Plastic on IP65 lights cracked, repair or replace?

Frank Jnr

Evening all,

I'm after taking delivery of 6 x IP65 rated recessed lights (ordered over the net, where else I suppose) that I'll be fitting into the walls of a raised bed I'm having built in my back garden.

However upon checking the lights I've found that two of the clear plastic casing around the electric bits are slightly cracked and my question is this...

Should I send them back and have them replaced or is it possible to seal them with silicone sealant?

I'd rather not send them back due to the time involved and the fact that the wall they are going to be fitted into is more than likely being built this week. I'm just wondering if anyone out there has experience sealing up these kind of things.


Thanks in advance,

Frank.

Stoner

Frank to be honest sealing it up is not a good idea. These fittings do give a lot of trouble anyway UV light can destroy the catches, if you mount them to a surface wall you may need to used little fixing brackets to stop them off the wall and allow air to circulate and cool them, otherwise they can overheat resulting in failure to work, further cracking etc.

therefore there is no point giving the manufactures any excuse by trying to fix the casing.

If it was me I'd send them all back and buy them in a wholesaler. How much did they cost you each? I have bought many things on line, but bread and butter stuff is still better value from a good wholesaler IMO, plus you have there cover on it and they can typically be a better make too.

In short replace with another make of fitting.

Frank Jnr

Hi Stoner,

Thanks for the reply. I had a think about it over night and I was just starting to write an email to the supplier when I got notification of your post.

I'm going to do it properly and have the lights replaced, the part that's cracked will be recessed in the wall, it is the cover that has to be removed to access the wiring terminals. The light source is LED by the way so I don't think there's a need for air gaps, didn't see a mention of that in the documentation.

I saved €50 by going online over buying the same lights from a wholesaler. I know going to the wholesaler would have been easier but I got the lights for €190 instead of €240, that saving was too big to ignore.

The lights I bought online & at the wholesaler are made by the same company, exact same models in fact, I ordered the part number I got from the manufacturers catalogue. I bought the lights from a UK website so I should have no language barriers or customs hoops to jump through.


Regards,

Frank.

Bruthal

€50 euro is a fair saving alright but id have to agree that for stuff like lights its better to get them in the wholesaler, i suppose when we are installing stuff regular, or at least used to, we see the type of problem you have had with them lights regular enough. I order lots from the net too, but the likes of lights like these i would see problems if they are faulty or damaged etc. Any electrical stuff id buy in the wholsaler for that reason. Often have to take stuff back or swap etc.

Frank Jnr

robbie7730 wrote: »

€50 euro is a fair saving alright but id have to agree that for stuff like lights its better to get them in the wholesaler, i suppose when we are installing stuff regular, or at least used to, we see the type of problem you have had with them lights regular enough. I order lots from the net too, but the likes of lights like these i would see problems if they are faulty or damaged etc. Any electrical stuff id buy in the wholsaler for that reason. Often have to take stuff back or swap etc.

That's a fair point but I couldn't ignore the savings. I've photographed the cracks and will be sending the pictures to the supplier later.

The weather is slowing down work in my garden now so I could still have my parts in time, otherwise I'll just have to leave a gap for the missing lights until they're delivered.


Regards,

Frank.

Bruthal

Frank Jnr wrote: »

That's a fair point but I couldn't ignore the savings. I've photographed the cracks and will be sending the pictures to the supplier later.

The weather is slowing down work in my garden now so I could still have my parts in time, otherwise I'll just have to leave a gap for the missing lights until they're delivered.


Regards,

Frank.

Yes there is absolutely nothing wrong with making some savings. You are 100% right to do that. Just unlucky this time with cracks in lights.

But if you were regularly fitting lights you would see where we are coming from. Just one of those things. Nothing at all wrong with trying to make savings.