Anyone have a floating LED pool light?

I just put up a pool and saw that there are floating LED pool lights available. The better ones are rechargable, but I am wondering how bright they really are.

I put my D-Mini in the pool last night (luma-power, dis-regard this statement) and it really lit things up nicely, although only in one direction.

I've seen these in the yard light section in BigLots. They were rechargeable and probably just as dim as the other cheap LED yard lights. Seems like they had red and white LED models and cost around $8.

Geoff

make one yourself
2AA batteries with holder, Micropucky, solder iron, luxeon star/emitter, heatsink, epoxy, small tubberware and some fishing sinkers

big lots products are often mediocre in quality, if it does last the first 24 hours it wont last the week, usually if it manages to survive a week wont last a month:green:

Yes, I have three types.

One type is made by Malibu and is sold at Home Depot. In my opinion, they are junk. The hard plastic containing the solar cells and electronics will only last about 30-60 days in the sun. I bought a dozen of these over a two year period and they have all failed in the exact same way. Home Depot has been good about replacing them but the new ones fail very quickly. These are the ones that blend/cycle through 6-8 different colors.

I also have a different type that I found in a pool supply catalog. These flash different colors as contrasted to the ones listed above that blend from color to color. These have lasted 4+ years. I replace the batteries with NiMh once per year. I just sit them on the pool deck during the winter months and they continue to operate.

I have some home made ones using Jiff Peanut butter jars and some home cooked electronics. They use the solar cells from the failed Malibu lights listed above and a DC to DC converter to drive a Micro Chip microcontroller, which then drives three mosfets, that control the red, green and blue leds. These work best of all, but they look a bit "funky" in the plastic peanut butter jars.

Gene

I have the one which is charged by a built solar panel and changes colors,
it goes for about 10 hours before needing to be recharged. Its not very bright

Thanks for the replies guys. The ones I saw were about $100 or more. I guess they aren't that popular. I may have to build one myself from your suggestions. I have a few SSC-P4's laying around, maybe they will be bright enough.

I just picked up something called the AquaGlow at Walmart for $19.99. It's a two-pack of floating LED lights that produce various disco like effects. Each unit runs on three AA batts and has various modes. Inside the floats are four LEDs that shine through the multi-lensed bottom to project many colored spots. My pool's not up yet, so I haven't tried it but for only twenty bucks it looks like fun. The manufacturer, Game Group, also has other floating lights on their web site. http://www.game-group.com/retailers/products.php