Solar pathway rock lights

[hopkins]

saw these in a flyer from Bed Bath and Beyond.
Solar powered spot lights disguised as rocks. Aim light on pathway in your
yard rather than the usual 360 weak spill from the common solar yard lights.
Anyone got some of these? Are they any good?

 

[Glasstream15]

I got a 4 pack from Target for $20 on close-out. They have a single NiCd cell which had about 4 hour run time. I put in some 1800 mAh NiMh Panasonics that are about 5 years old and it was better, but up until about 2 weeks ago, there wasn't enough daylight to charge them and I had to swap with freshly charged batts once a week. Days getting a bit longer so now they seem to be staying charged all night. Total light output is pitiful. You can see them on a white wall a bit over 20' away, but just barely.

But, there're a neat addition to our patio. No way I would buy them again though.

 

[hopkins]

thanks Glass.
I had a notion they were engineered to barely work here in the states.
-sun angle ect...-
But its a nice idea - rock & directional spot - Just got to do it right with 3 cells and a solar panel
big enough to replace the overnight drain from a strong 5mm led.

 

[Glasstream15]

I have walkway lights out front. The LED is in the top with a crystal shaped reflector in the bottom. They use 3 AAA NiMh cells and work very well. Enough lite to see the walkway and shine all night. 6 for $40 at Sam's was a lot better deal than the rocks.

 

[hopkins]

cool. thanks!

 

[2xTrinity]

Yeah, I've never really liked the idea of the solar lighting -- for one thing, patios are often shaded and FAR less than optimal for solar light colleciton. IMO I'd prefer to see some decent high-power LEDs, such as Cree-XREs, implemented in pathway lighting intended to run in place of of standard 12V yard lighting. The cool color temperature IMO creates a nice ambience for patios etc, similar to moon light, but the 5mm fixtuers are just too weak to be of any use IMO.