Garden Glow Essentials Stainless Ground Spike 350mm Pack of Five

The long version for soft ground, sand or a windy site where a 200mm spike works loose.

None of this is exciting and all of it is the difference between a scheme that works and one that gets dug up in three years. The two jobs people skip are drainage under an in ground fitting and marking a buried cable. Both are cheap on the day and expensive later.

Specification

• Dimensions: see the product name
• Materials: 316 stainless, polypropylene or steel
• Finish: as described
• Light source: not applicable
• Light output: not applicable
• Colour temperature: not applicable
• Beam angle: not applicable
• Power: not applicable, this is hardware
• Ingress protection: IP68, rated for permanent immersion
• Cable: not applicable
• Warranty: 2 years
• Fits all Garden Glow Supply fittings and most trade fittings
• Weight: approximately 1.1 kilograms

In the box

• 1 x stainless ground spike 350mm pack of five
• A fitting note where it is needed

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.