I just bought one of these, thinking I would try it out as a possible replacement for the 80W mercury vapor fixture above my garage door. Since that fixture failed last summer, I've been looking for something that throws a lot of light and has a similar small physical footprint (there isn't much room to put a fixture where this one needs to go). Lower wattage would also be good, but I'm not a fan of fluorescent bulbs outdoors. (That said, I've had a 60W replacement CFL in my porch light for well over a year and it doesn't seem to be anywhere near ready to quit.)
Well...I just jury-rigged a power cord for this one and WOW is it bright. Like the sun, it is too bright to look directly into it. And even in daytime conditions indoors, it seems to flood a room with a lot of light. I'm eager to test it outdoors tonight.
At 12W vs. 80W, and at half or less than half the price of a metal halide fixture that probably wouldn't fit, I may buy two or three of them before it's over.
Mine came with the instructions and all the parts, so I'm wondering if they get a lot of returns on these and that's what the people bitching about missing instructions/parts in the reviews are getting sent to them...my biggest complaint is that the boxes aren't factory-sealed, but in my case at least everything was present.
All the above being said, and due to not having a working fixture for it anymore, I have a spare brand-new 80W mercury-vapor lamp that I'm willing to let go for free to a good household. Only caveat, you have to pick it up at a blogmeet, I won't ship it.
(FWIW, the Amazon page says 10W, the documentation says Max Power Consumption 12W. Yeah, I dunno.)
