Solar powered garden lights

lee8040

Can anyone recommend good solar powered garden lights. Bought 4 off eBay and not that brilliant, so dim I don't expect floodlight levels but some that are half decent. Don't mind paying a price if I have to just as long as they have a good amount of light. http://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/141616191389
There kinda what I bought which are rubbish
Thanks

bouicca21

My ex has some solar powered stuff in the garden. His gets lots of light all day long. The solar powered stuff works only when hit by direct sunlight. The first hint of a cloud and nothing works. I think this is pretty well true of all solar powered garden thingummys, though would love to learn it isn't.

lee8040

bouicca21 wrote: »

My ex has some solar powered stuff in the garden. His gets lots of light all day long. The solar powered stuff works only when hit by direct sunlight. The first hint of a cloud and nothing works. I think this is pretty well true of all solar powered garden thingummys, though would love to learn it isn't.

Which ones did he have any recommendations?

BargainGalore

Dont bother they dont last long accept in Summer, and batteries last no more than a year or two due to charging/discharge many times often they use nicd's which have memory effect

Nick_C

Wait until the summer then they will be on sale in all sorts of places. I gotsome from Sainsbury's for £5 each which were OK ish, but they won't work in the winter. Days are too short and nights are too long.

Ectophile

BargainGalore wrote: »

Dont bother they dont last long accept in Summer, and batteries last no more than a year or two due to charging/discharge many times often they use nicd's which have memory effect

All the ones I've ever had used NiMH batteries. I usually take the battery out before throwing the rest of the unit away.

I have managed to revive old ones with a new battery, but it's usually the solar cell that fails.

Most are cheap junk. If they last more than a year, you're doing well.

Anne_Marie_2

I've given up buying the cheap ones, as they really are just a waste of money. I now have an array of different solar lights, as I live in a rural location, and there are no street lights. Most have sensors, but have others which are dawn to dusk. Just recently bought another couple which are of the type that you mention, and they are of really good quality, and are working well, giving off quite a good light.

Make sure you are sitting down now, as I nearly died when I looked at the price. I bought this one in December, but was £24.99 when Amazon had their Black Friday week deals on.
http://www.thesolarcentre.co.uk/products/Albany_Premium_Solar_Spotlight-766-83.html

I have bought various solar centre lights and can't fault any of them. I don't necessarily buy from there though, as have found it cheaper to buy from perhaps Amazon, but other websites too. Worth having a look on their website to see if there is something a bit more economical to suit your purpose, or wait until the next sale.

Mayflower10cat

A dear friend ordered me two sets of fairy lights from this UK manufacturer a year ago- they have been THE BEST solar powered lights I've ever had http://www.powerbee.co.uk/solar-fairy-lights.html the fact that you can detach the power panel and charge it via USB is inspired.

I_have_spoken

IMHO Solar is OK for 'fairy lights' but I've used Mr Beams PIR lights from Amazon for really lighting

Anne_Marie_2

I_have_spoken wrote: »

IMHO Solar is OK for 'fairy lights' but I've used Mr Beams PIR lights from Amazon for really lighting

Certainly not knocking what you use, but solar really has come a long way these days, and you can get excellent proper lighting, albeit at a price. I've had three lights, 1 with PIR, 2 dusk to dawn floodlights for almost 5 years, and they are still going strong, and cover quite a good area.

Davesnave

You'll get what you pay for with outdoor lights, although if you can wire your own and know what to buy, it's possible to get an aluminium and glass bulkhead fitting for about £8 and a decent LED lamp for around the same price and enjoy cheap light for the next 15 years or so, without even worrying about solar panels.

If you think about it, a typical 'stick in the ground' solar light will have to endure a huge range of temperature changes in a year, expanding and contracting at different rates due to the varied materials, so it's hardly surprising something costing £3.50 retail doesn't stay waterproof for long.

Add to the above the use of the cheapest components, and it's obvious that these things are bound to fail.