Rant: that $12 solar light set from Amazon was a complete scam

I bought a 4-pack of those little garden stake lights off Amazon thinking they'd be fine for my back path. Two of them literally stopped working after three days of rain in Portland. The third one flickers like a horror movie and the fourth barely shines through the plastic. Anyone else had garbage luck with cheap solar lights or did I just pick the wrong brand?

2 comments

2 Comments

theathomas1mo ago

The real trick nobody talks about is the solar panel itself. Cheap lights use a thin film panel that basically gives up after a few weeks of real weather. The actual LED bulbs and batteries in those $12 packs can be decent but the charging cell is where they cut corners. Your mileage may vary but Ive had way better luck buying individual lights from hardware stores where you can see the panel size compared to the price. Also make sure the panel is angled toward the sun, not flat on the ground, that alone doubled the life of my cheap ones. Just something to think about if you try again.

wadeg921mo agoMost Upvoted

Did you see that test someone did online where they took apart cheap solar lights and found the panels were basically glued on plastic? Totally backs up what @theathomas said about thin film panels failing fast. I did the same thing with a set from a big box store, and after one rainstorm the panel had visible cracks. The LEDs themselves were fine though, which is wild. Switched to a brand where you could actually see the panel thickness before buying, and they're still running after two winters now. Angle thing too yeah, tilted them south and got way more hours per night.