Tivah Black TRI Colour Single

This is the aluminium version of the Tivah bollard, and it comes with a restriction the brass and copper versions do not have. Havit's installation sheet is explicit: aluminium fittings must not be installed within 2 km of any salt water environment. That is not a suggestion about longevity — it is a condition on the fitting. If you are within a couple of kilometres of the coast or a tidal river, this is the wrong Tivah and the 316 stainless or solid brass version is the right one. Everywhere else, aluminium is the sensible choice: it is the least expensive body in the family and, powder-coated black, it is the one that disappears into planting during the day.

A metre of stem, which is what makes it a bollard

The spike is 1000 mm long. Set into a bed it stands the head at roughly knee height rather than down in the mulch, which is what suits it to paths, driveway edges and low borders instead of uplighting a wall. Bury or sleeve as much of the stem as the position needs, and settle the height before the cable run is closed up — the lead leaves the bottom of the column, so raising it afterwards means lifting the whole fitting.

The globe sets the beam, and you set the colour

A 5 W MR16 tri-colour globe is supplied, in a socket rated to 20 W. The colour is chosen at the fitting rather than at the checkout: twist the cover off anti-clockwise, lift out the glass, and move the small switch on the side of the globe. It leaves the factory on 3000K. Output is 270 lm at 3000K, 285 lm at 4000K and 300 lm at 5500K — it does not climb evenly with colour temperature, so choose the colour you actually want rather than reading the list as a brightness ladder. Because the globe is replaceable, the fitting has no beam angle of its own: the tri-colour MR16 supplied is a 120° flood, and Havit's optional MR16 is a 60° if you want a defined pool rather than a wash.

Supply, and the conditions that are warranty terms

• 12 V DC from a suitable 12 V DC LED driver. Do not connect the fitting directly to 240 V.
• No more than 25 m from that driver, with supply held within ±5% of 12 V. Havit states both as conditions of the warranty rather than as advice.
• 2 m of reinforced cable, wired in parallel; joints soldered and sealed watertight, or the warranty lapses on that point alone.
• Not dimmable with the globes supplied, on both of this fitting's sheets.
• 90° tilt and 270° swivel — stop at the mechanical limit. Forcing it further twists the internal cable and shorts the fitting, and that is excluded.

IP65, CRI above 80, and a 3-year replacement warranty.

Lights For You would rather sell you the right metal than the cheapest one — tell us how close to the water you are and we will say plainly whether aluminium is fine for your site.

Earthing and protection class

This fitting runs on 12 V DC and is Protection Class 3 — no earth is required at the fitting. The isolation comes from the LED driver rather than from an earth conductor, and the fitting must never be connected directly to 240 V.