• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Haz nothing to do with audio. Outdoor Lighting actually. $53 bucks for a 10 PACK!

iMickey503

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Jul 19, 2021
Messages
405
Likes
659
Location
United States PDX
Well, I have 2 loves in life. Audio, and Lighting.

So...

71tKBIhqDfL._AC_SL1500_.jpg



I would not call them super. In fact they are cheaper then some solar lights. Probably less then 1 watt led. Who cares.
I can't even get the housing for this much!
So I just ordered this from amazaon today. Super stoked!

Can't wait to see them in person! From what they look like, they seem to be made out of metal, so cool! Seems all regular parts so I can fix them when I need to. But I got the 3 year warranty cus I KNOW they are going to break! So in the end? I'm pretty sure I'm going to get these for free LOLZ! God I love Capitalism!
61zGsreH6EL._AC_SL1000_.jpg



So from the few people that said something about it? Seems like they are a pain to terminate with stock wire being anemic small..
Similar sets were about 100 bucks or more on Ebay, so this was a score for me.
I wonder if throwing in some rice inside really would work? Or should I just stick with Desiccant? I'll just wait till they fail as they always do, and see what I will do then.

Anyways, just wanted to pass on a good deal when I saw them for the LED light Enthusiast as myself. I might order another set just to mess around with.

I also orded these as they were an 8 pack. And the cost of $42 bucks? For 8 of them? THat's less than $ 5 bucks each I think.

81F9gp9zeGL._AC_SL1500_.jpg




I also found these for a good deal on amazon for 8 of them. I like the Blue and the Warm white. on top. I want to put them on the Sidewalk. and the Pathway out from the front and Back doors. Before I install these? I am going to do some EXTENSIVE amounts of Waterproofing.
81gJz8WJHhL._AC_SL1500_.jpg


The only mod I have planned for these is that I want the Blue LEDs to circle. I might have to ask Big clive if he knows some easy way to do this. Or look for some pre programed unit that already does this. I like the fact that you can Bolt them down. Also, I hope I can tone down the brightness a bit. They seem a bit bright in the photos and that sort of ruins the look I am going after.

I really want to do a Water feature this summer. For that one? I really want to get some help with that. I really like the ones at the McDonalds where they have the big rocks that pour water. I want to do something with lots of water. And I like Copper tubes. I'm really in the wrong neighborhood for that. But whatever.

So what do you guys have planned for this summer? Anything cool with your yards or plans?
 

mhardy6647

Grand Contributor
Joined
Dec 12, 2019
Messages
11,217
Likes
24,181
Summer plans here, as usual, revolve around Man (ahem, person) vs. Nature. Nature was here first -- and usually wins. ;)



As to lighting: so... I really don't begruge anyone their interest nor investment in outdoor lighting, but Mrs. H & I are really more dark-sky persons. :)

 

_thelaughingman

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jan 1, 2020
Messages
1,324
Likes
1,943
Summer plans here, as usual, revolve around Man (ahem, person) vs. Nature. Nature was here first -- and usually wins. ;)



As to lighting: so... I really don't begruge anyone their interest nor investment in outdoor lighting, but Mrs. H & I are really more dark-sky persons. :)

That is a gorgeous image of the Milky Way from your backyard.
 

xaviescacs

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 23, 2021
Messages
1,494
Likes
1,971
Location
La Garriga, Barcelona
Summer plans here, as usual, revolve around Man (ahem, person) vs. Nature. Nature was here first -- and usually wins. ;)



As to lighting: so... I really don't begruge anyone their interest nor investment in outdoor lighting, but Mrs. H & I are really more dark-sky persons. :)

That brings me good and peaceful thoughts... :) I used to live in the Pyrenees, with really dark skies, were the milky way is clearly visible... not anymore... :(

Edit: Nice pictures from the Pyrenees.
 
Last edited:

JayGilb

Major Contributor
Joined
Jul 22, 2021
Messages
1,371
Likes
2,308
Location
West-Central Wisconsin
Well, I have 2 loves in life. Audio, and Lighting.
Same here. I love led lighting because I can disassemble bulbs and fixtures and make unique lights from the parts.
Our house is full of DIY low wattage lamps and custom bulbs that we leave on full time.

Those outdoor stake lights are a great price and the 3000k temp should produce a nice warm effect.
 

mhardy6647

Grand Contributor
Joined
Dec 12, 2019
Messages
11,217
Likes
24,181
That is a gorgeous image of the Milky Way from your backyard.
Thank you -- we get a few such stunning nights every year (thankfully) here. Remarkably (for North America) that was in the summertime. Usually we don't get skies that clear & dark in the summer. I call those Milky Way nights.
We live in a tiny town -- but one may see the light pollution from the center of our little hamlet behind the house and low in the sky in the photo, It's the street lighting installed some years back by the snooty prep school in the center of town. :rolleyes: It's not terrible -- but it wasn't dark sky friendly, either (and it could have been).
 
OP
iMickey503

iMickey503

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Jul 19, 2021
Messages
405
Likes
659
Location
United States PDX
200.gif



Right out of the gate. It was a very good idea to take these apart and test them. Notice something?
IMG_20220524_200053.jpg


There seems to not only be a gap, but also where is the Thermal compound?
IMG_20220524_200109.jpg




That's a lot of metal shavings in here. Cleaned them out. Then found out the LED COB Chip is bowed due to the uneven presure and the bent Back plate of the housing not being remotely even. That air gab is considerable.
IMG_20220524_200157.jpg



And so it gets worse. I can deal with only 2 screws holding it down. But look at the thermal paste that is there.
IMG_20220524_201205.jpg



I'd wager maybe 1/3 coverage at best. The rest of the heat transfer area was not even touching. You guessed it. Metal shavings under the die as well as no where remotely being a flat mating surface.
IMG_20220524_201224.jpg



If you look close, you can see the metal shavings that were even under the LED COB. Also some casting flash it seems. You can tell why these leak even with the significant amount of Silicone applied. Look at the Gasket channel.
IMG_20220524_201241.jpg



I Cleaned the area of any casting flash, and metal shavings, and applied new thermal compound uniformly and added a 3rd screw as the casting of the housing is in such a way this provided the most contact for thermal transfer; due to a "Hump" on between the mating surfaces of the COB Led and aluminum housing.


Temps are just a TINY bit above ambient. Like very lukewarm coffee running at 18.1 volts for a period of 20 minutes.
I would recommend putting some desiccant packets in the housing The units wire is sealed quite well. More like "Secured" with glue. Simular on how the old HID Kits use to do it back in 2012 with silicone on the wires entering the ballast.



The Listing on Aliexpress I found for the chip seems to be this one:
H6c4404fb534546eea74cafdcc2851cc3r.png


Seems like its a 5 watt driver on a 10 watt led IMO. It does not SEEM like 900 lumens, but I don't have my light meter handy. It was actually a good move by the company doing this as the LED COB is under very low stress. This means more efficient operation and lifetime of the LED COB. And whatever variances in manufacturing and tolerances are well accounted for that happen on the factory floor as shown above.

As far as the Ballast. Think I found that too on Ebay.
s-l1600.jpg


Specifications:


10w LED driver

Input Voltage:DC9-24V
Waterproof Rank:Non-waterproof
Output Voltage:DC8-11V
Current:850mA
Storage Temperature:-20-80
Application:Fit for 1x10w led 3 in series and 3 in parallel
Function:Open circuit,Short circuit and Over
Not shown, but its wrapped in Heat shrink inside the unit with the same board above.



OVERALL?
Its cheaper to buy these then get the parts and build them yourselves. They run cool enough so that I don't think anyone is ever going to have a problem with them out of the box. But doing these few things will ensure a very long lifetime as long as water does not get inside. But I don't see that being to much of a problem either.

Moisture can be handled with desiccant packets. And its quite a bit for the money if you ask me.
Just doing the soldering alone would cost you more time then it would be just to get these and take care of the small issues shown above yourself in an hour or less for the entire 12 pack set.

Just have a few more screws handy as the ones that hold the Reflector are the same used to hold down the LED COB.

The reflector can be held with hot glue if you don't have extra screws on hand. 2 screws are fine as long as you have a good mating surface for heat transfer or just use thermal adhesive to take the guesswork out of it if you have more then 24 units to install if time is an issue.

The solder joints are fine. And wiring is sound and well done in the single unit I explored. Just make sure the LED COB makes Thermal contact with the housing, and all is well.

It does come with wire nuts for a quick and dirty install.

Confirmed works at 12-24 volts.

Light is not really 3000k. Warm white.

When I get the other lights in, I might update. But this is the one I was really curious about. Doing durability testing now, and I don't see any problems nor do I see any flicker. So its a nice light to the eye. Would make a great work light for under the hood.

Have a good one. And enjoy the night! And if you see stars? ALL THE BETTER!
 
OP
iMickey503

iMickey503

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Jul 19, 2021
Messages
405
Likes
659
Location
United States PDX
spider-man-doctor-octopus.gif





That's a LOT of chips.​
IMG_20220525_153424.jpg



Took them apart and surprise surprise, these are based of of lithium. that means they they are easy to fix. And will last a LONG time. The cell BMS is on the main board as I don't think the cells are internally protected. That fine. Easy swap out if and when they do go bad. The cell is hard wired to the board. So no problems you would find with corrosion from typical battery contacts. A common failure mode on many outdoor lights.

The Solar cell is glued in place with what seems like epoxy. Not hot glue. I don't see any problems with water ingress here. Many of these overtime however get cloudy due to UV exposure. I just use "OFF" insect repellent with the at happens to clear them up as they age. The housings are quite well built aesthetically inside and out.
IMG_20220525_153432.jpg


The internals look like this. There is no sealant or gasket on the back. I think this might be a better idea as it will not trap moisture. Due to the construction, water contacting the boards may be an issue. I would just spray them with Fluid Film and not worry about it ever again. I suspect these to have a very long lifetime in Dry climates. And an acceptable lifetime if precautions are taken to extend life in colder climates.
IMG_20220525_153442.jpg



A close up of the board. The red and blue wires are the battery. A 5v USB power supply used creatively, should do the trick to place these in an area where you don't have much light such as under trees, walkways etc.
IMG_20220525_153451.jpg


Hongli cell as listed by Aliexpress is 1200~1800 Mah. It came in at 2.85 charge and is a standard lithium ion based cell as far as I can tell. Upgrading the cell will give you longer runtime in a place you always get sunshine, but I don't think there is any value in doing that due to the size of the Solar cell in areas where sunshine is not the primary weather condition. Cell is held by a friction fit. with the Tabs welded in place to the cell.
IMG_20220525_153505.jpg


Close up of the board. Does not seem to come with any conformal coating.
IMG_20220525_153516.jpg


IMG_20220525_154653.jpg

IMG_20220525_154719.jpg


I have put them all on my battery charger, and plan to put them out these evening. They come with these VERY strong adhesive stickers. So easy to install. And a single hole on top for mounting. Just make sure to use a tape measure to put them spot on so they look uniform where you hang them.

They do have 3 modes of operation. That's what the button on front does including an off function.
At full charge and on full brightness, they are great for accent lights.

Overall SUPER DEAL!

Can't wait to get get the Pathway lights in. I better get some new soldering tips. I'm going to be busy this next week.

There's your DINNER!
Screenshot 2022-05-25 at 2.36.05 PM.png
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20220525_154708.jpg
    IMG_20220525_154708.jpg
    140 KB · Views: 36
OP
iMickey503

iMickey503

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Jul 19, 2021
Messages
405
Likes
659
Location
United States PDX
So only ONE of the Solar Fence post lights have a battrery that won't take a full charge. Still not sure if its just not enough sun in the location, but I doubt it.

Meanwhile? I got my Flowers in. AND I installed the pathways lights.

IMG_20220607_001442.jpg

The lanterns are from Ace Hardware. I got them a few years back. Did some paint to them. And use 18650's to power them. They last about a week before needing to be changed out. THey have a 8 on and 12 off mode. I added extra candle LED's to them to make them flicker a bit more. I love the deep orange glow. They look so much better in person.

I also did up the LED Tubes I made with some flowers tonight. I got most of them from Amazon at a pretty good deal I think.
1654588153080.png


They were really easy to install. I did not even have to bother with Zip ties.
I needed some color so I these as well. I had to bend them and they were a @#$ to take apart from each other, but they worked out okay.
1654588284101.png


And these really helped finish the Look
1654588422648.png


I also got these super tiny but active USB fairy lights that also have an On Off timer.
1654588511900.png


Plan is to drape those with the and inside the flowers and arches. I Bid on some Solar ones on Ebay that do the same thing. And Hope I win them as I saw them After I ordered these USB ones. I plan to hide the Solar panel in the foliage.
IMG_20220607_001406.jpg


Not bad for less then an hours worth of work. I still have a bit more to do as there are some Tropical leaves I need to work with to install the lights on them under the leaves so the leaves glow. You can see the Solar Pathway lights in the Background.
IMG_20220607_001357.jpg


They really do look like the Runway lights at the Airport. Got out my Masonary Bits and drilled into the bricks and some epoxy and screwed them down into the bricks.
IMG_20220607_001428.jpg


NEXT, I picked up all I needed to make my Own Water Fountain.

So I went to lowes and got the idea to make them out of flower pots. I wanted to do this for a while.

SO I picked up these pots as I saw them on Addicticted to DIY. A Husband and wife team that makes cool stuff.
1654589282834.png

The pots were a bit more pricey then I would like to pay but I could only find the bottom one and the middle one at lowes.
That's cool. Now I have room to put this on there.

I found a Klingon water fountain! This thing is RAD!!!! I have to Buy some more rocks and find out where I am going to set it up at.
1654589486220.png




I might find a way to hack it so I can give a Larger Power supply so I can have it run most of the night. As is it only runs for about 3-4 hours on a full charge.

After this? Outdoor speakers hidden away so it sounds like a stream or ocean.
 

Doodski

Grand Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Dec 9, 2019
Messages
20,751
Likes
20,766
Location
Canada
So only ONE of the Solar Fence post lights have a battrery that won't take a full charge. Still not sure if its just not enough sun in the location, but I doubt it.

Meanwhile? I got my Flowers in. AND I installed the pathways lights.

View attachment 211411
The lanterns are from Ace Hardware. I got them a few years back. Did some paint to them. And use 18650's to power them. They last about a week before needing to be changed out. THey have a 8 on and 12 off mode. I added extra candle LED's to them to make them flicker a bit more. I love the deep orange glow. They look so much better in person.

I also did up the LED Tubes I made with some flowers tonight. I got most of them from Amazon at a pretty good deal I think.
View attachment 211412

They were really easy to install. I did not even have to bother with Zip ties.
I needed some color so I these as well. I had to bend them and they were a @#$ to take apart from each other, but they worked out okay.
View attachment 211413

And these really helped finish the Look
View attachment 211414

I also got these super tiny but active USB fairy lights that also have an On Off timer.
View attachment 211416

Plan is to drape those with the and inside the flowers and arches. I Bid on some Solar ones on Ebay that do the same thing. And Hope I win them as I saw them After I ordered these USB ones. I plan to hide the Solar panel in the foliage.
View attachment 211417

Not bad for less then an hours worth of work. I still have a bit more to do as there are some Tropical leaves I need to work with to install the lights on them under the leaves so the leaves glow. You can see the Solar Pathway lights in the Background.
View attachment 211418

They really do look like the Runway lights at the Airport. Got out my Masonary Bits and drilled into the bricks and some epoxy and screwed them down into the bricks.
View attachment 211419

NEXT, I picked up all I needed to make my Own Water Fountain.

So I went to lowes and got the idea to make them out of flower pots. I wanted to do this for a while.

SO I picked up these pots as I saw them on Addicticted to DIY. A Husband and wife team that makes cool stuff.
View attachment 211420
The pots were a bit more pricey then I would like to pay but I could only find the bottom one and the middle one at lowes.
That's cool. Now I have room to put this on there.

I found a Klingon water fountain! This thing is RAD!!!! I have to Buy some more rocks and find out where I am going to set it up at.
View attachment 211421



I might find a way to hack it so I can give a Larger Power supply so I can have it run most of the night. As is it only runs for about 3-4 hours on a full charge.

After this? Outdoor speakers hidden away so it sounds like a stream or ocean.
Right on...lol. A neighbor is into LEDs on the patio. The place is lit up at night and he has to turn about 40 of them OFF to keep things comfy and not too much. Patio and garden illumination is cool. :D
 
Top Bottom