Good Floating Lights Yet?

[Shirker]

I have searched this forum for any good floating lights (either long lasting battery or solar). Seems like the consensus is that they are all Crud. But most of the threads are a few years old. Has anyone found any "good" floating lights recently?

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Are you looking for actual light to be provided, or just decorative type? Some of the fancy catalogs I get (and have since tossed out) show some large floating balls. They look nice but strictly for atmosphere, not light.

Maddie

 

[Shirker]

Just decorative.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=WAjcXbuLO4u4sgWE1ZU4&q=decorative+floating+pool+lights&oq=decorative+pool+lights&gs_l=psy-ab.1.1.0j0i22i30l5.522.5586..8785...0.0..0.105.1692.21j1......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i131.hN4sp6GYCsk

 

[Newdude]

havent found any long lasting ones yet. We get a couple of the cheapo ones each year and if they last the season we are happy. Same goes for the solar patio type lights. I take them in for the winter but still only get 2 or 3 years out of them.

 

[Rattus Suffocatus]

havent found any long lasting ones yet. We get a couple of the cheapo ones each year and if they last the season we are happy. Same goes for the solar patio type lights. I take them in for the winter but still only get 2 or 3 years out of them.

Almost all solar lights use NiMH batteries, and that is about their shelf life. When pulling them in for the winter, try to figure out a way to charge the batteries up and then leave them disconnected from the light. That might prolong the life say, 6 more months to a year. If they are AA's then a standard NiMH wall charger will work for this.

If you buy "good" ones they will have a full 800 mAh AA cell in them, and you can find replacements for $1 each or less. If your lights have a 1/2 AA.. it's usually cheaper to replace the lights themselves than the batteries... (I am thinking specifically at the $1 each ones from Wally World. They are cheaper than the batteries are at just about any source.)

It also depends where you are at. They work pretty well here in Arizona. They aren't (and weren't) worth the trouble back in the Midwest (mainly because of how darned cloudy it was there).... I imagine you have a short season with them in NY.....

 

[Newdude]

Oh yeah. The batteries leak nasty over the winter. I pull all the batteries and reuse the decent ones in the spring. Those itty bitty screws are also a problem. They strip easy or the chintzy plastic flaps break and I end up piecing together lights from all the parts. I start with a 50 pack and have some spares. I lose about a dozen each year and by year 3 the new ones have been redesigned and don’t match the ones I have left. So I start over.

Once the set is on its way out, Regular batteries work great to get one more year out of the lights. I buy a 48 pack at BJs and use most of them.

 

[Rattus Suffocatus]

Regular batteries? You mean alkaline? You technically shouldn't be doing that, however, if one catches on fire you probably are okay! What you are supposed to use is something like this (not recommending these specifically, but as an example: )

https://www.amazon.com/QBLPOWER-Double-800mAh-Rechargeable-Battery/dp/B07F9ZTCY3/

Like I said about a buck a piece... and generally they are the same Chinese cells as the lights came with...

 

[Newdude]

Regular batteries? You mean alkaline?

yeah. Alkaline. I would never try to recharge them from an electrical source but they work great in the outside solar devices. ***Providing they are away from anything else just in case they combust***. My wife did it the first time not knowing better and after I short circuited about the safety when I found out after work, she pointed out that any of them could only burn themselves out in the yard. ‘Meh, good point sweetie’. That was about 10 years ago and I’ve yet to have one blow. Ironically the regular alkaline batteries hold up to the elements better as well.

Also to be clear, the floaty light things would be off limits with alkaline batteries. People play with them and/or leaking battery acid would be no good god forbid. But the solar landscape lights out away from everything else work fine.