bestdealseaker said: Good Question. I also wonder how easy it would be to extend the wire if I needed to do that. Any electricians know the answer to that?
surfing4dough said: Anybody have any idea how long the wire between the solar panel and the light is?
Some reviewer on Amazon mentioned that it was 10 - 14 feet long.
Does anyone know how this one compare to Mr. Beams wireless spotlight?
doctor don says: How long is the power cord from the solar panel to the light?
Pete Romano says: I did not measure it, but it is very long. I'm going to guess 10- 12 feet? I mounted mine between the garage doors of my two garage house and ran the wire all the way passed one of the doors to the side of the house. I still had to wind up the extra wire and tape it to the back of the lamp.
There's a PDF manual linked in the product page that may say list the cord length.
psxzombie said: IMO, too many reviews of dying after 3 months...Sounds like my family's experience with those solar lights that sit on a stake in the ground.
excoriatorb said: psxzombie said: IMO, too many reviews of dying after 3 months...Sounds like my family's experience with those solar lights that sit on a stake in the ground.
It's worse than it sounds... How many people wrote reviews after the first day or two of use only to have it die a few months later? Plenty.
Despite what the politicians/marketers want to tell us, solar ain't ready for prime time. (yet)
fatluncher said: excoriatorb said: psxzombie said: IMO, too many reviews of dying after 3 months...Sounds like my family's experience with those solar lights that sit on a stake in the ground.
It's worse than it sounds... How many people wrote reviews after the first day or two of use only to have it die a few months later? Plenty.
Despite what the politicians/marketers want to tell us, solar ain't ready for prime time. (yet) Solar is not the problem. The battery is. If this had a regulator on it that would not turn the light on when the battery is too low, the battery would last for years.
I have found that putting the light under the eave on the side of my hosue keeps the sun and rain off the light and batteries and helps it last much longer. I have a cheap light I got from Harbor Freight that has lasted about 2 years so far...
Also to mention , this unit uses a non-standard battery pak according to one of the more recent reviews , so if the battery goes dead a replacement may not be possible or at the least costly (as most are).
russellt said: fatluncher said: excoriatorb said: psxzombie said: IMO, too many reviews of dying after 3 months...Sounds like my family's experience with those solar lights that sit on a stake in the ground.
It's worse than it sounds... How many people wrote reviews after the first day or two of use only to have it die a few months later? Plenty.
Despite what the politicians/marketers want to tell us, solar ain't ready for prime time. (yet) Solar is not the problem. The battery is. If this had a regulator on it that would not turn the light on when the battery is too low, the battery would last for years.
I think the LED part can be salvage. Just need a different power source. The solar seem to be too weak to fully charge the battery. And like you said the battery have no protection from drain completely.
bestdealseaker said: I have found that putting the light under the eave on the side of my hosue keeps the sun and rain off the light and batteries and helps it last much longer. I have a cheap light I got from Harbor Freight that has lasted about 2 years so far...
Unless you just do not have power where you want to put the light, seems like kind of a goofy idea.
I have plenty of LED stuff and even solar panel backup power but I use a regular 90 watt projection bulb with a motion detector. This puts out a lot more light, costs half as much, likely lasts 10x longer and power consumption doesn't make a lot of difference anyway if the light is not constantly on (motion detector).
I love solar but these products they come out with, seem like stuff that is more "wow" than practical. A product looking for a use instead of the other way around.
I'm not sure I understand the value to these solar flood lights. Besides the battery life issues, why would you pay a $15-20 premium for solar+battery when you can buy a wired one for $12-15 bucks that's brighter/more consistent/longer lasting? Considering these are going to be rarely turned on (ie, it's a security light), you really can't say it's to save on electricity costs. I'm fairly confident the unit would die before you broke even. The only scenarios I can think of are 1) you're installing it on a shed or other structure that does not have power (or you'd have a hard time getting to a power source), or 2) you really need that security light if the power goes out.
If that's the case, I understand. Though personally, I have no use for them.
Dotbody said: I'm not sure I understand the value to these solar flood lights. Besides the battery life issues, why would you pay a $15-20 premium for solar+battery when you can buy a wired one for $12-15 bucks that's brighter/more consistent/longer lasting? Considering these are going to be rarely turned on (ie, it's a security light), you really can't say it's to save on electricity costs. I'm fairly confident the unit would die before you broke even. The only scenarios I can think of are 1) you're installing it on a shed or other structure that does not have power (or you'd have a hard time getting to a power source), or 2) you really need that security light if the power goes out.
If that's the case, I understand. Though personally, I have no use for them.It costs money to hire an electrician to provide power where the light is installed. You could do it yourself but that can be risky (not sure if insurance would cover a fire caused by improper unlicensed wiring). Some people might not want it permanently installed, maybe if they plan on moving soon, are renting, or ...?
Longbean said: niniss said: devbot said: I've ordered Mr. beams light, but have not received it yet. But I think running off batteries would be a lot brighter.
Mr Beams seeem to have better ratings, i think i'll get Mr Beams instead.
If the Mr Beams is this one, then it is rated at 140 Lumens while this Sunforce is 850 Lumens (similar to a 60 watt incadescent bulb).
So I think the Sunforce listed in this thread is definitely brighter unless the Mr Beams light you refer is not the one I linked.
Yes, i was looking at that one. I did realize Mr Beams is not as bright, but i like the "wireless" and most importantly, much better ratings. I just want to be on the safe side.
The same light is $1 cheaper at HF. It's on sale for $35 but there's the ever present HF 20% off coupon making it $28 and you get a free flashlight/multimeter/screwdriver set/tape measure/pair of gloves. HF also has a 90 day return instead of 30.
dougtaylor1 said: bestdealseaker said: I have found that putting the light under the eave on the side of my hosue keeps the sun and rain off the light and batteries and helps it last much longer. I have a cheap light I got from Harbor Freight that has lasted about 2 years so far...
Kind of hard for it to charge in the shade????
He said he puts the light under the eave not the solar panel LOL
travfar said: The same light is $1 cheaper at HF. It's on sale for $35 but there's the ever present HF 20% off coupon making it $28 and you get a free flashlight/multimeter/screwdriver set/tape measure/pair of gloves. HF also has a 90 day return instead of 30.
Sunforce products are made by the same company that makes the solar products for HF.
If it is made by Bunker Hill, I had a bad experience with a similar solar motion detector lights made by them. It works for a < 1 yr then, it's hard to troubleshoot whether the problem is with the battery or with the solar panel.
LLLosingit said: dougtaylor1 said: bestdealseaker said: I have found that putting the light under the eave on the side of my hosue keeps the sun and rain off the light and batteries and helps it last much longer. I have a cheap light I got from Harbor Freight that has lasted about 2 years so far...
Kind of hard for it to charge in the shade????
He said he puts the light under the eave not the solar panel LOLThus the "wink" at the end of his comment... those who gave him red missed that one.
If it died, it's probably the battery that died. All rechargable batteries die eventually. You can get replacement batteries (rechargeable ones, like for solar landscape lights) but get the ni-hm type as they are higher capacity for the size so will last longer on each charge, and if they are not fully discharged every night, they will have a longer lifetime also.
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