Pilaster Lights

I've always loved these verdegi lights on our front pilasters.  They are at the 18 year mark and starting to show their age a bit.  Back in the day, they were the up-to-date lighting choice.  We don't have streetlights on our street.  We are on a single lined street and our front yard is the Cleveland National Forest, thus no lighting.  We depend on the pilaster lights when it's dark.  We have steps up from the sidwalk to the front door, etc. and for safety issues we need the light.

There are 3 bulbs in each light.  They are not standardized, which we didn't know at the time we landscaped.  Nowadays, most pilaster lights are wired for standard electical bulbs.  Ours have been flickering off and on for months now.  I go out and give a little twist in either direction to get them back on again.  That lasts for a day or so.  I knew they still had 'life' left and couldn't figure out what was going on.

I took a bulb out and there it was:  the bottom of the bulb had corroded and so wouldn't connect properly with the electical stem.  We needed new bulbs.

I went to Lowe's.  I asked two salespersons for help.  They took me to the bulb section and handed me 120V small candelabra bulbs.  I kept telling them they wouldn't work.  They didn't believe me.  I was so frustrated.  I finally went to the lighting/electrical department.  I found a nice guy who indulged me.  Both our eyes were bad and we couldn't read what was on the bulb I brought in.  I didn't know that on each bulb on the metal part, is engraved with what kind of bulb it is and all the information!

He took me to some other aisle and found a powdery substance and rubbed it on the metal part of the bulb.  There it was!  12V 25 watts.  Hallelujah!  After an HOUR, at least we knew what we needed.  Guess what?  Lowe's doesn't carry bulbs like that.  I was very frustrated at that point.  This nice salesman got out his cell phone and called all the smaller hardware stores and found those bulbs for me!  He felt so bad that a large store like Lowe's didn't carry what I needed.

I got in the car and drove to DeNault's and there they were.  Bingo.  Now I know where to go and they were only a dollar a piece compared to $6 a piece at a specialty lighting store.

Mystery solved and we have light.