Bramblewick Avenue Uplighting Kit In Ground

In ground uplighters sit flush with the turf, which means you can mow straight over them and there is nothing to see in daylight. They cost more, they need a drainage pit under each one, and they are the only sensible answer in a lawn.

Trees are the best thing to light in a garden and the easiest to get wrong. Two rules cover most of it. Put the fitting far enough out from the trunk that the beam climbs the tree rather than blasting the bark, which is usually between a third and a half of the canopy radius. And use two narrow beams from different angles rather than one wide one, because a single flood makes a tree look flat and slightly alarming. Every kit here is supplied with two beam angles and a spare set of lenses so you can change your mind on site in the dark, which is when you will actually know what you want.

Specification

• Dimensions: in ground fitting, 130mm deep: 165mm tall, 90mm diameter head
• Materials: solid brass body, toughened glass lens, stainless steel spike or sleeve
• Finish: unlacquered brass, patinates naturally
• Light source: 9W integral LED module, replaceable
• Light output: 20 fittings at 650 lumens each
• Colour temperature: 2700K very warm white
• Beam angle: 10 degree and 24 degree lenses supplied for every fitting
• Power: 12V SELV from a garden transformer, safe to cut and join outdoors
• Ingress protection: IP68, rated for permanent immersion
• Cable: 220m of 1.5mm low voltage cable, 2m tail on every fitting
• Warranty: 10 years on the brass body, 5 years on the LED and driver
• Suits an avenue of ten trees lit from one side
• Transformer: 600W toroidal with a photocell and timer
• Drive over rating: 1000kg
• Weight: approximately 33.0 kilograms

In the box

• 20 x 9W solid brass uplighters, in ground
• 20 x 10 degree lenses and 20 x 24 degree lenses
• 1 x toroidal transformer with a photocell and a seven day timer
• 220m of 1.5mm two core low voltage cable
• 24 x IP68 waterproof connectors
• Drainage sleeves and gravel spec sheet
• An aiming guide written for trees rather than for buildings

Installation

This runs on 12V, which is the reason to choose a low voltage garden system in the first place. The cable can be laid in a shallow trench or clipped along a fence without armoured conduit, it can be cut and joined with waterproof connectors outdoors, and a spade through it is an inconvenience rather than an emergency. The transformer itself is the only part that touches mains, so that is the only part an electrician needs to look at. Bury cable at least 100mm deep, run it along a line you will remember, and leave a loop of slack at every fitting so you can move things next year when the planting has grown.

When to buy

Garden lighting is bought in spring and installed in a hurry. It is much easier to dig a cable run in February when the borders are bare and the ground is soft than in May when everything is in leaf and you are trying not to stand on it. Order in winter, get the cable in, and the first warm evening of the year is ready for you rather than a job list.