I was ready for low voltage lighting. I made that decision last fall when we put the solar lights away for winter. Since the GFCI worked, we had the capability to install low voltage lights.
Efiwym, my wife, did not seemed interested in this project. I was not sure of why the apathy, but I would pursue the purchasing of the low voltage lights. I started shopping for lights immediately. You could spend hundreds of dollars on low voltage lighting. I would only spend tens of dollars on this project.
I was visiting my brother-in-law, Evad, and we were talking about DIY projects. I mentioned my low-voltage lighting project, and Evad stated that he had a commercial grade 300 watt low voltage transformer collecting dust in his basement. He was willing to give it away since he did not need it. I said yes, and he got it from the basement along with a spotlight and two lights that were missing the ceramic frogs used to hold the lights in place.
I took the transformer and lights home excited to start on my low voltage lighting project. First, I checked the one tap that he said was not working. It would not be a big deal since I needed only one to run my lights. However, all the taps worked fine. I started to research the transformer and the necessary accessories needed to complete the project.
To my dismay, the cost for the wire, lights and a timer exceeded the cost of a complete set of low voltage lights. The set included a transformer and a dusk-to-dawn sensor. This humongous, powerful low voltage transformer was not necessary for what I needed. The transformer is now collecting dust in my basement.
Several weeks later, I bought the 10-light low voltage package. The package had 8 pathway lights and 2 spotlights. The weather was not cooperating, so the installation was delayed.
