Review of Lithonia OFL 300/500Q 120 LP BZ M6 Light Visor Flood Light with One

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Lithonia 500Q Flood Light

The short answer is, this Lithonia is the best designed 500 watt halogen fixture on the market.

Here's the long answer...

Halogen 500 flood lamp fixtures come in three basic designs:

Design Group 1

RAB Quartz Flood 500 watts

Designers Edge L-50BR 500-Watt Halogen Floodlight

Heath Zenith SL-5505-BZ 500 Watt Halogen Floodlight

LIGHT FLD HAL QZ 500W WT [Misc.]

Ace Outdoor Halogen Quartz Floodlight (AWQ500)

Cooper Lighting GP-500-WL 500W Halogen Floodlight

Cooper Lighting WQ500 500W

Cooper Lighting/Regent Light 500W Fld Light

All of these lamps have a fatal design flaw, in that bulb replacement is terrible. To replace a bulb, you have to slide two clips holding the unframed glass lens out of the way and carefully remove it without cutting yourself. (The Ace and Cooper models require unloosening two screws to slide the glass out.) Typically, the glass lens will be stuck to the rubber gasket and has to be pried off which is risky, since prying could crack the glass, plus the glass could be dropped. Imagine doing that high up on ladder, where you'll need find a place to keep the glass lens while replacing the old bulb!

Design Group 2

Hubbell Q500 flood lamp

Cooper Lighting QL-500-WL 500W Industrial Grade Halogen Floodlight

These lamps are a much better design the those in Group 1, because the glass lens is fully enclosed in an access door. Bulb replacement is much easier and it's highly unlikely that you'll cut yourself on the glass or drop it. I.e., remove a single screw and the door swivels down for easy bulb access. However, since you'll be leaning out a window or on a ladder to get to the lamp, the best designs require no tools to re-lamp.

Design Group 3

Lithonia 500Q flood light.

Designers Edge L-31BR 500-Watt Halogen Floodlight

Globe 60500 Supra Lite 500-Watt Outdoor Halogen Flood Light

Similar to Group 2, except that bulb changes are completely tool-less and easy. Simply release a stainless steel clip and lower the hinged door for full, safe, access to the bulb.

The Designers Edge L-31BR uses a crinkled glass, which blocks some of the light.

The Globe model doesn't include a mounting bracket, which is needed to mount the lamp so unless you have an outdoor lamp-holder bracket of the same color on hand, avoid this one.

Summary:

The Lithonia 500 watt flood light is an excellent design. Highly recommended.

Bulb Replacement:

It's not uncommon for aging outdoor halogen flood bulb-holder contacts to corrode, killing your lamp. Once that happens, the lamp itself will need replacement. To curtail corrosion on a new lamp, apply a tiny dab of electrical contact grease on all halogen flood bulb ends. Dielectric grease seems to work just as well as an anti-corrosion measure.

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Thanks to Victor's previous review I went with this fixture to replace blown out lamp I had replaced just 6 months ago. The simple clip to release the glass for bulb change is a design worth its weight in gold. I have dropped and broken glass on a previous install and to do a simple bulb change was a 3 times up 3 times down ladder marathon. Quality of this fixture is noted improvement over the 3 others I have used. Also take note of Victors tip on dialectic grease.

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I installed this about 30' in the air on a tree next to my son's basketball hoop in the driveway. With the 500W bulb the whole court area is illuminated.

The construction is sturdy and the flip-up hinged cover makes bulb install/replace a snap while standing on a ladder.

Honest reviews on Lithonia OFL 300/500Q 120 LP BZ M6 Light Visor Flood Light with One

I see that all the previous reviews give this light five stars.

I bought eight of them over a year ago to install on the exterior walls of two apartment buildings. I like the light they throw. I like that I can choose among different strength bulbs so that I can use higher intensity where I think I need it, and save electricity where I don't.

However, I've had to change bulbs far too frequently. I would estimate that the best I get out of a bulb is six months. Sometimes I only get a few weeks. My handyman is very careful when replacing them, going so far as to wear gloves bought specially for the purpose of installing bulbs without getting any of his body oil on the bulb.

After about a year, one of the lights failed, with scorching on the two posts that the bulb connects to. I replaced it with another matching light. A few months later, the same thing happened to two more lights. Today, when another one blew, I decided I'm not throwing away any more money on these things.

I've been using name brand bulbs. Wattage ranging from 200 500. As I said, very careful with bulb replacement.

Oh, another thing: I've also replaced three photo-sensors (purchased at Home Depot) when the light sensors failed.

I can't explain the contrast between the other reviews and mine.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Lithonia OFL 300/500Q 120 LP BZ M6 Light Visor Flood Light with One

I bought this to replace a similar fixture I had for 10 years. The ceramic connectors had deteriorated over time causing the halogen bulbs to emit very little light. This fixture has been on for less than two months and the connectors are shot. I tried changing bulbs, but to no avail.