Contrasts

I was playing with my camera and photo software the other night.

I took photos at a job where I installed the low voltage IlluminFX Tadpole fiber optics kit in a narrow stream/ wate rfall that leads into a koi pond (out of view to the left).

The photo shows fairly true colors at dusk.... slightly manipulated using Picasa 3 ( free program from Google.)

The dwarf Japanese maple is starting to turn, and the warm colors are enhanced by the halogen uplight shining on it from behind the boulder.

The fiber optic lighting is focused on two tiny waterfalls, and is a much cooler white.

Water, politics and economics

I was at the movies last night and saw the trailer for a documentary, Flow: for love of water, which looks like a must-see.

Here's a NY Times review. And here is an interview with the film makers.

The official film website. And then the trailer along with with a blog from another point of view.

And if you're still interested, please read this article.

Here's an excerpt:

....Water for drinking, cooking, bathing, and all other domestic needs is only a small fraction of the requisite supply. A much larger amount is needed to grow our food as well as the fibers, such as cotton, in our clothes. On average, growing a single calorie of food demands a liter of water... A healthy diet of 3,000 calories requires at least 3,000 liters of water to produce; a vegetarian diet requires the least amount of water, while a Western, meat-based diet rich in corn-fed beef can require as much as 15,000 liters of water per person per day. Roughly seventy times as much water is needed to grow the food that people eat as to serve domestic purposes.

Therefore, to understand the water crisis we need to distinguish two fundamentally different problems, which will require different solutions. The first, the drinking water problem, is about access to affordable water services: here we face a service crisis. The second is about the lack of the vastly greater water resources needed to grow food and maintain ecosystem services: here we face a problem of water scarcity, a resource crisis....

Lighting connectors

I just came across this question posted to the Nightscaping website... and no answer yet....



John L******* // Jul 5, 2008 at 2:18 pm

I have been using low voltage lighting for 30 years and am frustrated with the awkward system of connecting lights to the main low voltage line. The common way is the pronged system used by Malibu and many others. This a very difficult and cumbersome way of making a connection. Is there any product out there that simply plugs into the main line? Thanks for your help.

John L.

John... Pierce type connectors are really a thing of the past. They're a bad idea because they're not waterproof and they set up points where moisture intrudes and corrosion occurs. As a contractor who has used a lot of Nightscaping products, I have to tell you that one of the best ideas they ever came up with was the Ace Connector. It's a brass lug with hex head set screws that gets wrapped in 3M shrink tube. It is waterproof. Check it out on Nightscaping's website. Ace Connectors are not cheap. But that's really the point... you'll pay a little more, AND it's quality will last a lifetime.

Rain Bird service bulletin for ESP-M controllers

If you have a Rain Bird ESP Modular sprinkler controller and have been having any problems with it, give us a call. We installed more than a dozen of these over the last couple of years, for their easy programming and manual operation and large, easy-to-read displays.

Rain Bird discovered a problem, supposedly to do with some solder connections, in models manufactured before May 2007. Thy sent out a serive bulletin about it last month, but some distributors still haven't gotten the word.

One of the symptoms is a display window that reads "MV_Err" (for Master Valve Error, whether or not your system uses a master valve).

If that's the case with your controller, the fix is simple, so give please give us a call.

If we installed the original controller for you, then we'll replace the defective parts under warranty at no charge. If you or someone else installed the original we can still replace it, with no charge for parts but a nominal labor fee of $65.00.


Pictured below is the Rain Bird ESP Modular with the cabinet open.
The display window is on the upper left. An expansion module is shown at the lower right.

Fiber optic lighting for water features

I've found a source for some long-lived, energy efficient, safe lighting for small water features. This is an add-on fiber optics lighting system for new or existing low voltage systems made by a company called IlluminFX.

This system works for both free-standing or wall fountains and small waterfalls, even those that flow into swimming pools - not allowed with normal lighting fixtures.The beauty of fiber optics is that there is no electrical component in contact with water, abating any safety concerns for people or fish.

In addition, the MR-16 LED source "light engine" is rated for a very long life of 50,000 hrs. Even at 5 hours per night, 365 days per year, that amounts to more than 20 years before changing the bulb!

(Note: Although they don't seem to show their low voltage version on their website you can view photos of their line voltage metal halide and halogen systems. The effects are similar, but larger scale.)

LED lighting: towards a brighter, greener future!

How would you like a way to effectively light your landscape, save on energy bills, and not have to change a lamp (bulb) for over 15 years? Sound far-fetched? To some, maybe. But not to those who have seen firsthand what these new lighting tools can do.

Quality LED-based landscape lighting fixtures are gaining acceptance among designers, installers and homeowners. We are starting to offer them now.

The challenge for landscape lighting manufacturers has been how to produce the right warm white quality of light, while also dissipating excess heat and keeping out the weather. We've discovered a Southern California manufacturer called DG Lights, whose fixtures are built solid as bricks with great heat sink capacity.































The first and second photos show the Calzado from DG Lights, first at at night and then during the day.
















The third photo (above) shows two DG Lights brand Phoenix LED spot lights mounted part way up the trunk of a Washingtonia fan palm.

The last photo (below) shows two DG Lights Pasos mounted on a stucco wall adjacent to a deck.

Joy and Sadness

A lot has happened in the past six months.

First, my oldest son got married on June 30, amid the redwoods at Sean's mom's home in the hills above Los Gatos.

Lindsay works in planning and land use policy and Sean works as a risk analyst for a company that helps local governments and non profits to self-insure.

You can see more pictures from the rehearsal dinner (including some bocce ball fun) and the wedding here.

(Photo courtesy of Rene Smoller)

Second, on a sadder note, a friend passed away after a hard fought bout with cancer.

Bill Locklin, known by most as the "father of low voltage outdoor lighting" and founder of Nightscaping passed on December 17.

Bill was a friend, a mentor and to many, both in business and in life. His "hobby out of control" grew into a major industry reaching worldwide... and his influence and inspiration live on.

A licensed electrical contractor to the end, Bill was good at listening to us who installed his products in the field, soliciting our advice, and improving products and materials for us to work with.

You can read comments from Bill's many friends and associates here.




We miss you Bill.

(Photo courtesy of Kevin Islander)

Rotary Nozzles

Photo courtesy of Rain Bird

















Rotary sprinklers are not a new idea. They are sort of a cross between spray heads, which broadcast water in a full or part circle pattern all at once, and rotors, which rotate over a full or part circle with a single stream of water.

Toro's 300/ 340 series Stream Rotors are a gear-driven version of this idea. They've been around since the 1980s. The newer take on this concept, from both MP Rotator (as of April 2007 part of Hunter Industries) and Rain Bird, features nozzles that thread onto a standard sprayhead body, and far fewer moving parts.

This seems to be another head-to-head (get it, head-to-head?) competition between these two irrigation manufacturing leaders. Both brands claim matched precipitation regardless of distance, water pressure (between 20 and 55 PSI) or pattern selected, as long as spacing is head- to-head. Both appear to be good solutions where water pressure is on the low side, or where excess water run-off is an issue due to slopes.

A few words of caution regarding these nozzles: (1) all sprinklers on the same line should be the same brand and model, and (2) watering times need to be extended to up to 2.5 times what conventional sprayheads require. The longer watering time is due to a lower precipitation rate, which is also how they avoid runoff.

One unintended consequence of rotary nozzle designs is that lots of people seem to like watching their sprinklers in action. Something about the rotating streams of water is soothing. They also might be fun for kids to play in. One customer admitted to me that he likes to run through the zones with his hand held remote control and keep the kids guessing which sprinklers will come on next. Good water conservation guidelines recommend watering before 9:00 AM and after 7:00 PM, but these sprinklers you might be tempted to make and exception now and then, like sitting on a patio with a cold drink on your hand and watching the "dancing waters" on a late summer afternoon.











Photo courtesy of MP Rotator