Mailer 11

Fixture Introduction

Sagitta CATALINALITER

The Sagitta Catalinaliter is a larger version of Nightscaping's® Sagitta and comes mounted on a post. It's tall post and bright output of warm light makes it suitable for both traverse and converse lighting. The simple design can blend with many architectural styles and may be applied to paths, planter beds, patios and more.

View St. Claireliter Flyer

View St. Claireliter Detail Line Drawing

View St. Claireliter Photo

Question of the Week...

Customer Question: How do you determine what size amp circuit you would need if you have 160 watts on a 250 watt transformer?

Is the conversion 160 watts / 110 volts = 1.45 amps?

Nightscaping® Answer: You have the correct formula for finding amperage draw in order to determine your amp circuit. The only thing I would recommend differently is to find the amperage draw for a fully loaded Powercenter^(TM) to be prepared for future use.

In this case, it would be 250 watts / 120 volts, thus amperage draw would equal 2.08. Either a 15 or 20 amp circuit would suffice just fine for your installation (provided you have the room left on the circuit if it is existing), but a 20 amp circuit is always suggested when installing a new line.

Amperage Draw = Watts / Volts

*To get your questions answered, either email us at info@nightscaping.com or go to our website and visit Bill's Blog to see the array of topics under discussion.

Troubleshooting Tools

BATTERY AND CHARGER
(BC-0603-C)

Comes standard with the 4-B Demo Pack and the '99' Contractor's Demo Bag. The 7-amp/hr battery, when fully charged will power a 50W lamp for approximately 2 full hours. Regular maintenance on the battery is essential for dependable long-life. Let the battery discharge fully before recharging. DO NOT OVER CHARGE - 12 hours max.

DIGITAL VOLT-OHM METER
(VM-0203)

The digital volt-ohm meter is an essential tool for the lighting specialist. The ability to accurately test the voltage, continuity, and ohms resistance is a must in Professional Landscape Lighting Design and Installation.

DIGITAL AMP-PROBE
(AM-0601)

The digital amp-probe is another essential tool for accurately installing and trouble-shooting Professional Landscape Lighting Systems. The ability to accurately know total wattage on a run as installed will pay for amp-probe on the first 'tough problem'.

Does Nightscaping® Encourage Installers To Loop Wire Runs?

There are numerous reasons why Nightscaping® encourages contractors to center-feed their wire runs rather than loop them. The following are just a few of the reasons:

It can be hard to follow positive and negative lines throughout a wire run as you daisy-chain numerous fixtures and continue on back to the Powercenter^(TM). One mistake can result in hours of frustration.

Center-feeding your fixtures solves the problems of reduced light output and looping the wire run is therefore not an advantage.
If you take the number of lights on a looped run and divide the lights on two separate direct runs, you would use close to the same amount of wire, and your voltage drop would be about the same as if you had looped it. Again, there is not advantage to looping.
Troubleshooting a system that has looped wire runs can be frustrating. If you weren't the installing contractor and you've been asked to repair an existing system, it can be difficult to figure out first that the runs are looped, and second which fixtures are on what loop.
If you run a single wire to your lights and center-feed the run, you don't need to worry about polarity (lining up the positive and negative sides of the wire). This makes the installation process much easier.
If a landscaper working on the property accidentally cuts one of the wire runs that has been looped, and re-connects them without paying attention to the polarity (not knowing that the wire run has been looped) the installing contractor will be called out to the site when the system continues to blow a fuse. The contractor will have to blindly deal with a short in the system which is one of the hardest problems to deal with. Especially if you don't have an idea where to look for the short. This can be avoided by making direct runs to your fixtures.

Your time is precious and very valuable. Wasting time working with systems that could have just as easily been installed in a conventional fashion at roughly the same cost is unproductive and a future headache for all involved. We understand looping wire runs in outdoor landscape lighting installations does work and is used by many installers. We at Nightscaping® believe that the cons and potential for disaster far outweigh the pros. Our contractors are asked to back their systems for a very long period of time and we want them to be able to maintain these systems with minimal aggravation.

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