Posted by Daniel Who Wants to Know on December 19, 2007, 8:06 pm
> >
>>
>>David Williams wrote:
>>
>>> -> I'm looking for an light suitable for outdoors that can be mounted on
>>> -> a wall. It must be weatherproof and get its power from a
>>> -> rechargeable / renewable source (e.g. solar or wind). My main
>>> -> motivation is avoiding running a power cable out to the location in
>>> -> question.
>>>
>>> A lot of stores around here sell lights with solar cells that charge up
>>> small batteries, and light a little LED lamp after dark. They aren't
>>> very bright, but they are easily available and they do work.
>>
>>They work rather poorly form what I've seen.
>>
>>I'd rate them as more of a gimmick than anything else.
>>
>>Graham
>>
>>
> I bought about six of them, Malibu is the brand name, IIRC. I think 3 or 4
> continue to
> work after about 3 years in central Alberta. In summer, they get enough
> charge to run all
> night. In Winter, they go dark around midnight.
> They give enough light to mark out a path, which is what I use them for.
> Also have two
> mounted on stanchions to mark the end of my driveway. One of them is one
> of the dead ones,
> now. I should try mixing and matching components from the dead ones, and
> see what part has
> died.
> Gordon Richmond
Most likely it was whatever form of battery they used. I doubt that they
bothered to use any sort of deep discharge protection to protect the cells
from damage. I have a cheap Chi-com crank powered 3 LED flashlight that my
aunt gave me that has a LIR2032 Li-Ion button cell in it that has no deep
discharge protection and a simple voltage regulator consisting of a
transistor, zener diode, and resistor for charging.
Posted by Neon John on December 19, 2007, 12:43 am
If you don't need much light and can protect the fixture from water, Northern
Tool
sells this light
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200306871_200306871
No actual field experience but I have seen one operating in a store.
Lowe's offers this one
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productIdb701-337-MSL180W&lpage=none
I wasn't terribly impressed with the store sample but there it is for your
consideration.
If you don't mind rolling your own then I recommend the following:
1 Lights-of-America or Regent compact fluorescent outdoor floodlight
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId 051&langId=-1&catalogId053&productId0200112
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId 051&langId=-1&catalogId053&productId0053082
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productIdc208-290-FE13PCW&lpage=none
1 250 watt or more inverter.
1 Deep cycle battery, chemistry of your choice. A 12-20 amp-hour gell or AGM
battery
would work for casual use.
1 12 or more watt solar panel with charge controller.
I spec'ed the inverter to be 250 watts because even though the LOF/Regent style
CF
lights are low wattage, they don't seem to start very well on an inverter any
smaller.
Another alternative is pretty much any outdoor fixture equipped with the
spiral-type
CF light of your choice and the above other hardware.
Mount the battery and inverter at a convenient spot and remote the inverter's
power
switch as the light's "on-off" switch. That way the "power" switch switches 12
volt
power which removes all load from the battery when the light is off.
You're looking at maybe $150, depending on where you get your battery and solar
panel, but you'll end up with a system that produces useful light.
John
On Tue, 18 Dec 2007 16:43:51 -0800 (PST), treboona@googlemail.com wrote:
>Hi,
>I'm looking for an light suitable for outdoors that can be mounted on
>a wall. It must be weatherproof and get its power from a
>rechargeable / renewable source (e.g. solar or wind). My main
>motivation is avoiding running a power cable out to the location in
>question.
>Has anyone any experience with particular products?
>Regards,
>Mark.
>---
>www.treboona.com
--
John De Armond
See my website for my current email address
http://www.neon-john.com
http://www.johndearmond.com <-- best little blog on the net!
Tellico Plains, Occupied TN
Unable to locate Coffee -- Operator Halted!
Posted by treboona on December 19, 2007, 4:34 pm
Thanks everyone for replying.
I'm tempted by the PIR-enabled device but based on the advice I think
I'll try seek out a place where I can view a sample first hand.
John - thanks for that procedure - it's probably beyond me timewise at
present.
Regards,
Mark.
---
www.treboona.com
Posted by Vaughn Simon on December 19, 2007, 6:37 pm
> Has anyone any experience with particular products?
Yes, but my solution is not a "one stop shop" kind of thing. For starters, I
use an ordinary porch light fixture. For the lamp, I use a 12 volt compact
flurescent lamp that puts out the same light as a 60-watt incandescent, yet only
uses one amp of current. I power that lamp with a lead acid battery charged by
a solar panel. There is a controller you can buy ( a "C12" ) that manages
everything, including turning the lamp on and off.
In some five years of operation, (two lamps, front yard & back yard) I have
only had one lamp go bad. This system had operated without damage through three
Florida hurricanes. For wire I use ordinary Malibu lamp cable, available at
Home Depot. You can bury the stuff directly in the ground.
Vaughn
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>>
>>David Williams wrote:
>>
>>> -> I'm looking for an light suitable for outdoors that can be mounted on
>>> -> a wall. It must be weatherproof and get its power from a
>>> -> rechargeable / renewable source (e.g. solar or wind). My main
>>> -> motivation is avoiding running a power cable out to the location in
>>> -> question.
>>>
>>> A lot of stores around here sell lights with solar cells that charge up
>>> small batteries, and light a little LED lamp after dark. They aren't
>>> very bright, but they are easily available and they do work.
>>
>>They work rather poorly form what I've seen.
>>
>>I'd rate them as more of a gimmick than anything else.
>>
>>Graham
>>
>>
> I bought about six of them, Malibu is the brand name, IIRC. I think 3 or 4
> continue to
> work after about 3 years in central Alberta. In summer, they get enough
> charge to run all
> night. In Winter, they go dark around midnight.
> They give enough light to mark out a path, which is what I use them for.
> Also have two
> mounted on stanchions to mark the end of my driveway. One of them is one
> of the dead ones,
> now. I should try mixing and matching components from the dead ones, and
> see what part has
> died.
> Gordon Richmond