looking for a solar powered light

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allright guys, silly question
for those of you using solar powered rope LEDs...where is the switch?
(like I couldn't install an inline switch if I needed, just curious)
 
I decided to give the rope light a try

anyone have any ideas on extending the wiring out between the panel/battery and the light itself?

(I'm thinking I might want to move the panel out further to get better sun exposure)
since the battery is build into the panel, extending the wiring shouldn't affect it any right?

and...it looks like the main switch is build into the panel
would it hurt things any if I were to just install a second switch inline with the lights?

(would like to be able to shut it off from the inside)
 
The light I have come on when it gets dark and seem to require surprisingly little exposure to sunlight to recharge..
 
dukeboy_318 said:
better idea, get you some 12v lights that they use in RVs/campers, hook them to a deep cycle 12v battery, simply charge it up and go. When we go camping, we do this and the 4 lights in our camper, hooked to just the batteries last roughly a week or so on a single charge.
Click to expand...

Something came up with my lawnmower and as a result I have an extra lawnmower battery kicking around
I put it on the tender last night and hooked a spare 55 watts fog light up to it this morning...burned bright for about 5 hours
so now I'm thinking this may not be a bad idea, at least for spending the night there
 
diymirage said:
Something came up with my lawnmower and as a result I have an extra lawnmower battery kicking around
I put it on the tender last night and hooked a spare 55 watts fog light up to it this morning...burned bright for about 5 hours
so now I'm thinking this may not be a bad idea, at least for spending the night there
Click to expand...
Yep. You can get bigger batteries and even brighter, lower watt usage bulbs. I'll look at the bulbs in our camper. They are tiny but bright as heck. Look kind of like night light bulbsand the batteries last us about a week. But the batteries in the camper are 2 12 volt , 1200 CCA deep cycles.
 
The only problem I see with the battery is planning
If I know we'll be out there I can plan it out just fine, but I want the kids to be able to run out there and play whenever...and that's where the solar powered stuff has an edge

I might do both, install the solar as base line lighting and toss some 12 volt LEDS in there "just in case"
 
diymirage said:
The only problem I see with the battery is planning
If I know we'll be out there I can plan it out just fine, but I want the kids to be able to run out there and play whenever...and that's where the solar powered stuff has an edge

I might do both, install the solar as base line lighting and toss some 12 volt LEDS in there "just in case"
Click to expand...
for sure. Most of your solar set ups use a car battery, hooked to a solar panel to charge the battery. This is what I'm suggesting if you are in a clearing(for me, it doesn't work, im in the woods). 45 Watt Solar Panel Kit 10 Pc Kit
 
this picture really shows the location



that road is actually my neighbours driveway, they live a little ways back behind us

I figured if the solar panels don't get enough light in the shade, I could extend the wires out 15 feet and reach that driveway

I just have to give some thought on how to keep them alive in the winter if I go that route...id hate for his snowplow to kill them


I ordered a small solar powered LED light strand last week, that should be here today, so ill start experimenting with that today
 
diymirage said:
this picture really shows the location



that road is actually my neighbours driveway, they live a little ways back behind us

I figured if the solar panels don't get enough light in the shade, I could extend the wires out 15 feet and reach that driveway

I just have to give some thought on how to keep them alive in the winter if I go that route...id hate for his snowplow to kill them


I ordered a small solar powered LED light strand last week, that should be here today, so ill start experimenting with that today
Click to expand...


how about something like these?


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00T1O1DXY/?tag=joeychgo-20
 
I thought about those, but I wasn't sure about battery life
 
diymirage said:
I thought about those, but I wasn't sure about battery life
Click to expand...
do a combo, a solar setup like above, but a couple of these for when the kids just wanna randomly run in an play.
 
I have done this a couple times in snowmobile trail warm up shelters. Cheap solar battery charger, Automotive battery (I used a battery from an electric golf cart once) and some white LED automotive lights. Put the lights on a spring wound timer instead of a switch. Then they don't accidentally get left on.

Cley
 
thanks for all the help guys, I just decided to run 110 volt out there
ran a steel cable from a post on the back deck to a tree near the shed, attached a cord to it and called it good :)
 
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