Solar Lighting
 

Hombase are doing "Buy one get one free!" solar lights (£9.99 for two).

Are they any good and is solar lighting powerful enough to see by?

Thanks

Solar Lighting
 

On Sun, 23 May 2004 22:04:36 +0100, Steve Black wrote:

Are they any good and is solar lighting powerful enough to see by?

Define "see by". Keeping you to the path and not tripping over the cat
just about, but not much more.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

Solar Lighting
 

In message , Steve Black
writes
Hombase are doing "Buy one get one free!" solar lights (£9.99 for two).

The only way they can sell them!

Are they any good

depends what you want them for - they are kind of decorative when
reflected in my pond.

and is solar lighting powerful enough to see by?

Hmmm, see them, yes; read, no.

--
dave @ stejonda

"To materialist eyes, India is a developing country;
to spiritual eyes, the United States is a developing country."
Ram Dass (an optimist)

Solar Lighting
 

"Steve Black" wrote in message
t...
Hombase are doing "Buy one get one free!" solar lights (£9.99 for two).

Are they any good and is solar lighting powerful enough to see by?

Thanks



I recently purchased a set of 4 for £19.99 from Big W, to be honest I they
are pretty rubbish!

If you really want outdoor lighting that you can see by, go for the
low-voltage mains lights or perhaps some of the more expensive solar ones.

Solar Lighting
 

"Steve Black" wrote in message
t...
Hombase are doing "Buy one get one free!" solar lights (£9.99 for two).

Are they any good and is solar lighting powerful enough to see by?

On a completely moonless and starless night you might "see" by them but
otherwise all they do is a dim glow. Handy if you had enough to mark path
edges and so on but not to illuminate anything really. Also in winter they
barely charge enough to stay on for more than about 30 minutes or so.


--

Chris Thomas
West Cork
Ireland

Solar Lighting
 

"Steve Black" wrote in message
t...
Hombase are doing "Buy one get one free!" solar lights (£9.99 for two).

Are they any good and is solar lighting powerful enough to see by?

Thanks

We bought 4 because at that price they looked a good deal.

The light looks to be a LED or similar.

The light is cold but quite bright as a point source - a decorative feature
at night.

Nice to line a path (although you would need quite a few) or to add interest
to a feature such as a patio or pond.

If you want light to really see by (e.g. to light a patio area enough to
hold a party where you can see what you are eating and drinking or even who
you are eating and drinking with) then they don't have that kind of power,
and you would need some kind of mains powered lighting.

The destructions say that you need a full 8 hours of direct sunlight to
fully charge the 'AA' NiCds (doesn't say how many and I haven't taken one
appart) and that prolonged exposure to frost will damage them.

So a summer time solution only.

HTH
Dave R

Solar Lighting
 

In article , David W.E. Roberts
writes
The destructions say that you need a full 8 hours of direct sunlight to
fully charge the 'AA' NiCds (doesn't say how many and I haven't taken one
appart) and that prolonged exposure to frost will damage them.

Eeek! Mine don't say anything about frost!! Is this universal, do you
think? Am I going to have to dig mine up and bring them inside for the
winter? I don't do that for plants, I'm damned if I'm going to do that
for lights!
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

Solar Lighting
 

In article , Kay Easton
writes
Eeek! Mine don't say anything about frost!! Is this universal, do you
think? Am I going to have to dig mine up and bring them inside for the
winter? I don't do that for plants, I'm damned if I'm going to do that
for lights!

I have them in France Kay and they sit under a few feet of snow every
year without problems. However, wind is a problem and the solar bit on
mine - separate to the main unit, takes off like a flying saucer. Also
if rain gets inside the light fails - apart from that a very good
bargain at 9.99 for 2 in Q.D.at Norwich
--
Judith Lea

Solar Lighting
 

"Kay Easton" wrote in message
...
In article , David W.E. Roberts
writes
The destructions say that you need a full 8 hours of direct sunlight to
fully charge the 'AA' NiCds (doesn't say how many and I haven't taken one
appart) and that prolonged exposure to frost will damage them.

Eeek! Mine don't say anything about frost!! Is this universal, do you
think? Am I going to have to dig mine up and bring them inside for the
winter? I don't do that for plants, I'm damned if I'm going to do that
for lights!
--

It may just be corporate butt covering.

However these ones are cheap plastic on ground spikes so they are easy to
lift for the winter (and also not that robust).

Solar stuff in general should stay out in all weathers as long as it is well
engineered.

The problem may be the cheap plastic casings which perhaps will trap water,
freeze, then split.

For that price, they can take part in a field (lawn) trial.

Cheers
Dave R

Solar Lighting
 

On Mon, 24 May 2004 12:14:32 +0100, Kay Easton
wrote:

In article , David W.E. Roberts
writes
The destructions say that you need a full 8 hours of direct sunlight to
fully charge the 'AA' NiCds (doesn't say how many and I haven't taken one
appart) and that prolonged exposure to frost will damage them.

Eeek! Mine don't say anything about frost!! Is this universal, do you
think? Am I going to have to dig mine up and bring them inside for the
winter? I don't do that for plants, I'm damned if I'm going to do that
for lights!

The lack of sufficient sunshine to completely recharge the batteries
eventually destroys the batteries long before the first frost.

Solar Lighting
 

In article , David W.E. Roberts
writes


It may just be corporate butt covering.

However these ones are cheap plastic on ground spikes so they are easy to
lift for the winter (and also not that robust).

That's what mine are too!

Solar stuff in general should stay out in all weathers as long as it is well
engineered.

The problem may be the cheap plastic casings which perhaps will trap water,
freeze, then split.

For that price, they can take part in a field (lawn) trial.

My feeling too, except I don't really want the hassle of buying new
ones.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

Solar Lighting
 

In message , Steve Black
writes
Hombase are doing "Buy one get one free!" solar lights (£9.99 for two).

Wait for the end of the season and they will be half that price again.
And maybe worth a punt since the batteries might be salvageable even if
the thing is junk.

Are they any good and is solar lighting powerful enough to see by?

You can see by surprisingly little light when fully dark adapted, but
the chances are that you will be disappointed with their
bright^d^d^d^d^d dimness.

I did recently see a solar powered decorative feature glowing frosted
sphere that might just possibly look nice near a pond at one of the DIY
chains.

Regards,
--
Martin Brown

Solar Lighting
 

In message , Kay Easton
writes
In article , David W.E. Roberts
writes
The destructions say that you need a full 8 hours of direct sunlight to
fully charge the 'AA' NiCds (doesn't say how many and I haven't taken one
appart) and that prolonged exposure to frost will damage them.

Eeek! Mine don't say anything about frost!! Is this universal, do you
think? Am I going to have to dig mine up and bring them inside for the
winter? I don't do that for plants, I'm damned if I'm going to do that
for lights!

In general yes - the batteries can die horribly in a sufficiently hard
frost. Probably leaking nasty corrosive caustic gunge all over the
innards too. Dissolved salts depress the freezing point so depending on
the electrolyte used it will not fail at 0C but at a somewhat colder
temperature.

However, they are more likely to be wrecked first by a combination of
over and under charging resulting in premature failure of the weakest
cell.

Regards,
--
Martin Brown

Solar Lighting
 

In article , Steve Black
writes
Hombase are doing "Buy one get one free!" solar lights (£9.99 for two).

Are they any good and is solar lighting powerful enough to see by?

Why, why do people want to light the garden permanently at night?
Do they sit there every night, all night, watching it?
--
Jane Ransom in Lancaster.
I won't respond to private emails that are on topic for urg
but if you need to email me for any other reason, put ransoms
at jandg dot demon dot co dot uk where you see

Solar Lighting
 

"Jane Ransom" wrote in message
...
In article , Steve
Black
writes
Hombase are doing "Buy one get one free!" solar lights (£9.99 for
two).

Are they any good and is solar lighting powerful enough to see by?

Why, why do people want to light the garden permanently at night?
Do they sit there every night, all night, watching it?

I was given some of these a couple of years ago. They have a switch
under the lid so you don't *have* to keep your garden permanently
illuminated :-)