Customer Reviews

Maxxima 18 LED Occupancy Sensor Light

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

 

 

The SDL-60 is the big kahuna of battery-powered LED lighting. This large light only takes 4 AA batteries, but sports an array of 18 bright LEDs. This light would be ideal for a basement, garage or sheltered outdoor lighting (like a patio or covered porch). This light may also be effective in scaring away nocturnal outdoor pests like raccoons because it is so bright.

The unit is a power miser, using energy efficient LEDs and employing both a light sensor and a motion sensor in auto mode. This means the light only comes on at night when it senses motion. It can also be turned on permanently or turned completely off.

The unit can be mounted on its base, which contains a powerful magnet. This is useful for affixing the base to a filing cabinet or a metal organization unit, for example, in a garage or basement. The base also has holes if you wish to screw mount the base to something that is nonmetal. If you choose to forgo the base, the light panel itself has props on the back (like a picture frame) so you can orient it either horizontally or vertically.

The light output from this unit is substantial. It would be best mounted overhead facing towards the ground or pointing horizontally along the floor. It is too bright to mount at eye level or where it would shine in a person's face.

Cons: Piercingly bright. I would not aim this at eye level. After about a month of use, my SDL-60 became stuck on at intermittent times.

Pros: Highly adjustable (swivels, rotates - if using magnetic mount, and can stand on its own supports). Energy efficient.

I purchased this light about a year ago, and during the summer it was great, I set it up pointing at my front door so I (or guests) could see the path and lock when I came home after dark. Bright light, relatively focused, but definitely blinding if you looked at it directly.

But then after a few months when the weather turned cool I noticed it started staying on all night long. Wondering if it needed to be re-calibrated I turned it off, turned it back to sensor and it came right back on. I tried taking out the batteries, putting them back in, and that worked for a bit, but later that night as the temps dropped it got stuck on again. I finally had to remove it from it's base and take it inside. It has remained there ever since.

Also, it casts a very dim light when running off rechargeable batteries (I'm using brand-new Energizer NiMH), which very much ruins its green cred of using LEDs. However I have yet to see a better LED sensor light anywhere.

This is a great light, I purchased it for a large closet in my hallway. It has a very sensitive motion sensor. It's very bright, I hung it close to the ceiling and can easily see the shoes on the floor. It's not exactly attractive, so I would not use it anywhere in plain sight. A couple of minute cons to this product: It has a poorly designed battery compartment, with 4 screws! It is also difficult to remove the light from the base, (to change the batteries after the unit is hung), but I am not planning on doing this regularly, so these are inconveniences I can deal with. It is also a bit expensive for its purpose, but an excellent product overall.

In Auto mode, it only works if it is already dark, and turns off if it doesn't see motion after 30 seconds. Got this one for an outdoor shed and it doesn't light up the night, but it does provide enough lite to find what I'm looking for. Definately not enough light if you are trying to work on something and expect this to provide that level of light. So far it is doing exactly what I purchased it to do.

I mounted this under the eave over a side door where I don't have an outside switch to turn on the existing wired switch. For a while I had installed a low power CFL and just left it on, but decided this might be a better solution. It's worked out very well. The unit is solidly built and has some flexible mounting options. As others have said, it's pretty bright if viewed straight on so you don't want it somewhere it would shine in folks' eyes. I run it with 4 Energizer rechargeables and have not had any problems with it. Only slight inconvenience is having to remove 4 screws to replace the batteries, but that does make it more secure.

This thing worked fine for about a month, then began to fail to shut itself off when in the auto mode. It would stay on constantly even when there was no motion to detect. I tried taking the batteries out and reinserting them, but that didn't help. I only used the unit indoors so I can't address its performance when exposed to weather.

Update February 19, 2010: I replaced the batteries which were in the unit, Duracell Alkaline MN1500 LR6, with Energizer Max batteries and the previously described issue has resolved itself. My guess is that the Duracells, which were installed new, probably cycled on and off about a hundred and fifty times.

We have other LED lights: some motion activated, some sound activated, some of course where you have to tap the light to turn it on but nothing like this one! This Maxxima SDL-60 18 LED sensor light also detects if it is light out or not! It will only come on with activation AND if it is DARK enough! This works far better than we thought. It is well built and does well outside mounted up under covered areas. Well worth every cent we paid for it!

First of all, be sure to buy rechargeable batteries to use with this light. If the light gets a lot of use, it will eat up the batteries in no time.

I bought this item to light a small set of stairs between my garage and my front porch. In the winter it's very dark in that area. For this use, the product has been excellent. One thing I have noticed, however, is that the light (as LED lights tend to do) has gotten a bit dimmer over time. Other reviews state that the light is very very bright. Don't expect that extreme level of brightness to last very long. Nevertheless, it is still throwing enough light to do a very good job.

I mounted the light bracket with screws to the outside wall of my garage above the side door. It was easily done. The unit is weather-tight, and the cover over the batteries is held in place with screws.

After dark, light comes on immediately when I step outside the garage. However, when coming out of my house, I have to be at the edge of my porch, almost to the steps before it recognizes my presence. For that reason, I am buying another one of these lights for the porch area. With two of them I won't have to worry about tripping over a dog or missing a step in the dark.

Update, April 2011:

The two units are still working well, and even with rechargeable batteries still put out enough light to illuminate the stairs just fine. I am considering buying yet another one for my back deck.

I wish I could return this horrible piece of junk - first rain, the motion sensor filled with water and the unit would not work. Thought I could dry it out, but that was a pointless waste of time. This was supposed to be an easy solution to an area that needed light - what a joke that turned out to be.

DO NOT PURCHASE THIS UNIT UNLESS USING IN A COMPLETELY DRY AREA - otherwise it will fail due to it's poor design.

I purchased this light for the interior of a metal shed. Nice bright light and the magnet mounted securely to the ceiling of the shed.

But the batteries lasted only a few weeks, even though I only opened the shed a few times. I changed the batteries and lowered the sensitivity all the way but again the batteries failed quickly, So I am assuming that the unit is so sensitive that it is turning on throughout the night, even though it us in an enclosed building. Perhaps the walls (being tin) are too thin to block the sensitivity to trees blowing outside. I will have to sit in there in the dark sometime to observe. Also, changing the batteries is a pain, because you have to remove four thumbscrews. They must be an easier way to do this.