Garden stake lights

[king arthur]

Does anyone know of any that are solar powered but have a removable battery that you could charge separately with a suitable charger, for times like now when there's not enough sunlight to charge them by solar alone?

[Byker28i]

I just went for a 12v system. Easy to run, powered by a transformer from a smart socket, brighter lights
I used https://gardenlightshop.com

[king arthur]

Nah I'm not putting wires anywhere, I want to just push them into the ground next to the path and have them light up as you walk along it. Powerbee have the right ones, solar + rechargable but the delivery date is end of Jan. I want them now!

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

king arthur said:

I want to just push them into the ground next to the path and have them light up as you walk along it.

Nice dream.

Unfortunately solar lights are, in my experience, universally crap.

And are you really going to keep recharging batteries, and going out in the pissing rain replacing them in every single light throughout your garden every couple of days?

I predict you’ll be chucking them in a skip within six months and replacing them with a wired 12V system. With a modicum of planning and careful installation the wiring is totally invisible.

[Simpo Two]

What he said. British gardens are littered with this cheap dysfunctional crap from China.

Get a nice Victorian streetlamp and wire it to the mains

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

Simpo Two said:

cheap dysfunctional crap from China.

Yup. Open one up, and you’ll find the cheapest possible AAA cell, a transistor, a resistor in series with the LED, and… er… that’s it.

[RichB]

Dr Mike Oxgreen said:

Unfortunately solar lights are, in my experience, universally crap...

So true, they never have enough power light themselves up let alone a garden!

[Bomberharris]

Try lights4fun

Not cheap but last a long time and good warranty and customer service.

[Craikeybaby]

I was surprised today, as one of the many solar powered lights left in my garden by the previous owners actually worked!

[bigpriest]

king arthur said:

Does anyone know of any that are solar powered but have a removable battery that you could charge separately with a suitable charger, for times like now when there's not enough sunlight to charge them by solar alone?

All the cheap solar ones have a rechargeable battery inside - usually three screws is all you need to undo.

[king arthur]

Dr Mike Oxgreen said:

And are you really going to keep recharging batteries, and going out in the pissing rain replacing them in every single light throughout your garden every couple of days?

Well no but in theory a fully charged 2400mAh battery should power such lights for over 8 hours, and they would likely only be on for a few seconds each night. So the only question is how much can a tiny solar panel charge the battery in winter, probably not much. Which is why I wanted rechargeable ones, but I take on board the fact that most of these are Chinese tat that won't last five minutes.