solar lites

[rockyroller]

in April I purchased 2 sets of solar garden lites. 2 are hanging style & 2 can hang but just sit on our patio table. the larger units that stand alone have been working better. brighter & glow for more hours. the hanging style units are cute but don't work as well. in fact one started collecting water & they started to fail altogether. upon closer inspection the bad unit had rust & a broken wire. not worth re-soldering, even if that would work. I ordered upgraded batteries & 2 more units. I investigated a return / refund but decided since one is still working I'll just upgrade the battery & recycle the bad one. not sure where I'll hang the 3rd. I'll upgrade the batteries in the new units when they arrive

no water intrusion in this one

original battery. been working but performance has dropped off in only 2 months. not as bright as day one, & doesn't glow as long as it used to, despite long bright sunny spring/summer days

upgraded battery, longer life & better brand. I could have got 1000 mAh but read that the 800 should be a good balance for year 'round use. meaning in the winter the 1000 may not fully charge?

new battery came charged up

the black one will go back on the patio table

we've been enjoying them because you don't have to do anything, they charge during the day, go on by themself at night & turn off in the morning

 

[Dogtrousers]

we have similar.

 

[annedonnelly]

We're lucky enough to still have relatively dark skies so you can see the stars. So no outdoor lights for me.

 

[rockyroller]

the new battery in the hanging unit on the right is working correctly. put it in at 7am this morning, it charged all day I guess even tho it arrived charged, & then it turned on as it's supposed to. will be interesting to see if it glows until morning & if it works as well tomorrow nite, after a full discharge & new charge cycle

EDIT: glowed all night w/ good brightness. very happy about upgrading the battery. & now I really want to take the larger black units apart & see what they have for batteries (AAA or AA)

 

[rockyroller]

well, the new units came in. a cpl slight modifications. solar panel is slightly larger & they have AA batteries instead of AAA. I couldn't put in the new batteries that I got for the originals. the mAh size is still 600 mAh. we'll see how they perform & if need be, I'll get 800 mAh Energizer rechargeables

now we have a 3rd, didn't need it but they only sell these in pairs. so it's in it's own spot. maybe I'll separate them all. the other two don't need to be under the bird feeder

 

[rockyroller]

so far so good

1 old, 1 new

1 new

I like them in pairs

 

[rockyroller]

found out Energizer doesn't make a 800 mAh AA battery. ordered some Energizer 2000 mAh units

 

[rockyroller]

the new lights are brighter & lasted all night. the larger solar panel & bigger battery are surely the reason

got the upgraded AA batteries but I'll hold off right now cuz I'm busy w/ other stuff

 

[johnnyb47]

I bought some solar lights many years back (early 2000) and they lasted for near enough 10 years.
Nowadays I'm lucky to get a couple years out of them.
This year I bought some balloon style lights from B/M and hung them up in the Apple tree.
One has failed already and the other two are temperamental.
I've taken them apart only to discover the insides corroded.
I've cleaned them up and sprayed electrical contact cleaner inside them but I'm not holding much luck for when the wetter weather eventually arrives.
I have also bought a solar fountain with lights that looks stunning at night from Aldi and that seems to be of a much better quality
The fountain works all day long in the sun and when the shadows cover the solar panel the fountain stops for a few hours.
When it gets dark it starts up again, and with the 5 or 6 led lights it illuminates the fountain.The solar panel must also charge a battery to run it at night
This time of the year it seems to run all night.

 

[Tenkaykev]

If you get some " Gorilla Crystal Clear " tape and cut a piece so it completely overlaps the solar panel then that will prevent water seeping in around the edges of the panel. I also drill a small hole at the low point of the led chamber to allow any moisture and condensation to escape.