Your cart is empty.
Your cart is empty.Product Description
Honest Vine Reviewer
Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2025
First, be prepared, this thing is HEAVY. That is the sign of a well-made transformer, which is basically a lot of copper wound around a lot of iron. Usually thin sheets of steel laminated together. Despite having 150 year old core technology, these are very efficient. The unit is well built, with a very bright display (see night and day pics), and gives two completely independent 12V/14V outputs. Either one can be used as 12V or 14V. The interface is simple to use, and only took me a minute to program the clock and the settings. I don't need to clock, as I'm going dusk to dawn on this one, but it does give the option for other modes.It mounts simply. Just bolt/screw/anchor the little metal plate to a vertical surface and slide it on. I expected lining it up to be harder, but I had it on and off four times, and got in on the bracket first try every time.The photocell comes with about 6' of cord, which would not be hard to splice in a longer cord if needed. This would help if it was mounted inside or too far into the shade. The photocell could be placed into the sun to keep it from turning on too early. Mine (as you can see) is right where I wanted it, so no need to remotely mount the cell.For $90, this is a competitive price and I don't see any reason to regret the purchase. I think they did a thoughtful and detailed job designing this unit and I don't need an instruction manual to program it if I ever have to change settings in the future.
David
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2025
2 Zone Transformers are frequently quite expensive often times making it less expensive to just buy two transformers. This Transformer provides you with two independent zones as well as an additional 14 Volt tap for each zone. You get many programming options including Manual On/Off, Auto Mode (automatically turn on at dusk and turn off at dawn), Countdown Mode (turn on at dusk and off 4/6/8 hrs. later), Timer Mode (turn on and off at the time you set), and Photo Eye On/Timer Off Mode (turn on at dusk and turn off at the set time). I appreciate when a Transformer has photocells that come with a long wire enabling me to mount the photocell outside of a shaded area, and this Transformer includes that. Overall, this has every option I could possibly want.Additionally, this has a memory function that will keep your settings in case of a power failure and also gives you overheat and short circuit protection.I was able to test all the different programming functions this Transformer offers. They include pretty clear instructions but I found it was still easy to program without reading the instructions. This 300 Watt Transformer could power 240 Watts of light if you stay within the 80% of transformer capacity guidance. Since this is a two zone Transformer there is the possibility of needing the 240 Watts and it is good they include a 14 Volt tap for a very long wire run where you might get a voltage drop.Why canโt I give this 5 stars? 2 things come to mind. I am not able to find any UL or even ETL certification. Also, it is apparent this manufacturer copied and pasted a different products listing because they show:ใ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ๐ & ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐จ๐ใ Crafted from high-quality stainless steel, this low-voltage transformer is built to withstand the elements. It offers superior resistance to corrosion, heat, water, and rust, outperforming standard metal transformers.This has a plastic housing. That makes me question what else might not be accurate about the products description. For the money you get a lot of functionality however, the lack of certification and the inaccurate description leaves you with a choice.Sunday 5/23/25 Update:The Seller Yinleader, apparently read my review and they updated the Listing. It now reads:ใ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ๐ & ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐จ๐ใthe low-voltage transformer is built to withstand the elements. It offers superior resistance to corrosion, heat, water, and rust.
M.K.
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2025
Upgrading from a similar 100-watt low-voltage power supply to this 300-watt unit allowed me to consolidate my front and backyard landscape lighting for efficiency and centralized control. Installation and wiring was simple -- other than dealing with the 10+ pound weight of the product. Thankfully, mounting is done by first installing a bracket on the wall; then sliding the unit into said bracket. Gravity does the rest. The load wiring connects to screw terminals at the bottom: here is where you determine if your lights will be running on 12 volts (standard) or 14 volts (although most landscape lighting is designed to operate on 12 volts, the extra 2 volts is handy to compensate for voltage drop that occurs with long wiring runs).Although I split my lighting into two zones, I currently have both programmed to turn on at dusk and off at dawn. The power supply has five different operating modes: MANUAL ON/OFF mode(always on/off), AUTO (wired-in photocell turns lights on at dusk and off at dawn), COUNTDOWN (turns lights on at dusk and off 4/6/8 hours later), TIMER mode( turn on and off at the time you set), PHOTOCELL ON/TIMER OFF (turns lights on at dusk and off at the set time), and TIMER (turns lights on and off at preset times). Although the two zones can be programmed independently, there is no programming option based on days of the week. 300 watts is the total maximum load -- but the manufacturer recommends reducing that amount by 20% (to 240 watts) as a safety precaution. The product, however, does have overload and short-circuit protection.This power supply can be used with both LED and halogen lighting. Though LEDs produce light efficiently, each fixture typically consumes 10 watts -- which can quickly reach the device's capacity, say, with 24 fixtures. The unit is supposed to be watertight; mine is installed in my garage for ease of access to 120-volt AC power. The display is bright and easy to read; there is built-in memory that retains settings in the event of a power interruption.As I previously mentioned, the low-voltage loads are connected via screw terminals. The illustration on Amazon's product page inaccurately depicts a captive cord for the output. The second captive cord actually terminates in a socket where the photocell is connected (great design feature, by the way). This unit is built to last, so I think it's a good value for its $90 price.
Recommended Products