Update.. It seems these are available from K Mart for $2 less !! @ $10.
Bought one recently from Bunnings for $20 and with Masters current 40% off deal until the 30 March this solar security sensor light is a bargain.
I am very impressed with ours. Just hang it on the wall where it can get sun through the day and it is ready to go. It has 2 dull led lights that come on at dusk and one very bright white led that is activated by the sensor.
I have purchased outside lights from both Bunnings and Masters. I have found the quality of any lights from Bunnings to be very poor. My outside lights from Masters are lasting much better.
Kmart = blue dusk light, white sensor light.
Useless trivia fact I discovered recently 3M is originally the "Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company". You're welcome.
Thanks for the info…good to build the knowledge base :)
Came across it in a "riveting" book Im reading about the evolution of stuff like dinner forks and paper clips.
All I can hear in my head is that Fast Forward skit with the chick reviewing stuff on SBS.
In a Russian accent: "It's a fascinating 12 part series on the evolution of the paper clip, from famous Danish director Borislav Kavonski, who you would know from last year's Cann Festival sensation, "A Man and His Cabbage". I'm sure you won't be able to wait for that one… I know I won't" :).
(the young'uns won't understand this reference I'm sure… over 25 years ago :))
@UFO: Classic… not sure if I saw that skit or not but it does sound familiar. 25 years ago eh…. stop it… stop it now.
3M sold "Bear" brand Adhesive tape many years ago and still manufacture adhesives today.
We already have one of these from Bunnings which is a different brand to the Masters one although similar looking devices. (got a couple of the masters ones today as well) The Bunnings one is defintiely the better made one of the two from what i can see.
These masters ones use a li-ion 3.2v 500mah aa size battery btw.
My concern with all these solar lights is that their longevity is often so poor that I would not want to permanently attach them to anything.
One way to get around permanent attachment is to stick them to the type of large advertising fridge magnets you get in the mail (from real estate agents, etc.). Just cut the magnet to size. This obviously only works when you attach them to a metal pole, and it's theft-prone.
Use double side tape and glue remover from bunnings to remove it effortlessly
An even easier solution is to mount them permanently using the screws provided.
Then when they fail you go and buy a replacement, and use the screws provided to mount it in the same location as the old one.
Shame..Adelaide is out of stock :(
Bloody hell I thought that was an ATM from the thumbnail
And then I was hoping some of these comments would talk about how much cash they'd come with included
Looks more like a paper towel dispenser from a public toilet
Yea agreed… actually looks similar to those machines at the airport that dispense condoms and tissues.
I always thought they were solar lights….
how can someone with your handle get it wrong? :)
Not the brightest spark
Don't judge a book by its cover!!
stainless steel wall pathway light $10.00
Not sure if they are the same but they look like they might be.
it looks the same to me :)
looks like they come out of the same factory!
As did the Aldi supply some weeks ago.
What was the price on the aldi units?
@Level380: Sorry this time did not scan receipt but these were the red coloured priced items. Around $4.50 clearence.
I'm sure they are. I have a few of the Kmart ones around the house and they have been going well for a while now. They have easily replaceable AA batteries if they die as well. #eneloops
Do eneloops charge ok in solar powered lights in general?
Do eneloops charge ok in solar powered lights in general?
Yep, definitely. However the AA NiCD cell in the solar unit is probably only 300mA or so, and the LED power/brightness will be deliberately reduced so that a reasonable time of operation will be achieved from such a poxy battery.
An Eneloop will accept a far greater charge, so if you get enough light on the solar cell it may well be that the Eneloop will be able to charge up more and thus last longer at night.
On the other hand, the solar cell might not be powerful enough to charge more than 1.2V 300mA (0.36 Watt Hours) in a whole day anyway.
ethanshdd said:
They have easily replaceable AA batteries if they die as well. #eneloops
Note that someone else mentioned below that the Masters or Bunnings one has a Lithium cell.
YEP = you can get these from Kmart for $10 standard price, every day.
They are crap, but cheap.
Is the kmart one solar with motion sensor?
indeed.
Is the kmart one solar with motion sensor?
You need only open the link above provided by ethanshdd
http://www.kmart.com.au/product/stainless-steel-wall-pathway…
I did, but it does not seem to mention solar or motion sensor, or at least it is not obvious. I opened the link again and still can't tell whether it is solar by reading the description.
it does not seem to mention solar or motion sensor
Well I am unsure how, even after looking twice, you missed the words that say…
To keep your solar motion sensor light looking new, keep the lens free of dust…
LOL :-D
I have seen them in person, which is why I know they are solar and motion sensor despite the poor description.
Thanks :) lol honestly I didn't comprehend much on that sentence until you pointed out… I was mainly focusing on the title and the highlighted feature.
Great I guess I will just get this from Kmart then. Cheers.
Thanks for the update on the K Mart price.. have changed the title to show this price also.
I personally bought 4 of these from Masters on the weekend.
Tested 2 - 1 doesn't work, 1 turns on and off at will.
Also, be aware that the LiIon battery inside is 3.2V AA size.
From my experience this isn't common (normal LiIon AA are 3.7V) and could be expensive to replace.
Instructions say will need to be replaced every 1-2 years.
Mine are going back. tomorrow
probably a LiFePO4 cell in 14500 or 14430 size
common now - few bucks each online
I bought a 4 pack of these from Costco 3+ years ago. They are have lifepo4 batteries and are still running today. They dont last all night but enough to quantify their 'night light' status.
They aren't Lithium Ion… if they are 3.2V then they are LiFEPo4 cells.
I have an Aldi shed light with a AA cell marked as "3.2V LiIon", and I am currently testing it. My understanding is that it isn't LiPo or LiIon, and is mislabelled.
A LiFePo4 is a MUCH better cell for this kind of application anyway, as they don't suffer from the short number or recharges that affect LiIon. Typically you will get many thousands of recharge cycles from LiFe cells, and they will last many many years.
The advantage of LiFePo4 is that one cell can be directly charged by a 4V solar cell, so no fiddly "step up" is required compared to a NiCD or NiMH cell which only outputs 1.2V. The LED needs 3V or so, and whilst the "joule thief" chip and inductor are as cheap as chips, the efficiency is quite poor - hence you probably get double the LED illumination time from the same sized solar cell plus Lithium than for a NiCD or NiMH battery.
However - like any Lithium they will be killed by over-discharge. I found that my Aldi light didn't have a under voltage protection cutoff in it, so when I left it in storage with the power switched on, the internal circuit losses dropped the battery so low that it can never be recharged again!
just to clarify, Li-Ion batteries come in multiple types that differ based on chemistry used
LiFePO4 cells are still a lithium ion battery, just it uses iron phosphate instead of the traditional cobalt oxide
AHHHH HAAAAA… thanks! That was the bit of missing information that I desperately needed.
Hmmm, well that actually makes it even more confusing. In the other hand, I would say that it also proves that the cell in these solar lights is a 14500 LiFePO4 (3.2V nominal, 3.6 to 3.7V under charge).
The one that didnt work may need to sit in the sun for a while to charge up?
I went through about 20 boxes looking for ones that would light up and only found 3. Not sure if the others were faulty or needed a charge?
These 2 were left out in the sun for the whole day and tested when it got dark - QC = non-existent.
Worth checking before you choose then..
I got 5 and only 1 didn't turn on out of the box. I thought I'd give it a chance and let it stay out during the day, it came on that night and works fine.
Just letting you guys know that these are absolutely abysmal in quality - I was interested in purchasing them a while back and opened a box to check if all the contents was in them. Out of the 15 boxes on the rack, 13 of them had solar panels that were detached from the stainless steel housing - they are applied a very thin layer of foam double sided tape (not even 3M branded), over time they no longer adhere and you get a crooked solar panel that will expose gaps to water and foreign matter etc…
The solar panels are connected to extremely thin wire to a no-brand yum cha AA rechargeable battery inside.
Thanks for that. Do you know of any quality solar lights like this one? I've always had the cheapies from Bunnings/Masters but like others have said, they don;t last too long.
I've been investigating similar lights to this for the past few months from all the hardware chains, online and some at variety stores - none have been assembled properly (most likely they come from the same factory in China).
Don't get me wrong, these above lights if you are bothered to disassemble and maybe use a bead of silicone or sikaflex to seal the solar panel actually work quite well. The LED in this is VERY bright and would be great for lighting your home at night. My original aim was to mount these either side of my sliding gate so I can see the limits of my driveway when reversing uphill into my garage at night.
My original aim was to mount these either side of my sliding gate so I can see the limits of my driveway when reversing uphill into my garage at night.
You will probably find that the glare will make it HARDER, not easier to see where you are going.
Spend a bit (quite a bit) more and do it properly!
The Reject Shop have those $40 solar, PIR, 60 LED jobs. Been using three for a couple of years now, with no problems.
If you can mount this light on a wall adjacent to the gate and point the PIR down the driveway, it will detect your car and there should be more than enough light for the whole gate, and more besides.
Better for security too.
No worries Uncle. Our local store had them in stock in late February, my last visit.
EDIT: Google "solar PIR 60 LED" or search eBay. Around $30 from a quick search.
The solar panel has 5 metres of cable so you have some flexibility with locating it (hide it in the backyard or wherever it gets morning-daytime sun).
For two of mine, I actually shortened the cable as I didn't want to suspend a coil. I had to lengthen the third but as it's just speaker hookup cable, it's easy.
I used plastic screw-in cable clips to route them neatly under the eaves.
The only routine maintenance has been brushing spider webs off the components and wiping clean the glass of the collector every few months.
yum cha AA rechargeable battery
I assume it must be tasty?
Only if you get the chicken feet with it.
Mmmmmmm
There's positives and negatives to them really.
u opened all 15??
Yes, and repackaged them as new (they don't have security seals).
More crap from China! Might even have asbestos or melamine in it?:-)
LOL… that is why it is not a good idea to eat these things.
I've bought 10 in total this week. Read the reviews - we're good. Tested myself - also very good. I thought at first they would be a bigger unit but very happy with design and function as they are dimmed until the sensor triggers movement then it's quite bright. 9/10.
Hmm so exactly same ones as the Kmart ones?
Yeah can anyone confirm if this is the same as $10 Kmart ones? If yes, why not just get them from Kmart?
Read the comments above, seems these have a different (read much better) battery in them compared to kmart ones.
Can anyone supply a quick inside photo of the masters/bunnings ones? I'm keen to see this 3.2V cell.
LOL… got one (masters) apart alongside me right now but i'm too lazy to take a pic.
Trust me.. the battery markings in the masters one is LI-ION 14500 3.2V 500mAh AA size. No brand name on the battery.
Is the cell a plain grey colour? That was what was in my Aldi shed light, with similar (confusing) markings on it.
To be truthful I have no idea how to check what the actual cell chemistry is. I was originally considering pumping a higher voltage in and see what happens… but that is a no-no with Lithium cells in general.
Please read my comment higher up
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/240181#comment-3560764
And the helpful reply by HeXa, then my response below that.
LOL confusion reigns!
Chullora Out of stock
Northmead Out of stock
Hoxton Park Out of stock
Rouse Hill Out of stock
Marsden Park Out of stock
Postal Delivery Unavailable
Truck Delivery Unavailable
according to the website.
Rang 3 stores around Sydney that claimed to have stock online for the Kmart ones and none had any. The staff were very helpful informing me what other stores show stock (one listed 19) and that I can request transfer to my closest/local store but there's something wrong with Kmart stock tracking of these items. Probably has been failing to deduct stock when sold.
Masters @ Heatherbrae NSW 2324 had about 20 but I think i got the last 3 that worked.
The quality of the unit is terrible.
No masters near me but the identical in appearance $19.98 "solar lytworx" brand product uses a Li-ion 14500 500mAh 3.7V battery according to the labeling. Photo of the internals is available at https://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/77509/38297/20160328_194755.jpg. I returned the unit I bought because whilst the white LED seems bright, it stayed switched on continuously in the dark so the motion activation appeared to be faulty.
When it is dark there is a soft light that comes on. When movement is detected the bright white led light illuminates for about 60 seconds. If you keep moving near it it will stay illuminated… :-)
Yeah, I noticed the soft warm light but the bright white light also came on immediately without movement when I flicked the switch on. I didn't wait the 60 seconds as I didn't know to do that, thanks.
That is how sensor lights work. Movement will trigger the light when it is dark and it will go off after a set time. I think with those lights it is about 60 seconds.
These differ slightly to the bunnings one though.
Bunnings = Soft yellow dusk light, white sensor light.
Masters = White dusk light, white sensor light.
Each to their own, I have both and prefer the Masters one's to be honest. Plus you get 3M double sided tape in the Masters box :)