Mr. Beams MB 530 Battery-Operated Indoor/Outdoor Motion-Sensing LED Reviews

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I bought two of these about 2 months ago, after my visiting aunt fell coming down the stairs at night. She hadn't wanted to turn on the hall light and disturb sleepers. She stepped off into air like Wile E. Coyote from the cliff, not realizing there were two more steps.

This light is great when there is no handy outlet for a nightlight. The bottom is flat enough to stand it on the side of the stair or next to a baseboard. That makes it easy to experiment with a good location without too much commitment. You can mount it with the included tape or screws, but I chose not to bother.

I put one on the floor before the first down-stair and the other one two steps from the bottom. Unless you're running, that gives plenty of time for the sensor to pick up movement and turn the lights on before the crucial first and last footsteps. Even with the turn at the landing and no other light source, the two units light the whole stairway enough to be able to navigate comfortably.

The switches for the settings are inside the cover under the battery bays. It would be nicer if they were on the outside of the unit. To get at the switches, take off the back door by loosening the two plastic screws (lots of turning with a coin.) With the unit turned so the screw-holes are on the left, remove the top-most battery if you already have one installed. You'll see two switches with barely readable embossed labels. The left switch says ON-TIME and the choices are 60 seconds (left position) or 20 seconds (right position). I find 20 seconds to be plenty of time for the light to be on, and it saves some battery. The right switch says GLOW and the choices are On (left position) or Off (right position). On gives you a constant low glow when the room is dark. Off gives you no glow, so the unit is dark until you walk near. Off saves battery power. I have both switches in the right position to save power.

When you remove a battery, the flat metal plate to which the spring is attached may pop out, but it's easy to slide it back into its grooves. A minor annoyance.

This product is made in China.

I'd much prefer a warmer, homier light instead of the harsh blue-white light these units emit.

My wishes for this product are for easier settings, warmer light, and made in USA, but otherwise I strongly recommend it.

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When I saw these on Amazon I was a little skeptical, but I ordered them anyway (3 of them). They are the best!

We have one in the master bath just behind the door, one near front door up against the wall were hubby puts his shoes on in the dark, and one in between the entrance & storm door (able to put the key in the lock, yahoo). Ordered them 7/1/08 received about a week later & still the original batteries (I'm sure will last long time). All there's left to say

"GREAT PURCHASE"!!

Sincerely,

Rose

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I've reviewed a few other LED lights as I am a safety nut and also prone to fits of obsessive researching and comparison. This Mr Beams model was purchased as a gift for my in-laws, and I had a chance to "install" it for them and test it out yesterday.

I'm using three different types of battery-powered LED lights in my own home in two stairwells. When my husband suggested purchasing some similar lights to make his parents' stairway safer, I opted to try this light made specifically for illuminating steps. Before going into details, suffice to say that I'm about to order the 3-pack of this light also available!

My current favorite LED light at home is the Fulcrum Motion Sensor LED Light. It is the least light sensitive of all my lights, meaning it goes on the LEAST often in low light conditions, but it works well in total darkness. I like this for saving batteries. I don't mind using the juice in the darkness, but it irritates me every time my Maxim lights come on during a cloudy afternoon. We gave the in-laws one Fulcrum light, plus the Mr Beams.

After shifting the two LED lights around on their (straight) staircase, we opted to use both lights up at the top. The Fulcrum Motion Sensor LED Light will be installed at knee level in the middle of their small hallway at the top of the stairs, and the Mr Beams LED Wireless Step Light is placed on the top step where a short piece of perpendicular wall puts it 90 degrees from the Fulcrum. With this arrangement, at least one light will turn on any time a person steps into the hallway from any of the four possible entrance points. Also, for a couple in their late 60's, the added light of two units was more comfortable to them, though I personally find a single LED light sufficient to avoid tripping in the dark.

We will use one of the additional Mr Beams lights I plan to order toward the bottom of my in-laws' stairs. The other two will be at my house, also on the stairs. The light being somewhat directional (aimed down) is one nice feature of the Mr Beams, but the option to turn on a constant glow is really quite nice. My stairs make a 90 degree turn, and a little nightlight there will be really nice. Also, the Maxim light I'm using at the staircase bend tends to shine right in my eyes as I start up. Mr Beams will focus his light on the wooden step.

We opted for the shorter "on time" setting at my in-laws' house, and I will likely choose the same. It seems to stay on a bit longer than the official 20 seconds, which is plenty of time for me to go by and trigger my next light.

The relatively flat bottom of the Mr Beams light is a real plus. There are places where affixing your light to a wall is really important, and places where it seems like a lot of damage (sticky residue or screw holes) to your woodwork for little gain. I like having the option to leave the light sitting in a safe corner. Also, with the need to turn the screws on the back of the Mr Beams light to remove the battery cover, it looks like you will require a new set of double stick tape with every battery change. Yuck! In this respect, my Fulcrum Motion Sensor LED Light wins the day since it comes complete with a slide-out bracket that lets you slip the light out, change batteries, and return it quickly to its wall-affixed seat.

I want to try one of my own Mr Beams units outdoors on our very dark, almost-ready-to-be-torn-down-and-replaced back porch steps. I will provide an update once I've tested these things out in our widely variable New England climate.

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Our garage has a small stairwell three steps down to reach the entry door. It is a dark area and often my husband and I had tripped down these stairs when we missed the last step.

This light solved all our problems. Easy mount we just slapped it up against the drywall with the adhesive tape. It works just like we need it to, turning on just as we reach the steps. For the reviewer who mentioned there was a lag time for turn on, I agree that this is sometimes the case when it is not really dark....but then when it is not very dark, we can see the steps just fine.

Works better than I expected and seems appropriately priced. I procrastinated on installing this device when it arrived, thinking I would be disappointed. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised and wished I'd set it up sooner!

Additional information: You can also mount this with screws. Battery life lasted several months. When we changed the batteries, we had to purchase additional adhesive strip to remount.

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this unit is much thicker than you think, and sticks out a whole lot from the wall..

but it does work well!