set screw then give it a good yank.

zzrmark

Common set up for Florida, the idea is that the gutter back edge is pushed up to, and ideally behind, the drip edge. Having the pitch in the gutter will just encourage rot in the fascia board wherever the gutter is fastened, as the fascia is open to water going behind the gutter.

Steerpike

I agree; You'd think the gasket revealed by removing the shroud would be the gasket between the main body and the removable part; but the gasket is loose and simply sits inside a recess. I'll investigate more today.

My google-fu on this has been unusually poor; I'm usually great at finding instructions online. For some reason, in this case, I always end up in dead ends. The vast majority of models out there (and thus, googled) seem to be cheaper plastic and/or solar.
You are suggesting unscrewing the 'top part' - where the bulb is - relative to the main body (where it attaches to the bottom)? I haven't tried a strap wrench (don't have one) but if I KNEW the top would unscrew, I would buy one and give it a go. Right now, I'm thinking there are two choices - unscrew or, pull-off. If it's a pull-off and I try hard to rotate, it may break. Conversely, if I figure a way to grip it and pull hard, but it's meant to screw off, I may break it also. These guys are a nice, solid-feeling aluminum so I probably can't do too much damage!
It's typically 95 degrees outside so messing with these guys isn't the most fun (it's cooler earlier in the day but I'm not typically in 'outdoor repair' mode in the early morning ). My normal approach would be to dig one up, bring it inside, and give it a good once-over on the bench. But from what I understand, these things are a real pain to remove because you typically bury the wire pretty deep. Also, since they are currently working (I'm just trying to see 'what type' of bulbs are in there so I can get some spares on hand) I don't want to get too destructive on them, especially as they seem to have been custom-sprayed!

Pulaski

Firstly, I don't think you are likely to damage the sort of fitting you described, "solid feeling aluminum" using hand tools, especially not a strap wrench.

To your point about push fit v screw fit, I think that pulling on a screw fitting would be unlikely to work, but has the potential to cause damage, but using a screwing action on a push fitting is not only unlikely to cause damage, but in fact I would use a rotating action to try to loosen it ..... obviously counterclockwise* if I wasn't certain whether it was a screw or push fitting, before switching to a pulling action once the seal was loosened.

BTW I find that my two strap wrenches are among the tools I reach for most often - they are very useful in a number of situations to loosed or undo things that need a rotating action, even though I have a history of opening screw top bottles that nobody else can undo, a skill that I still maintain. On of the great things about strap wrenches is that they are soft and flexible so don't risk causing the sort of damage that the jaws of pliers or other metal gripping tools can easily cause.

* This approach won't work with propane gas fittings or the nylon lock-nut that holds toilet flush lever to the tank.

Steerpike

OK, popped out there moments before the sun passed over the roofline and turned the area into an oven .... It does look like someone did a (very nice!) custom spray job on these lights, but the paint completely obscured and sealed the 'cap'. First pic shows how it was before I started with a "razor" blade, and then after a few 'rounds' with the blade. Even after doing this, I still couldn't pull / twist the top off, but at least I think I'm in the right place! The sun hit in full force by the time I got to this point, and since the lamp is anchored to the ground by the buried 12V wiring, I'll resume tomorrow . The top appears to be white plastic, while the base is aluminum. The gasket, now removed, was in the 2nd recess from the left, near the pronounced ridge ... and as one poster observed, this seems utterly pointless! Maybe more will be revealed tomorrow And PS - I love these blades / holders! Narrower than a 'box cutter' blade.




This all started, by the way, by me not knowing if the lamps were old-style halogens or modern LEDs. Since I couldn't get at the bulbs, I finally determined they were LEDs by measuring the power consumed by the entire string of 10 lamps with my 'kill-a-watt' meter - total of 30 watts for 10 lamps, so these are clearly LEDs! Now that I know that, I can replace the monster 300 Watt low-voltage transformer (that buzzes and whirs, as it has a clock built in) with a low-power box and then use my home automation to control them rather than the old style mechanical timer. So I really don't need to get the tops off these guys as the LEDs will probably outlive me, but it just bugged me that I couldn't figure it out!

Pulaski

You can tell that easily just be touching them after they have been on for a few minutes - LEDs are pretty much cold to the touch, whereas a halogen light is seriously hot, not just warm, but hot!

Steerpike

Yeah, there is that too! But when it's 100 degrees out, touching metal things can feel hot regardless! So I didn't want to rule out halogen still. I've systematically removed all my halogens with LEDs throughout the house - 30+ so far ... so now I'm using less electricity and generating less heat so I'm happy. I have a lifetime's supply of spare MR16 GU10 halogens if anyone wants them

Nutek

Built a new Run-in for the horses. :-)

ddsrph

spouse of scouse

That's a quality build Nutek. Living the dream, you and the pampered gee-gees!

Nutek

Yeah, CT. 6 acres total, but half of that is unused woodland. Makes a nice buffer behind the house though.

Buster, the big blonde guy is my wifes horse... Ruby, the darker one is a rescue we took recently to keep Buster company.

Nutek

Gotta spoil the animals