I've also experienced corrosion in solar lights, some had corroded battery contacts but have been able to clean up, I find the main problem of attack is the ones with switches, the switches corrode to a point they don't work, I've done switch bypasses on couple of lights by just joining & taping up bare ends of wires since I don't have access to soldering, what I was wanting to know is if you think corrosion of the lights internals could be prevented by giving the entire electronics & connections a coating of Vaseline to prevent moisture getting onto the circuits etc & maybe also taping up any opening where moisture can get in with electrical tape may also help?, would like some feedback on your thoughts of this
Doing the same thing to my butterfly garden lite that changes colors (used to!) , wonder how they do the color change with only 2 wires going up the stalk to the led lite itself?
I have found the best way to keep these things alive and well. You can pot them with epoxy or better yet I usually just spray some lithium grease inside or some pretty heavy oil inside the switch across every contact and the board, and it seems to do the trick. I do doubt they will last more than 2-3 years though. Gone are the good old days when you could buy high quality ones. I don't think that it is easy to tell apart the good ones from the bad ones (90%) of them by the price. Anyway, Cheers 🙂
Great video! But why not waterproof it with Plastidip or some other means of waterproofing? Plastidip has this excellent liquid tape if you've heard of it?
I'm not 100% certain about these small batteries, but the tabs on larger battery packs (19650 and the like) are almost always pure nickel, and I think the reason why is that nickel takes to the spot welding process better than stainless. It also doesn't corrode easily.
I'm amazed these garden lights now have that very small cell and not an AA cell. Do they in fact last as long, or longer? I find here in NZ that the UV kills the solar cell long before the battery dies. We are lucky to get 2 years life.
I’m good for the
day and week before you
Best thing for these is to never waste money on them again.
Wow! Lots of lots of solar lamp collections outside garden
I've also experienced corrosion in solar lights, some had corroded battery contacts but have been able to clean up, I find the main problem of attack is the ones with switches, the switches corrode to a point they don't work, I've done switch bypasses on couple of lights by just joining & taping up bare ends of wires since I don't have access to soldering, what I was wanting to know is if you think corrosion of the lights internals could be prevented by giving the entire electronics & connections a coating of Vaseline to prevent moisture getting onto the circuits etc & maybe also taping up any opening where moisture can get in with electrical tape may also help?, would like some feedback on your thoughts of this
Doing the same thing to my butterfly garden lite that changes colors (used to!) , wonder how they do the color change with only 2 wires going up the stalk to the led lite itself?
Have you tried teflon tape to prevent water oozing through the threads?
I have found the best way to keep these things alive and well. You can pot them with epoxy or better yet I usually just spray some lithium grease inside or some pretty heavy oil inside the switch across every contact and the board, and it seems to do the trick. I do doubt they will last more than 2-3 years though. Gone are the good old days when you could buy high quality ones. I don't think that it is easy to tell apart the good ones from the bad ones (90%) of them by the price. Anyway, Cheers 🙂
I wonder if a quick hit with some clear nail polish would protect against that, or even some cheap bulk polyurethane?
Soldering iron can puncture tiny drain holes into the black base. Stops water accumulation. Not too large, else insects enter.
Could you put some silicone over the vulnerable areas?
Great video! But why not waterproof it with Plastidip or some other means of waterproofing? Plastidip has this excellent liquid tape if you've heard of it?
Wrap some ptfe tape round the threads to help seal it up a bit?
A glob of silicone may help?
I'm not 100% certain about these small batteries, but the tabs on larger battery packs (19650 and the like) are almost always pure nickel, and I think the reason why is that nickel takes to the spot welding process better than stainless. It also doesn't corrode easily.
I'm amazed these garden lights now have that very small cell and not an AA cell. Do they in fact last as long, or longer? I find here in NZ that the UV kills the solar cell long before the battery dies. We are lucky to get 2 years life.