Customer Reviews

Heath/Zenith SL-4150-SC 150-Degree Motion-Activated Charleston Coach Style Decorative Lantern, Silver Pewter

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have owned two of these lights, on two seperate houses, over the past 15+ years. The only complaint that I have is that the motion sensor is not sensitive enough. On the current house, on occasion, I can walk up to the door, that the unit is monitoring, and enter without triggering the light. Yes, I have the sensitivity set to maximum. Not very effective for a motion light. Heath makes this light in black pewter and brass. The underlying electronics seem to be the same (the current light has the black finish). One note, this light is mounted one foot above a doorway, which is two steps off of the surrounding ground. I do not know if this height is causing a problem, as the sensor is about 9 feet off of the ground. I have another Heath motion sensing dual flood light , ath this house, that works flawlessly. That light uses a sensor that is aimable.

At the old house, I had a brass version of this light, which had the same weak sensor issue. This time the light was mounted next to the door, which was at ground level. The bottom of the light was 6 foot off of the ground. In this case, the sensor did detect motion better, which is why I think that height is now playing an issue. The main problem I had at the old house was that the light was about 30-40 feet from the street and would pick up passing cars. Dropping the sensitivity to prevent these false triggers meant that you could easily approach the light without triggering it, which rendered it useless.

I got two of these for my front yard. They worked nice for about 7 months, until one of them broke. It now stays on constantly, as long as the switch is on. It no longer shuts off by itself, and stays on even during day light.

This review specifically concerns the polished brass version of this lantern. I have two of these in polished brass. They are, or at least were, available in polished brass, pewter or black paint over brass.

My two lamps were purchased at a local big box hardware store in 1995 and have been continuously in operation ever since. The infrared sensor has a range of at least the 30 feet advertised - except - during mid summer when the ambient temperature is very near body temperature. The sensor relies on a hot body moving through its field of view and when the body is at or near ambient temperature, there is nothing to see and the lamp fails to light. Thankfully this situation does not happen often, especially at night - at least until this summer here in the East.

My two lamps and their electronics work great. The polished brass, not so much. Ever since the standards for release of VOC's during finishing were tightened, it seems impossible to get any finish on brass which actually lasts more than a few years. After too few years the clear finish fails and the brass tarnishes. At that point, the choices seem to be: replace for appearance; put up with poor looking lamp; or do what I do, strip, polish and respray with more clear lacquer. Somehow I suspect that the VOC's added with each refinish negate the improvements at the factory. At least after each refinish the lamp looks good as new, if only for a few more years.

The other reviewer had two lamps fail much too soon. Perhaps the components are now different and cheaper than they were 15 years ago, or perhaps he experiences more power spikes than I. Companies have been known to sacrifice quality in the name of cutting costs. The lamps are barely more expensive than they were 15 years ago so it would appear that manufacturing money is being saved somewhere. It seems to me the only two places are cheaper labor and / or cheaper parts.

As they say; "Your Milage May Vary." Good luck with yours if you choose these.

Please note that the pictures here on Amazon of both black and the pewter lamps look exactly like my old lamps in shape, size and profile. The Amazon picture of the brass lamp shows a slightly different profile - suggesting some manufacturing revisions.

This product not only arrived within days but was exactly what I was looking for at a fraction of the cost from the local Menards Store.

Got this because I needed a light for my porch that was motion sensored. It was very easy to install (and believe me, I am all thumbs when it comes to that kind of stuff), and I recommend it for anyone who needs one of their own!

these lights were well shipped and in perfect shape and working order. they look great on the front of our garage. they were also ul listed. would not hesitate to purchase from amazon again.