[elalbino63]

Hi 1st post here. I just bought a house and it's got a lot of yard light stuff going on. It's got 4 110v cooper lights in the mix and no conduit or anything they are just sitting there on the ground. I guess the previous owner had them on a timer of sorts that he took with him. . The wires are buried. They work well when plugged in but it doesn't look safe or correct to me.

My thoughts were to replace these lights with 12v lights. But, are the 12v lights going to be as bright as the 110v's? What specific 12v lights would be this bright? I thought I could use the existing buried wires for the 12v's. It also has an existing walkway light 12v system with a small 88 watt transformer. I was going to replace this with a higher wattage transformer. Do the 600 to 900 watt units have to be all on one circuit or loop? how does that work? Also do these units, I guess they are Malibu, have electronic eye feature?

I sure would appreciate some help with this. The house has some nice architectural things that would look good highlighted. 3 big arched windows. 2 of the 110v cooper lights were shining on these from the bottom.

 

[dmxtothemax]

What was the size or wattage of the cooper lights ?
Some of the 12v halogen lights can be bright,
But what are we comparing them to ?

 

[elalbino63]

the cooper lights say 120v 150w max t-3 lamp.
thanks!

 

[dmxtothemax]

You would need some mighty big cables to run
two 150w lamps of 12v.
Possible, but probably impractibule.
Better off running 120v.
However this would require a higher standard
of instalation.
Like cables in conduit.
How much are you prepared to spend ?

 

[elalbino63]

I guess I don't understand how a car headlight can be so bright and yet 12v.

 

[dmxtothemax]

Most incandesant type car head lights are only 55w.
Thats a big difference between the 150w you propose,
And 55w car headlights.
If you are willing to use smaller lamps than 150w,
Then it becomes easier due to less currant,
and smaller cables.
Much more practicule.