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Hampton Bay Solar Powered Lamp Failure
Oh the irony of it all. Last year I bought 12 model 577-674 copper solar
powered lanterns; accent lights from the local Home Despot. Over the last 3 weeks, all but two of them have "failed". I use the term failed in quotes, because they still work in a rare situation. It's more like a serious design flaw at this point. The main symptom was that they stopped coming on at night. At first, I thought it was the batteries. After swapping batteries out with one that worked, the lights still dodn't come on. At that point, I figured the lights or the wiring were toast, so I brought them in. Two days later, they all worked in the dark again; inside. So I put them back outside. That night, they refused to turn on, even if I brought them back in. So, all I can surmise is that the control board is simple overheating in the summer sun and they refuse to work; yet they work just fine in cooler surroundings. Seems like a stupid flaw for a solar powere lamp. I'll also prosume it's a flaw since we're talking 10 of 12. The two that work are the ones closer to the shade. Anyone else seen this problem with these sorts of accept lights? -=Chris |
#2
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Christopher H. Laco wrote:
Anyone else seen this problem with these sorts of accept (sic) lights? I've never had any luck with solar powered lights - usually it is the NiCd batteries that go first; they just aren't rated for 365 deep cycles, so you wouldn't expect them to last more than a year best case. I finally gave up and installed 25 watt metal line voltage lights from Red Dot - they've been in the ground 10 years are still working fine. |
#3
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I always get battery contact failure and end up soldering my batteries in.
"Christopher H. Laco" wrote in message ... Oh the irony of it all. Last year I bought 12 model 577-674 copper solar powered lanterns; accent lights from the local Home Despot. Over the last 3 weeks, all but two of them have "failed". I use the term failed in quotes, because they still work in a rare situation. It's more like a serious design flaw at this point. The main symptom was that they stopped coming on at night. At first, I thought it was the batteries. After swapping batteries out with one that worked, the lights still dodn't come on. At that point, I figured the lights or the wiring were toast, so I brought them in. Two days later, they all worked in the dark again; inside. So I put them back outside. That night, they refused to turn on, even if I brought them back in. So, all I can surmise is that the control board is simple overheating in the summer sun and they refuse to work; yet they work just fine in cooler surroundings. Seems like a stupid flaw for a solar powere lamp. I'll also prosume it's a flaw since we're talking 10 of 12. The two that work are the ones closer to the shade. Anyone else seen this problem with these sorts of accept lights? -=Chris |
#4
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"Christopher H. Laco" wrote in message ... Oh the irony of it all. Last year I bought 12 model 577-674 copper solar powered lanterns; accent lights from the local Home Despot. Over the last 3 weeks, all but two of them have "failed". I use the term failed in quotes, because they still work in a rare situation. It's more like a serious design flaw at this point. The main symptom was that they stopped coming on at night. At first, I thought it was the batteries. After swapping batteries out with one that worked, the lights still dodn't come on. At that point, I figured the lights or the wiring were toast, so I brought them in. Two days later, they all worked in the dark again; inside. So I put them back outside. That night, they refused to turn on, even if I brought them back in. So, all I can surmise is that the control board is simple overheating in the summer sun and they refuse to work; yet they work just fine in cooler surroundings. Seems like a stupid flaw for a solar powere lamp. I'll also prosume it's a flaw since we're talking 10 of 12. The two that work are the ones closer to the shade. Anyone else seen this problem with these sorts of accept lights? -=Chris Yes. They are expensive toys that don't last long. Steve |
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