DOCA Light Bulb Changer for High Ceilings Attachment for Extension Pole, Heavy Duty Telescoping Pole for Changing Recessed Lights and Outdoor Flood Lights - Suction Cup

I own a 90s house with needlessly soaring archways illuminated by one stupid lightbulb at a height that no amateur would dare attempt with a ladder. For this reason, no one had ever bothered to change the bulbs once they burned out, and our poor guests have been made to huddle in pitch darkness at the front door because I'm too cheap to rent a Genie or pay somebody to come over.As it turns out, it was simply apathy on my part that allowed this situation to persist; I thought that the meager 8 or 10 foot light bulb changing poles at Home Depot or Lowes were state of the art, but then through some slightly more assertive googling I learned of the DocaPole (I just kind of like to say it out loud- Do-ka-pole). Anyway I was somewhat nervous about the purchase- it would certainly pay for itself in one use if it worked and I didn't have to hire somebody with the requisite ladders to come over, but I feel like working with objects of this length there's just so much that could go wrong. What if I made a fool of myself? After some beers, I just ordered it.The massive pole arrived today in one of the big Amazon trucks with air brakes whose hiss signifies that you've bought something momentous, and indeed the driver and I had a sort of awkward exchange as we try to hand off a skinny 8 foot box through the front door. I was unable to wait and tore it open immediately, and was just as quickly alarmed at the size of the box containing the suction-cup light bulb attachment, which seemed too small. However, I was so pleased to discover that the kit included a feather duster (you can imagine the cobwebs on these stupid high ceilings) that I put my concerns aside.A few details about operating this thing. The suction cup holds bulbs pretty well, but I prefer to collapse the pole, stand it upright, put the bulb on the cup, and then extend the sections. Otherwise I'm swinging the bulb around at the end of a 20 foot long stick. To do this, you have to figure out how many sections need to be extended, and obviously the lower sections are more rigid than the thinner upper sections. So before you stick a bulb on the cup, you want to figure out which sections will need to be extended, because you have to do the upper ones first since you can't reach them if you do the lower ones first. I just do a practice run before I put the bulb on.Next, you don't need the string attached to the suction cup when you're taking a bulb down, but you will probably need it when you put the new bulb in. However, since you're twisting the pole to put the bulb in, the string will get wrapped around the pole and it can be pretty awkward to unwind it. So only unwind as much string as you need, and hold it against the pole as you turn so it doesn't wind up. Also if you have cats get them as far away as possible while you are dealing with the string. Ask me how I know.Finally, the instructions don't mention this, but I was changing a thick halogen bulb at a height of about 20 feet, and although I am not particularly safety-conscious, it did occur to me that I might incur brain damage if the bulb fell on me, so maybe if you have a bicycle helmet or something it might not be the worst idea you ever had to put it on.Anyway if you've read this far then hello fellow 90s house owner, yes it's a really good product, go find your bicycle helmet.

Works great, fits standard threaded broom/paint stick, just tighten the set bolt, excellent for high ceilings

I've spent a lot of time balanced on stools trying to get a purchase on the smooth surface of recessed flood lamps which burned out. Teasing them out of the socket with fingers slipping on the limited available surface was a bit dangerous, since I was reaching over my head while two feet off the ground. I attached this nifty device to the end of a paint extension rod I already had and stuck it to the old bulb while standing directly underneath the fixture. It came right out and the new bulb readily stuck to the suction cup and went right back into the fixture. Again, all with my feet firmly planted on the floor. Only two really small gripes. The little hook to attach the release string to the suction cup (to get it to release from the lamp after installation) was so small that most of the time I spent on this first lamp change was trying to attach the hook to the release loop on the cup. The second small gripe was that the extension rod I had used internal screw threads to lock the extensions together. Turning the rod to unscrew the old lamp loosened the locks and wouldn't turn the lamp. I solved this by releasing all the rods and then only working with the part actually attached to the suction cup. Once I did that, it was all really easy. If you have a very high ceiling fixture, that might need more drastic action, like using tape to secure the screw locks.Bottom line: it works , keeps you safely on the ground, and makes it easy to get a recessed lamp out and back into the fixture. Good value; seems to be good construction and design; attached easily.

Very easy to figure out how to use. I read the directions and followed them closely. I did try to remove one bulb without dusting it first and the suction cup couldn’t grip it. Once I cleaned off the light bulb with a microfiber cloth it was able to stick to the light bulb.I also ran into the problem where I couldn’t pull the string correctly to detach the suction cup from the light bulb. I started pulling on it and the entire recessed lighting fixture was starting to come out of the ceiling! (Oops!). I pushed the fixture back in (since I haven’t pulled it out all the way) and unwrapped the string from around the pole and tried again. This time I was able to break the suction on the light bulb and safely detach the pole from the light bulb without pulling the entire recessed lighting fixture out of the ceiling.As long as you take your time and make sure the long cord isn’t tangled up around the pole, you should be able to successfully change out the light bulbs. I thought this was a great tool. Definitely recommend it!