# Those little solar garden lights



## rhonda (Jan 29, 2013)

Has anyone done a comparison on those little solar garden lights. I know several years ago I bought some and they were horrible.. I have heard they are much better now but how do I know which ones are worth the money. I am not wanting them for the outside, but to have for inside lighting in a longer term emergency situation.

Rhonda


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

I bought several at Walmart a couple years ago and they are still going strong. Still stay lit all night.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

The biggest things to consider are the "type" of solar cell and the size of the battery.

Avoid at all costs the ones that have a soft epoxy coating (that you can dig a fingernail into) poured over a solar cell made of little "slivers" of blue cell materiel. Those are the worst, since they get clouded over with time.

http://www.vakind.info/img/ft/52551.jpg

The ones that use Amorphous cells (Very dark) seem to last the longest.

Seriously, though... if you buy a $1.99 soldering iron you can do a lot better, by repairing your old ones to be what they *should* have been in the first place!!! Sometimes reliability is worth far more than low cost.


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## CulexPipiens (Nov 17, 2010)

I got maybe 2 or 3 days out of mine. Changed to a quality battery and they lasted a few more days and died. Complete junk.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Rhonda, Harbor Freight tools sometimes publishes a coupon where you can buy 10 path lights for $20. Though the solar cell isn't great, I was really impressed with the circuit board inside. The battery seemed OK.

The ones I bought at walmart seem to be pretty good, actually. I have some that have lasted two years without a hitch. They do need to be cleaned occasionally.

Some have said on here they have found them at Dollar Tree for $1 each, but I have never seen any at our local store.


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