Mary Fisher wrote:

I take it you keep them turned off or in the dark for a fair amount of the
time though?

We turn them off when we're not using them - of course. Shouldn't ALL
electrical equipment be turned off when not being used? It makes all kinds
of sense - even for little old me.

The vast majority of "install and forget" garden lighting applications
will require they are left on 24/7 however.

I thought it may be worth highlighting that your usage is hence not typical.

Most NiCds won't survive 1800+ crude charge/discharge cycles - even decent
cells on a smart charger will have a job.

? They work from small built-in solar panels!

Solar panels are not terribly effective at night. Hence they are used to
charge a battery which then powers the light when activated by a
dusk/dawn sensor.


--
Cheers,

John.

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