I currently have three 1000w halogen "court" lights in my backyard. They were better than the regular flood lights but time has come to upgrade.

I got LED stadium lights which are brighter and use less electricity (240w vs. 1000w).

The existing lights are mounted ON round floodlight boxes so I am trying to determine the best way to install. Looking for thoughts on these options:

1) Keep existing round boxes, plug unused hole, mount LEDs close and run power into existing round box [easiest]

2) Replace round box with smaller square box (PVC or metal?) run power from LEDs into boxes [medium amount of work but think it will look better than existing round boxes]

3) Remove junction boxes from outside of house and install junction boxes in attic. Mount light over existing hole and run power from LED into attic junction box [hardest because space is tight in attic but think would look the cleanest]

This is more just to make them look as good as they can because they are huge.

Thoughts?

Here are some pics:

Existing lights:



New LED Lights:




This is what I would do with option #3 - run the power cable from the LED into the attic junction box:

 

I think I would mount the new fixture so it hides the box and then use a cable fitting similar to the one coming out of the LED into the hole where the existing conduit comes out.

 

They need to connect to a splice box outside.
I don't see how a square box is any neater over over a round box.
The box should barely be visible if it's behind the fixture.

 

Assuming (I know, a dangerous word) those lights are line powered (120 VAC), the connections must be contained in a box. Find metal blank WP covers for your existing boxes, mount the lights to the cover and use a suitable WP connector get the wire into the box.

 

Option #1 is the best option.
Option #2 is OK but I don't think there will be any benefit as any other box would not be that much smaller.
Option #3 is not an option as the light fixture cable is not rated to be installed inside a wall or an attic.

 

Thanks everyone for the responses! Looks like Option 1 is the way to go - which is good as it is the easiest.

Follow up question: For the power wire for the lights into the box, is there a special water proof connector or cable gland I should use?

Since these will be outside I figure it would need a water tight connection.

As far as the mounting, the lights are heavy and could not be mounted to the box. They need to be bolted into the house.

 

They make WP cable entries, but the ones I used came with the equipment; no idea who made them. It has to be sized for the cable.

 

@ThisOldMan - Thank you. I found the connectors you were referencing at HD. They screw into the standard threads on the junction box (pic below for reference).

My experience for others who may have a similar question:

1. Since the old lights mounted on the cover, the plugs on the bottom were siliconed in, and the cover screws were rusted I ended up just replacing all the junction boxes.

2. I siliconed the plugs (as the stamping on the box advised) and for the water-tight connector on the bottom I just screwed it in. My thought was 1) gravity will prevent water going up into the box, 2) if water gets in the box it could potentially use it as a way out.

3. For the power wires going into the boxes, I siliconed the wire clamp in the rear of the box to prevent water from coming in.

4. I put some anti-seize on the cover screw threads which I hope will make future servicing possible if required (I had to cut off 2 of the screws on the old boxes as the heads got messed up because they were rusted in place).

5. I created a "drip-loop" on the wires from the lights to the boxes and zip-tied them

6. Each light had 2 bolts to hold them to the mount with 3 washers (regular, star, lock) so I put them together and held them in place with electrical tape - way better than fumbling with it on the ladder!

The hardest part was working in 30 degree weather and moving my 28 foot super-heavy duty ladder into place.

All in all I'm happy with the way it turned out and got good at it once I finished the last one lol. I don't run these for long at a given time so hopefully they last a while - time will tell.

Thanks everyone for your help!

Some pics for reference...

Water-Tight Connectors



Light 2 of 3



Let there be light!

 

Nice job!

It is very common for the screws to get stuck in due to corrsion. The screws are steel and the boxes are aluminum which also doesn't help.

 

Thanks! I’m wondering if it would be worth getting stainless steel screws?