Haven't dealt with Manor House. I generally use Rockscapes, SPJ, Best Quality Lighting (cheesy name, but great stuff) and Advantage. They're all great products. I think Advantage and Best quality are the lowest priced ones. But the fixtures are solid. I can't think of any failures of any of these. And I've been selling them for a long time.

Are your Malibu lights metal or plastic?

I have unique lighting, www.uniquelighting.com, they are considered to be at the top, but very pricey and i think you can only get them via a contractor, my lights are all solid brass and lifetime warranty. Some other good brands are Nightscaping, and Kichler, both of which i think you can Google and find from retailers online.

Vista Pro, Lumiere, Nightscaping, Hadco, Kichler, Kim, BK lighting, to name a few. Go the link below and search lannscape lighting

Here is a link that might be useful: All Lighting Found Here

Landscape Lighting. I need spell check!

Maybe the OP died. All the stuff you all are suggesting is very expensive. I'm in the business. Malibu has some pretty nice stuff in metal in several finishes for about $25 pop with very good connections. On the other hand, we have installed landscape lighting that went into the thousands including stuff in trees.

^ I'm not in the business but can offer Corona as a source. Less expensive and offered in SS.

I am in the business also for thirty years. If you want to do a landscape lighting job correctly that will last you need good quality product. I have designed them at the ocean and years later they are still there. I currently am in the commercial lighting business and tire of complaints about cheap fixtures that fill with water.

Still suggest the OP died! May need lighting options for his casket.

I have a metal version of the malibu lights and replaced bulbs constantly. I ordered LED's from superbrightleds.com for replacements and wow they are brighter than the regular bulbs and look MUCH more expensive.. and best thing is I run them all through the night instead of a few hours at dusk for the past year and not one problem.

they help save electricity by using a transformer that converts higher voltage electricity into a 12 v energy efficient electrical current.

Sorry to say it's not quite that simple.

First of all, there's nothing magical about a transformer. Watts are Watts. With an ideal transformer, watts in would be exactly equal to watts out. But in real world transformers, watts in > watts out - always - because of the transformer's losses (inefficiency). So all other things being equal, a transformer wastes electricity. The evidence for this is that it gets warm. Heat == waste.

But things aren't always equal. When you're talking about low intensity incandescent lights, a low voltage lamp can be (though it isn't always) more efficient than a line voltage lamp. This is because its filament can be operated at higher temperatures for a given light output. This is often the case with xenon undercabinet lights for kitchens, for example.

I may have missed some, but regrettably I've never seen any landscape lights that appear to operate this way. Every incandescent landscape light I've seen has been a low output (and thus low filament temperature) lamp. So I doubt that you gain much, if anything, by using a transformer.

There's also the greater losses in the wiring caused by the higher currents. By Ohm's law, current = voltage / resistance. So, for a given wattage, at 12 volts the current is 10 times as high as at 120 volts.

The only real advantage that low voltage landscape lighting has over line voltage is relative ease of installation.

That said, low voltage landscape lighting is a good application for LEDs. Even though they're not as efficient as their reputation would suggest, they're usually more efficient than dim incandescents. They're also right at home with low voltage. As a side benefit, they usually last much longer than incandescent lamps.

As mentioned above, the OP is prolly long gone.
The Malibu connectors are touchy.
But I would have suggested as I've done. Cut the low votage wire, strip , twist, and maybe even solder, then
shrink tube or tape up. I have some Malibu metal lights that are about 15 yrs old. All have had LEDs replace the incand.

fred

We purchased some higher costing Malibu lights from Home Depot to add to our existing service. They lasted 6 months before all but 1 died. We tried replacing bulbs, but that didn't work. Went back to Home Depot they referred us to Malibu. i called the customer service line twice. Had to leave my phone number for them to call back. Second time they called, i explained the situation.. he referred me to Intermatic. He said they were responsible for the lighting even if it had Malibu name on it. i found him very rude on the phone, after telling me he didn't care if I ever bought another Malibu/Intermatic light again. I called customer service at Intermatic and a recorded message indicated they only cover Malibu lights made before purchased before 2009. I just bought these LAST FALL!!!! I give up. Between replacement bulbs and fixtures replacements., i have spent enough to actually have a good set put in. Save time and frustration and invest in a good system to start with. Stay away from Malibu!.

Carl, are you still happy with your Volt light? I'm thinking of installing some landscape spots.

I am a contractor and have heard the horror stories with Malibu. They are now out of business for a few years now. I use Unique Lighting, Vista Pro and on occasion Kichler. The cost of brass fixtures has come way down (although there is different grades of brass, solid cast brass which won't chip vs spun brass so you still do get what you pay for). I still wouldn't trust those companies from China with prices that seem too good to be true-it probably is!

I've found Unique's aluminum powder coat line to be the cheapest, and Vista and Kichler to be just slightly more expensive, but have more customizable options for those who want a custom install (ie. glare shields, frosted lens). All have great warranties and will stand behind their product. Most however are only available to landscape contractors.

www.uniquelighting.com

www.vistapro.com

https://www.kichler.com/products/landscape-lighting/