Need Security Motion Light Recommendation

piste

In the past I've used the Zenith...Heath Zenith to be precise and they've been just fine. But my sense is their underlying manufacturer has been having a lot of trouble in recent times as the ones they are putting out now are total crap. They are tripped by absolutely nothing...and when I walk around directly in front of the sensor it often doesn't go off. I'm too lazy to supply the link but if you check out reviews on Amazon there's numerous folks substantiating this. As I said...I do have some of their same products installed about 2 years or so ago and they work just fine.

Can anyone recommend a quality motion flood light brand that is currently putting out a quality product??

I'm at least grateful that I can do my own basic electrical and I'm not paying the electrician to put the crap one in...and then take it out cuz mine is going straight back to Lowes!!! And fair warning to all ....stay away from Heath Zenith...they are junk....and unfortunately the most commonly carried product at the big box stores.

brric

The Heath-Zenith installed at my home works perfectly well. Look into the RAB brand.

More Power!

They've been crap for a lot longer than that, IMO. I have the exact same problems with the ones I have up. I've been meaning to research alternatives for years.

piste

Well the key here is when did you buy it? I'm intrigued if yours works well and was purchased in 2011...otherwise.....it's a moot point. As I originally stated...I have 4 Zenith motion lights on my house....the three I put in during 2008 or prior work great....seems to only be a problem with ones Heath Zenith have made in the last 12 months or so...AFAIK.

Thanks for the tip on RAB...I'll look into them.

More Power!

RAB is expensive, looks like. I don't mean "a little more," either.

One possibility would be to purchase Heath-Zenith lights and replacement motion switches from somebody else. I might look into doing that for the poorly-performing motion lights I already have.

piste

Good points. My "quick" research on Amazon shows RAB stuff in the $100 range vs about $45 for Heath Zenith...yeah that is double the price at least....but for me I'd drop $100 if its a high quality one out of the box ...no use in one half the price if its junk. Seems that the $100 range is where the market is for ones that actually work. Now if it were $150 to $200...I'd have second thoughts. Great idea about switching out the motion detector piece...so long at the ball socket interface is universal and a swap in/out...

piste

Just thought I'd post a followup. Replaced my Heath Zenith with a RAB unit about a month ago. For twice the price I'm a bit underwhelmed with it's performance. It does seem to have a lot fewer false triggers than the Heath Zenith....but it's effective range isn't even close to advertised. Think I'm just gonna leave the RAB unit in though as I'm tired of swapping the lights.

PPBART

Old thread, but a current issue for me(!) I'm in the process of remodeling the fascia and eaves of my house with vinyl and have security lights on four corners. The two corners on the street side have motion detectors. Those were installed at least a decade ago and still work (although range is quite limited). However, those fixtures are the wrong color so I'm looking for replacements, and the ratings for anything locally available seem to be dismal. I'm gonna look into RAB, but I'm also interested in the replacement detectors for the Zenith units -- anybody done that?

piste

Greetings. Since my post last year I've moved. Put in 3 RABs in this new house. Different angles/distances and whatnot than the last house install....but so far I'm happy with these RABs. Their the Stealth something or other model.