These are the exact lights I've been tinkering with, among others, since starting to watch your channel. I chose to just put the clear 3M tape across the top and drill a hole in the bulb bottom. I'm also going to replace the cell with a 1/3AA size NiMH cell, because I think I can fit it in there, and see what happens. As you said, the output of the printed glass solar cell is quite amazing. I blew up the original button cell by charging it with excessive current (40 mAh cell seems to only want 10% of its capacity for max current to charge). I really appreciate learning by watching you and then tinkering in my own ways.
Brilliant work as always Clive! Please keep doing annual updates on these (and similar projects)! Too often viewers like us are left hanging to see if an idea actually panned out or not!
Two points: 1. The battery could also have been affected by heat build up in that tiny little oven of a base. 2. I love listening to Clive. He's very good at explaining his procedures and his voice and accent are quite mellifluous.
I have some wter logged garden lights (solar) I'm going to seal them with sealicone. I do remember your video on the lights but I had forgotten about it. Thanks for reminding me about it.
Nice, last year I had sealed a solar light for my dad he uses to light the flagpole. He bought it end of summer by halfway thru winter dead. Then I remembered BigClive saying the switches they put in them are cheap and break, this was not cheap 30 bucks from Walmart. Anyway sure enough switch is bad, so I just bridged the switch and sealed everything. Still works but the dogs snapped it in 2, the cell and 18650's inside are still good I'm gonna repurpose it for something. CHEERS it's hot real hot in Kansas today.
We did ours late last year (summer) here in Australia, it's now the middle of winter and they're working an absolute treat. Great idea it would seem Big Clive👍💡
Yay!! Scratchy pens!! I got a set last week and they are so useful for contact cleaning and metal polishing, especially the fibreglass one, that thing can shine up a lot of things with ease... :D
twocvbloke where did you get them, or what is the "official" name? My search returned a bazillion results for ink pens, and I will probably be stalked by pen sellers now.
"scratch brush pen" or "fibreglass pen" seemed to work for me, though I got mine from this one listing, probably available cheaper from china but I wanted them quickly: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111741724024
in strong light those solar cells are amazing. i got a bunch of broken outdoor lights and stripped the solar out to create my own big panel by combining them all together. the output was quite amazing.
Also I don't know how good the line regulation of his worklight is, if that day there was a lower mains voltage or maybe a higher ambient temperature, I suppose the worklight output could be lower.
Clive I was thinking that some heat shrink over the cells might be a quick way to cover them. You would not even have to really shrink it other than on the ends to keep it centered.
I have had some very good experience with placing a standard red led across the battery. Most of them start glowing around 1.5/1.7 volt, and that keeps the battery from overcharging. But yes then you have a small light during the daytime 😊
I started doing this at the time you released the video showing you covering the panels with tape instead, so I thought that silicone would work just as well, anyway over the last 2 or 3 years I've seen at least a 50% decrease in failures, and those that have failed have been repairable as it's usually the battery that's died rather than the solar cell.
Mr Clive Sir.. it's been a year already.. Time is flying.. I've been a subscriber for a very long time however I love the live shows with the bearded friends.. it's the 3rd of July but all things will blow up tomorrow.. LOL I love things that go boom...you have a happy 4th although y'all don't celebrate it..
My first "love" is the UV resin, It's tough and waterproof. I've repaired spectacles, glassware, china and often pot outdoor circuits and even a soap-dish made in stainless but welded with iron!!! A coat of resin 2 years ago, still rust free. Really it's apples and oranges with silicone or hot glue. The resin is more for hard materials repairs and there is the small matter of getting UV light to the site - if you can, the resin has a leisurely attitude - dawb it on, then you take as long as you like (pretty much) to get it all positioned right - then hit it with a lamp - and it's solid in a flash. I don't know what you use for cleaning off drips of uncured residue - once it's cured it takes a hammer and chisel.
@@grendelum Poppies are legal to grow The United Kingdom does not require a license for opium poppy cultivation, but does for extracting opium for medicinal products. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papaver_somniferum
Clive .... I’m intrigued if these tiny solar panels put out such a high output ... could we in theory link multiple panels and make a small efficient solar charging station ? A change of programming and make a project from Poundland rather than just dissect ...
In Germany, we use "Silizium" for the chemical element and "Silikon" for the polymer. Some newspapers used to trip up over this. Probably because they just online translated an English article. They would report about breast enlargements of celebrities by referring to it as "Silizium". Doesn't happen very much anymore (or I just don't read those articles maybe).
Corroded copper inside insulated wires.. I had a reliant supervan III. Had to fit a crimp. Kept cutting back trying to find the shiny stuff. A metre later I gave up and replaced the whole wire. Think moisture got through the insulation. The whole 'car' was the same. Sold it.
@@Ammoniummetavanadate Also, might be worth adding a second battery, as well, or swapping it for a bigger battery, like he did in the video with the tree LED. Name of that video is " Making cheap solar garden lights more interesting. (Laid back video.)"
Might also be worth adding a second battery, as well, or swapping it for a bigger battery, like he did in the video with the tree LED. Name of that video is " Making cheap solar garden lights more interesting. (Laid back video.)"
I did a similar thing (and I'm certain this was a suggestion from you) with these lights using greenhouse repair tape. I'm glad to say over a year later, my poundland solar bulbs work perfectly. They are full of water too, as I forgot to put a hole in the bottom.
Thanks Clive. I found about 50 of those "abrasion" pens around my dads house. Had no idea what they were. Now see you using them. Wish I'd kept a couple now, they would have been handy. Lol. PS, if you ever do read this, I may have a couple of LEDs + drivers left, or BIG external LED lights if you want to do teardowns/tests and have not seen those models.
I have used the 3M tape method, plus putting a hole in the bulb, to weather proof this type of light. They've mostly , you always get one of two that fail, lasted 3 or 4 years. I do take them in for the winter. Thanks Clive!
(15:48) - Don't forget to ream that melted hole from the inside of the bulb since there will be a small ridge all the way around the hole on the inside. All you need is a long drill bit, I imagine, for this, otherwise a small amount of water will pool around the unintentionally created ridge. These *_are_* being hung upside down, right? >
@@themightiestofbooshes9443 From stage left a gangling youth enters, head down, apologetic, grasping a sheaf of dogeared script When you are ready The farce begins, in a quavering voice he talks crap is not amused is enjoying the unfolding disaster is thinking, against all odds, and wiser council of 1+2, to wait and see if this turns into something useful Something like that ?
Sainsbury's are selling these this Summer! I was looking at getting one or two, and they also have an LED 'filament' version, which is rather nice to look at, other than the filaments look a bit like illuminated meal worms when lit up. The Yorkshire Trading Company also sell something near 'identikit' in appearance. Now, I hadn't though about covering the PV panel with silicone, I rather though the vapours off that stuff might be strongly corrosive, and instead, opted for "greenhouse repair tape" from Wilko. It's like an ultra tough, thick Sellotape type of product (there's a "Gorilla" version too) that lasts for ages. I 'repaired' a broken caravan window with greenhouse tape a few years back, and it's still holding up well to the elements. I have several solar light sets at the moment, and have noted a significant degrading of the (once upon a time) clear covering on the PV panel of the oldest one (about 4-5 years old). It's now a dull, milky, white, even though it does still output enough to maintain a good charge on the cells. It will be interesting to see if your new cell fairs better than the last. . . . Just out of interest, do you have several of these lights? and if so, how well did their cells survive last Summer's solar onslaught?
@@ciarfah same here, around 10 years old. I used to make circuits in old baccy tins and i had used super glue to "waterproof" a bit of circuitry. I then needed to change a part and yes the pain in my eyes is very vivid 40 years later, i too thought i had lost my eyesight.
My mother bought three neat little solar lights from Dollar Tree. They are flowers (with the solar panel centered in the concave flower shape) with plastic hummingbirds over the exposed LEDs. The most noticeable design flaw is the flower itself, which is a nice little bowl for rainwater to sit in. On the up-side, they run off standard AAA cells that are user-replaceable, so I yanked the 100 mAh NiCds out and put 600 mAh NiMh cells in. Out of the three, one failed as water ingress shorted out the charge chip. Didn't expect much for a buck, but the other 2 have held up surprisingly well.
They would be doubly cooked, first by the sheer heat, second by way of severe overcharging. You’ll have to add either an inline resistor to limit current or a neutral density filter to reduce the light reaching the solar cells.
I use the clear lacquer from a car paint touch-up set. Just run a line of lacquer around the join between the edge of the solar panel and the chrome surround. The lacquer is designed for use outdoors and is UV stable.
I brought all new garden lights last year, and i covered all the solar cells / top sections with 3M Waterproof tape. You can buy the stuff in B&Q, think its 2" wide. And it seems to do the job great. Might lights are still working great this year and no water damage.
I bought some solar garden lights a few weeks ago and before I fitted them, I took them all apart and coated all the electrical components with a conformal coating, cured with a UV lamp. Even though these lights are usually weatherproof, the damp still gets into the circuits, and I've seen old ones where the parts have all corroded. I'll have to see how long these last.
You could probably put an appropriate zener diode across the battery in reverse, so if the battery voltage gets too high the solar panel gets shorted out.
I'm glad to see this has worked so well to prevent water ingress! Though now I'm wondering if there's such a thing as UV-stable spray-on clear conformal coating... and if there is, how it would compare. Just seems like it might go quicker than squishing silicone around with one's fingers.
@@BenQuigley Yup, it's fine inside the enclosure but for sealing the solar panel - no. And I was thinking of a situation where someone's dealing with LOTS of these things on a large property so they would really want them to be as low maintenance as possible, and even the process of giving them an extra seal against water intrusion would be wanted to go as quickly as possible. Trying to use nail varnish on, say, 50+ of these things would be ridiculous.
@@FurrBeard in that situation all you would need is a hydrophobic coating, much like the one found on jackets and camping tents. Or a better option, just set the panel in with a resin.
@@BenQuigley I wouldn't know about that. I've never worn nail varnish in sunlight. Come to that, I've never worn nail varnish. One quick google search for _conformal coating uv_ later... Shitloads of results for UV-curing conformal coating. Just because it cures with UV doesn't mean it won't degrade with prolonged UV. One quick google seach for _conformal coating "uv resistant" later... www.circuitspecialists.eu/optically-clear-conformal-coating-epoxy-4224-1/ Optically clear. UV resistant. Two-part epoxy. Not a spray. Fucking expensive. £89 for 1.12 litres. Probably more than you'll ever need. Probably has a limited shelf life even unmixed (most 2-part epoxies do). Cheaper per litre if you go for 4.5L at £270. Also, both are out of stock. From the same search, uk.farnell.com/multicomp/mc002230/conformal-coating-aerosol-400ml/dp/2854864 Aerosol. £7.53 for 400ml. Still horrendously expensive. Still probably more than you'll use before it goes off. Also out of stock. And acrylic based. I've used acrylic paint. It's shit. Never again. I've used acrylic bath sealant. It's shit. Never again. I'm not saying this will be shit because it's based on acrylic, but I certainly wouldn't risk it. BTW, if you think UV-curing conformal coating might also be UV-resistant, Clive did a video on a device for setting UV-curing nail varnish.
Maybe a bit late but I stumbled through the video and thought: What great pencils. I need them. www.ebay.co.uk/p/Set-X-3-Brass-Steel-Fiberglass-Scratch-Brush-Pen-Pencil-Removes-Rust-Scratches/1288887466 Not sure if the link will show - Search ebay for "Set X 3 Brass Steel Fiberglass Scratch Brush Pen Pencil Removes Rust Scratches"
@@maddscientist1644 It's actually nice that they have a sensible name for a change. Here's a typical UK listing for a set of three types that doesn't refer to them as abrasive pencils. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401334987551
Good work. I want to put Silicone Layer for a different purpose. Actually my mini Solar panel is giving a lot of glare from the sun. Can the Silicone layer help to mitigate that, without decreasing output ?
I'm currently experimenting with using Gorilla Clear Glue to seal over the solar panel. It has the advantage of being runny enough that it can just be squirted on and left to self level and set, and its a more transparent than most of the clear silicone's I've used. It's waterproof enough once cured to keep water out, and over the last few months its remained clear. Time will tell if its actually any good.
13:21 im imagining the old battery sitting in a chair behind a desk with spot lights pointing at it :-) 13:50 wire insulating , how about the little blue stamps that uk garages used to give out when you bought fuel , friend of mine used them when he fitted a radio in his car , i dont know how long they were on but when i pulled out the radio the stamps were unstuck and just loosely wrapped around the wires :-)
I just use privacy window sticky vinyl(stuff for bathroom windows) to cover the top of the lights, then trim off the excess. Seems to be holding up well after a couple of years.
@@FarleyHillBilly Looking back at the way the plants are designed, we did 2 like that in California. Also I find out after learning more about the different materials that we have these water reactors because they were best for making plutonium for bombs, and the safer design using Thorium is not good for making bomb materials. That says where the people making the rules have their mind and money spent on, not us and the future. Just them and lots of killing, as having good things for everyone is not in their plans unfortunately. Not too much has changed on the last 3,500 years.
if a thorium reactor burst over the short run that would be way worse as a thorium core would be far, far ,far hotter radioactively speaking - upside is that it would decay rather quick too. but thorium molten reactors are inherently safer its simple physics. water cooled reactors want to explode and molten salt thorium reactors want to stop their reaction and cool off.
They will use the moisture and work 24 hrs a day because there is no night time for them. When they die of exhaustion their remains will partially block the hole Clive understands the subtleties of these things
@@bigclivedotcom Thanks for the reply. Bugs over here do crazy things.. I found a hornet in my breaker box. It had to climb down 30 feet of pipe, through the meter and down another 5 feet and through 2 elbows... It was dead. Now I have underground service to the house...
But then, how is it they cope in much hotter, sunnier climates without failing? Do they use different cells or circuitry, etc depending on which market they are selling them in?
Thanks Clive . I've had a couple of solar lamps where the wires have come off the solar panel and ripped some of the backing off , i've not been able to reattach these, solder does not work , any ideas?
It's a thin multi-layer film that is easy to damage. Sometimes a very fast dab of solder to tack the wire on and some glue to hold it in place works, but the output is often lower.
@@bigclivedotcom yes thank you .I could not get solder to work i did try glue (hot glue gun) but like you say the output was very low and for the price of a new light it's not really worth getting a new solar panel , when you can get 3 lights for a few pounds. Thanks for the reply Clive i appreciate it. :-)
@@gordonrichardson2972 Typically after the deposition process it will be coated with polyvinylidene chloride (PVC). However, in some processes it is actually chromium. This is becoming less and less common due to chromium being restricted in many countries.
I remember last summer well. Was bad in Shetland too. Really pissed off at owning a leather computer chair back then. On to a cloth one now and do we get hot weather? No...
14:25 Instead of tape that can lose it's adhesive, why not use a piece of heat-shrink tube? Or if you want to use tape, use black Electrical Tape...I've yet to find a connection that was wrapped in it where the adhesive failed...became impossible to unwrap maybe, but never where it just fell off...
I have heard tale that short batteries as this, and the ones you have inside of computers, are actually more like capacitors, as they don't hold a charge for very long
Different thing entirely, super capacitors have a very low self discharge rate, making them ideal for memory backup. Chemical batteries self discharge at a faster rate
Farley Hill or, Yes, No...lol. But (for the OP) seriously, these are actual NiMH batteries and not super- or ultracapacitors (which are something else entirely and are proper high capacity capacitors, typically measures in Farads or tenths of Farads...or millions of microfarads). Devices may use either for backup memory purposes though, it all depends upon price point and how long one needs to maintain the battery backup. Properly engineered, a supercapacitor or ultracapacitor will afford a a much longer service life than a NiCd or NiMH backup battery (which require periodic replacement) but batteries have much higher energy densities for their size and have a flatter discharge curve than any capacitor.
I think you can easily find clive's house. At night, look for the brightest house/garden on the isle of man. If it's all poundland/ebay/custom stuff, you've found it.
If the solar panel is getting that much power from the small surface area, wouldn't that overload the battery? Or would the yellow tape on give it additional juice?
Another factor that might have killed the battery is heat. I'm in AU and the solar panels used on my Xmas lights get too hot to touch, in fact will burn you in summer, so imagine how hot it is inside the battery compartment on the back of the panel.
What about putting a diode in series with a blue led as a cheap alternative as a voltage limiter. 1n400x diodes are good for about .8 volts and blue led's are good for 3.4 volts forward, and the two in series would be about 4.2 volts and that would keep the battery from dying by over voltage. The same idea can be used to make a voltage limiter for any voltage.
@@johnfrancisdoe1563 In that case use a 1.5 or 1.6 forward voltage red led. or two silicon diodes in series. Most of the solar lights have a very poor battery life, and I noticed that there are two reason. One is the charging voltage is not controlled, and secondly they are discharged fully each day. If the solar panel is large enough to charge batteries that will last all night and then some, and does not over charge then the things would last more than a few months. I just see many things that are poorly designed and as a result fail quite prematurely. I can hack out engineering projects and get them to be more reliable without a large increase in cost. It is just most things are done more on the cheap then charge people good money for things and then they need to go out and buy new ones. Most companies do stuff like this all the time now, and I am just giving you you one of the issues that can greatly increase life. The other thing is de-rating products, if something has 1/2 w led's in it, why over drive them? it makes more sense in terms of life to run them at 50% less than rated or even half the output. Then the things don't burn out and put more stuff into the landfills. There are many things that quit working, and people like myself as a kid would like them so they can take them apart and make them work. That is how I would get things such as my first TV, computer, and many other things. Can't afford to buy it new, so get a unit with problems. The other way is when makers sell off old projects for pennies on the dollar to work on new projects. I bought a Timex Sinclair 4K for about $15 including shipping years ago. As I could afford that, but not the $125 price in the store at the time. We have so many ways that we are wasteful, and people can benefit from things instead of them being ground up or buried in landfills.
A simpler solution would be to install a Zener diode across the cell (assuming it’s at least a pair of cells at 2.4V)...or a couple of silicon diodes (if a single 1.2V cell)...but I’m assuming there are at least 2 series cells since 1.2VDC is too low a voltage for most LEDs to emit any meaningful amount of light, so a Zener diode paralleled with the battery should be an option. Alternatively, one could add a series resistor in series with the solar panel to reduce peak charging current, but then you may not achieve a full charge during winter months when the days are much shorter.
@@ethanpoole3443 Zener diode would work, needs to be rated for the power dissipation that is likely to occur. I mentioned silicon diodes as an option as well. Key thing is knowing that there are many ways of fixing the problem, and the way to do it is personal choice and what is available.
Some years ago I bought some rolls of cheap Chinesium hookup wire, after a few years sitting there unused I needed a bit of hookup wire and discovered that the hookup wire with the black insulation had turned into a roll of verdigris, but the rolls with other colours were fine. The wire on the black roll had become a black/green slimy mess along the entire length of the roll, so I suspect some chemical not present in other colours was leaching out of the black insulation and causing corrosion.
Clive next time you can actually leave the tips of the battery and solder them directly to the board instead of the wires, this way the battery will stay secure.
ahh dead batteries. I've got a faucet water filter with an led indicator light. It just flashes 4 times green, yellow or red when you first turn it on. After 3 years the battery is dead i'm guessing because the led doesn't work anymore. I'm going to try taking it apart. Not sure how that's going to work since its plastic welded together. I'm sure i can get it apart but can i replace the battery and get it back together is the question. Especially being weld/melted together. I'd much rather replace a couple dollar battery than spend 30 on a whole new filter assembly.
@@Wooble57 the filter element gets replaced every few months. Just the main housing is where the battery for the indicator light is at. A filter is about 5 dollars versus a new housing is 30. I'd like to be able to just replace the battery.
I love this channel. He does everything we wish we had the time to do.
These are the exact lights I've been tinkering with, among others, since starting to watch your channel. I chose to just put the clear 3M tape across the top and drill a hole in the bulb bottom. I'm also going to replace the cell with a 1/3AA size NiMH cell, because I think I can fit it in there, and see what happens. As you said, the output of the printed glass solar cell is quite amazing.
I blew up the original button cell by charging it with excessive current (40 mAh cell seems to only want 10% of its capacity for max current to charge).
I really appreciate learning by watching you and then tinkering in my own ways.
Just rewatching this video and wanted to say thanks for all the work you do on your channel.
This video was just in time. My dollar store solar lights have all died, and I need to repair/replace them. Thanks for the videos, Clive!
Bill Holloway same here.
Brilliant work as always Clive! Please keep doing annual updates on these (and similar projects)! Too often viewers like us are left hanging to see if an idea actually panned out or not!
I can only imagine all the cheap Chinese LED lights that you have installed all around your house. I bet your house is visible from space.
and its flashy, too
Underrated comment ! 🤣
Clark Griswold ain't got nothin' on BigClive
It must be the one blinking colourfully ALL year round, not just for Christmas. Would you give us a tour of your house, Clive?
And it also costs pennies per year to light it up.
Two points:
1. The battery could also have been affected by heat build up in that tiny little oven of a base.
2. I love listening to Clive. He's very good at explaining his procedures and his voice and accent are quite mellifluous.
Rick T. That's my job. LOL
3pcs scratch pen set !!!
You learn so much from these kinds of videos .. that hole in the bottom trick really makes a lot of sense!
I have some wter logged garden lights (solar) I'm going to seal them with sealicone. I do remember your video on the lights but I had forgotten about it. Thanks for reminding me about it.
Perhaps some type of zener diode to limit the max voltage to the battery, or to turn on the LEDs to bleed off the excess current?
Holy crap, that was a year ago? Jeabus, I remember the original video. I'm getting old... Lol
yeah, i say the same thing lol, one year? wow
You must be young if you think remembering something from a year ago is novel.
Novel? I've stopped counting in years after my first six decades have long past...
You remember something from one year ago? I don't even... Wait, what were we talking about? How did I get here?
Yep, fixed up a number of solar panel lights like this, even without the cutting of the baggies just run your finger over it and jobs a gooden.
'hasn't got me yet' Best thing I've heard all week.
Nice, last year I had sealed a solar light for my dad he uses to light the flagpole. He bought it end of summer by halfway thru winter dead. Then I remembered BigClive saying the switches they put in them are cheap and break, this was not cheap 30 bucks from Walmart. Anyway sure enough switch is bad, so I just bridged the switch and sealed everything. Still works but the dogs snapped it in 2, the cell and 18650's inside are still good I'm gonna repurpose it for something. CHEERS it's hot real hot in Kansas today.
Raymond Mucklow 18650 Lithium cell? That's higher end than these old school Nickel ones.
@@AverageUnixGirl yeah still haven't got around to it but it's all still there.
These are my favourite videos. Just Clive messing with cheap electronics
The mans legendary . He's the 👑⚡✊
Mine also! 👍
We did ours late last year (summer) here in Australia, it's now the middle of winter and they're working an absolute treat. Great idea it would seem Big Clive👍💡
Yay!! Scratchy pens!! I got a set last week and they are so useful for contact cleaning and metal polishing, especially the fibreglass one, that thing can shine up a lot of things with ease... :D
twocvbloke where did you get them, or what is the "official" name? My search returned a bazillion results for ink pens, and I will probably be stalked by pen sellers now.
"scratch brush pen" or "fibreglass pen" seemed to work for me, though I got mine from this one listing, probably available cheaper from china but I wanted them quickly:
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111741724024
in strong light those solar cells are amazing. i got a bunch of broken outdoor lights and stripped the solar out to create my own big panel by combining them all together. the output was quite amazing.
Nice to get updates on previously featured items. The battery leakage is a shame.
Awesome I spewed mountain dew everywhere when clive said "shit ton " good on ya and always love a update video
Best prepper channel ever.
Clive, possible reason that the output of the solar cell has gone up could be that you updated your work lights.
Also I don't know how good the line regulation of his worklight is, if that day there was a lower mains voltage or maybe a higher ambient temperature, I suppose the worklight output could be lower.
Those abrasive pens are super cool! Never seen them before.
Clive I was thinking that some heat shrink over the cells might be a quick way to cover them.
You would not even have to really shrink it other than on the ends to keep it centered.
That's a very good idea, it's be mechanically attached rather than relying on glue.
I have had some very good experience with placing a standard red led across the battery. Most of them start glowing around 1.5/1.7 volt, and that keeps the battery from overcharging. But yes then you have a small light during the daytime 😊
I started doing this at the time you released the video showing you covering the panels with tape instead, so I thought that silicone would work just as well, anyway over the last 2 or 3 years I've seen at least a 50% decrease in failures, and those that have failed have been repairable as it's usually the battery that's died rather than the solar cell.
I will be doing this tomorrow to our garden lights. Great idea
1 year later, my underwater LED cob in my water fountain is still working FLAWLESS! Thanks so much for the idea :)
Loved the sellotape comment - I found a tile in the shower that was stuck on the wall with a loop of tape in one house we bought...
I should try that :-) thanks for the video
Edit : in order to protect the circuit, I suggest putting silicone on the circuit, and on the solders
Not the acid ones.
This is fantastic research, Clive, with clear results. Infinite thanks.
Mine did fill up with water. Great idea. I’ll have to check out the previous video.
Mr Clive Sir.. it's been a year already.. Time is flying.. I've been a subscriber for a very long time however I love the live shows with the bearded friends.. it's the 3rd of July but all things will blow up tomorrow.. LOL I love things that go boom...you have a happy 4th although y'all don't celebrate it..
My first "love" is the UV resin, It's tough and waterproof. I've repaired spectacles, glassware, china and often pot outdoor circuits and even a soap-dish made in stainless but welded with iron!!! A coat of resin 2 years ago, still rust free.
Really it's apples and oranges with silicone or hot glue. The resin is more for hard materials repairs and there is the small matter of getting UV light to the site - if you can, the resin has a leisurely attitude - dawb it on, then you take as long as you like (pretty much) to get it all positioned right - then hit it with a lamp - and it's solid in a flash.
I don't know what you use for cleaning off drips of uncured residue - once it's cured it takes a hammer and chisel.
Clive with his baggies and hydroponic lights. Isle of Man's biggest dealer. Haha.
Someday we’ll all be able to grow our own without worry... someday...
@@grendelum
Poppies are legal to grow
The United Kingdom does not require a license for opium poppy cultivation, but does for extracting opium for medicinal products.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papaver_somniferum
Don't be a burn bro come on lmao
DON'T...💎!!
Not every grower is a dealer. Some grow for ourselves alone.
Whoa! Those pencils are awesome! I’m ordering them now!
Silverline 738963 Scratch Brushes 3pk www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XRJV4QC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_zduhDbGDC286Y
Clive .... I’m intrigued if these tiny solar panels put out such a high output ... could we in theory link multiple panels and make a small efficient solar charging station ? A change of programming and make a project from Poundland rather than just dissect ...
Important:
Silicon = Chemical Element with 14 Protons
Silicone = Polymer made of Siloxane (chain of silicon and oxygen) and other elements
Even more important if you go near Diesel ;0)
silicon is an atom, a bunch of silicon is a black rock.
Important:
Clive's pronunciation of the above: "I don't give a fuck." :)
In Germany, we use "Silizium" for the chemical element and "Silikon" for the polymer. Some newspapers used to trip up over this. Probably because they just online translated an English article. They would report about breast enlargements of celebrities by referring to it as "Silizium". Doesn't happen very much anymore (or I just don't read those articles maybe).
@@Gigator is it true that Germans use comma as decimal point instead of dots ?
Corroded copper inside insulated wires.. I had a reliant supervan III.
Had to fit a crimp. Kept cutting back trying to find the shiny stuff. A metre later I gave up and replaced the whole wire. Think moisture got through the insulation.
The whole 'car' was the same. Sold it.
Here in Australia, these lights die from the cell getting cooked in the sun.
Hmm, seems like it might be worth adding some insulation to it, maybe a bit of foam and wrap that in mylar
@@Ammoniummetavanadate Also, might be worth adding a second battery, as well, or swapping it for a bigger battery, like he did in the video with the tree LED. Name of that video is "
Making cheap solar garden lights more interesting. (Laid back video.)"
Might also be worth adding a second battery, as well, or swapping it for a bigger battery, like he did in the video with the tree LED. Name of that video is "
Making cheap solar garden lights more interesting. (Laid back video.)"
I did a similar thing (and I'm certain this was a suggestion from you) with these lights using greenhouse repair tape. I'm glad to say over a year later, my poundland solar bulbs work perfectly. They are full of water too, as I forgot to put a hole in the bottom.
Thanks Clive. I found about 50 of those "abrasion" pens around my dads house. Had no idea what they were. Now see you using them. Wish I'd kept a couple now, they would have been handy. Lol.
PS, if you ever do read this, I may have a couple of LEDs + drivers left, or BIG external LED lights if you want to do teardowns/tests and have not seen those models.
Thanks for the offer. I've actually got a bit too much stuff here at the moment.
@@bigclivedotcom Cheers! You have inspired me to build something out of them though... like a massive "torch" to light up the street. XD
I have used the 3M tape method, plus putting a hole in the bulb, to weather proof this type of light. They've mostly , you always get one of two that fail, lasted 3 or 4 years. I do take them in for the winter. Thanks Clive!
(15:48) - Don't forget to ream that melted hole from the inside of the bulb since there will be a small ridge all the way around the hole on the inside.
All you need is a long drill bit, I imagine, for this, otherwise a small amount of water will pool around the unintentionally created ridge.
These *_are_* being hung upside down, right?
>
clive, do a series in which you read intellectual literature aloud. such a soothing voice.
Porn or Shakespeare ? , either would be good.
@@FarleyHillBilly would prefer a narration at the perspective of a single character over different characters.
@@themightiestofbooshes9443
I'm not sure I quite grasp that concept
Would you care to demonstrate an example of that ?
@@themightiestofbooshes9443
From stage left a gangling youth enters, head down, apologetic, grasping a sheaf of dogeared script
When you are ready
The farce begins, in a quavering voice he talks crap
is not amused
is enjoying the unfolding disaster
is thinking, against all odds, and wiser council of 1+2, to wait and see if this turns into something useful
Something like that ?
@@FarleyHillBilly well, yes and no. instead of the narrator being the third person's perspective, how about the narrator also being the protagonist?
These videos always illuminate things :-D
Sainsbury's are selling these this Summer! I was looking at getting one or two, and they also have an LED 'filament' version, which is rather nice to look at, other than the filaments look a bit like illuminated meal worms when lit up. The Yorkshire Trading Company also sell something near 'identikit' in appearance.
Now, I hadn't though about covering the PV panel with silicone, I rather though the vapours off that stuff might be strongly corrosive, and instead, opted for "greenhouse repair tape" from Wilko. It's like an ultra tough, thick Sellotape type of product (there's a "Gorilla" version too) that lasts for ages. I 'repaired' a broken caravan window with greenhouse tape a few years back, and it's still holding up well to the elements.
I have several solar light sets at the moment, and have noted a significant degrading of the (once upon a time) clear covering on the PV panel of the oldest one (about 4-5 years old). It's now a dull, milky, white, even though it does still output enough to maintain a good charge on the cells.
It will be interesting to see if your new cell fairs better than the last. . . . Just out of interest, do you have several of these lights? and if so, how well did their cells survive last Summer's solar onslaught?
Those resin potted solar panels always degrade after a year or so outside, even industrial ones used on solar traffic bollards go the same way.
"It's [noxious chemicals] not got me yet."
Burning lacquer: "One day, Big Clive. _One day..."_
try burning dry super glue one day with a soldering iron, that is a feeling of pain in your eyes you will not forget.
amojak Oh man I've been there, thought I'd go blind
@@ciarfah same here, around 10 years old. I used to make circuits in old baccy tins and i had used super glue to "waterproof" a bit of circuitry.
I then needed to change a part and yes the pain in my eyes is very vivid 40 years later, i too thought i had lost my eyesight.
Oh, it seems a very clever solution!
My mother bought three neat little solar lights from Dollar Tree. They are flowers (with the solar panel centered in the concave flower shape) with plastic hummingbirds over the exposed LEDs. The most noticeable design flaw is the flower itself, which is a nice little bowl for rainwater to sit in. On the up-side, they run off standard AAA cells that are user-replaceable, so I yanked the 100 mAh NiCds out and put 600 mAh NiMh cells in.
Out of the three, one failed as water ingress shorted out the charge chip. Didn't expect much for a buck, but the other 2 have held up surprisingly well.
If the summer on the Isle of Man cooked this one, can only imagine what a Florida summer would do to it.
They would be doubly cooked, first by the sheer heat, second by way of severe overcharging. You’ll have to add either an inline resistor to limit current or a neutral density filter to reduce the light reaching the solar cells.
sparkplug1018 - haha I just commented the same thing.
Wouldn’t last a day
We're British. We're used to drizzle and beer that's warmer than the weather, last year was unremitting torture.
One of those lamps buyed in grece the next year.
Under strong sun light it works perfectly.
I forgot I was waiting for this update.
gantmj I know I watch it last yesr😂😂
I use the clear lacquer from a car paint touch-up set. Just run a line of lacquer around the join between the edge of the solar panel and the chrome surround. The lacquer is designed for use outdoors and is UV stable.
I brought all new garden lights last year, and i covered all the solar cells / top sections with 3M Waterproof tape. You can buy the stuff in B&Q, think its 2" wide. And it seems to do the job great. Might lights are still working great this year and no water damage.
I bought some solar garden lights a few weeks ago and before I fitted them, I took them all apart and coated all the electrical components with a conformal coating, cured with a UV lamp.
Even though these lights are usually weatherproof, the damp still gets into the circuits, and I've seen old ones where the parts have all corroded.
I'll have to see how long these last.
You could probably put an appropriate zener diode across the battery in reverse, so if the battery voltage gets too high the solar panel gets shorted out.
I always loved zener diodes..clamp the shit Right..
Oops one more.. I always found electronics just crazy..just me.. y'all have a great day
It's a learning experience ,Bear.
I'm glad to see this has worked so well to prevent water ingress! Though now I'm wondering if there's such a thing as UV-stable spray-on clear conformal coating... and if there is, how it would compare. Just seems like it might go quicker than squishing silicone around with one's fingers.
You could try clear nail varnish. Not spray on, but not hard to apply.
@@bdf2718 most nail varnish is highly susceptible to UV degradation though...
@@BenQuigley Yup, it's fine inside the enclosure but for sealing the solar panel - no. And I was thinking of a situation where someone's dealing with LOTS of these things on a large property so they would really want them to be as low maintenance as possible, and even the process of giving them an extra seal against water intrusion would be wanted to go as quickly as possible. Trying to use nail varnish on, say, 50+ of these things would be ridiculous.
@@FurrBeard in that situation all you would need is a hydrophobic coating, much like the one found on jackets and camping tents. Or a better option, just set the panel in with a resin.
@@BenQuigley
I wouldn't know about that. I've never worn nail varnish in sunlight. Come to that, I've never worn nail varnish.
One quick google search for _conformal coating uv_ later... Shitloads of results for UV-curing conformal coating. Just because it cures with UV doesn't mean it won't degrade with prolonged UV.
One quick google seach for _conformal coating "uv resistant" later... www.circuitspecialists.eu/optically-clear-conformal-coating-epoxy-4224-1/ Optically clear. UV resistant. Two-part epoxy. Not a spray. Fucking expensive. £89 for 1.12 litres. Probably more than you'll ever need. Probably has a limited shelf life even unmixed (most 2-part epoxies do). Cheaper per litre if you go for 4.5L at £270. Also, both are out of stock.
From the same search, uk.farnell.com/multicomp/mc002230/conformal-coating-aerosol-400ml/dp/2854864 Aerosol. £7.53 for 400ml. Still horrendously expensive. Still probably more than you'll use before it goes off. Also out of stock. And acrylic based. I've used acrylic paint. It's shit. Never again. I've used acrylic bath sealant. It's shit. Never again. I'm not saying this will be shit because it's based on acrylic, but I certainly wouldn't risk it.
BTW, if you think UV-curing conformal coating might also be UV-resistant, Clive did a video on a device for setting UV-curing nail varnish.
The led is cool great build
The fiberglass steel and brass pencils are sweet were you get them Clive
Maybe a bit late but I stumbled through the video and thought: What great pencils. I need them.
www.ebay.co.uk/p/Set-X-3-Brass-Steel-Fiberglass-Scratch-Brush-Pen-Pencil-Removes-Rust-Scratches/1288887466
Not sure if the link will show - Search ebay for
"Set X 3 Brass Steel Fiberglass Scratch Brush Pen Pencil Removes Rust Scratches"
Xmass lights in clives front garden must be amazing
Absolutely stunning. You seen the video of them? ruclips.net/video/pWBjl-jPcVM/видео.html
So what are those abrasive pencils you have called? Another must have now that I know something like that exists
They're called.... Abrasive pencils. Easy to find on eBay in fibreglass, brass and steel. Plus packs of refills.
@@bigclivedotcom haha I guess that would make since. I think I was having a senior moment or something when I asked.
@@maddscientist1644 It's actually nice that they have a sensible name for a change.
Here's a typical UK listing for a set of three types that doesn't refer to them as abrasive pencils.
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401334987551
Matt Quinn I would consider them as brushes, but I guess the screw-pencil mechanism dominates the naming.
Cheaper set here rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F112140712886
Good work. I want to put Silicone Layer for a different purpose. Actually my mini Solar panel is giving a lot of glare from the sun. Can the Silicone layer help to mitigate that, without decreasing output ?
There might be a diffusing material, but it may collect dirt and reduce power.
I'm currently experimenting with using Gorilla Clear Glue to seal over the solar panel. It has the advantage of being runny enough that it can just be squirted on and left to self level and set, and its a more transparent than most of the clear silicone's I've used.
It's waterproof enough once cured to keep water out, and over the last few months its remained clear. Time will tell if its actually any good.
i've got solar lights that work in the day and not at night. what is causing that clive?
Australian imports
Failed batteries usually. The LEDs get powered directly from the solar panel.
I used the weather tape method they never let any water in , but about 4 of my lights don't work no more. And I bought them this time last year .
Pauly H humidity maybe
What are those fine little pencil or brush looking things called that you used to clean the playing off?
Fibre Glass Scratch Brush
13:21 im imagining the old battery sitting in a chair behind a desk with spot lights pointing at it :-)
13:50 wire insulating , how about the little blue stamps that uk garages used to give out when you bought fuel , friend of mine used them when he fitted a radio in his car , i dont know how long they were on but when i pulled out the radio the stamps were unstuck and just loosely wrapped around the wires :-)
I just use privacy window sticky vinyl(stuff for bathroom windows) to cover the top of the lights, then trim off the excess. Seems to be holding up well after a couple of years.
I would want my money back for a solar panel light that overcharged in the UK...just sayin...
Not quite as stupid as putting a nuclear reactor in an earthquake zone
@@FarleyHillBilly Looking back at the way the plants are designed, we did 2 like that in California. Also I find out after learning more about the different materials that we have these water reactors because they were best for making plutonium for bombs, and the safer design using Thorium is not good for making bomb materials. That says where the people making the rules have their mind and money spent on, not us and the future. Just them and lots of killing, as having good things for everyone is not in their plans unfortunately. Not too much has changed on the last 3,500 years.
You said it Paul R.
You said it Paul R.
if a thorium reactor burst over the short run that would be way worse as a thorium core would be far, far ,far hotter radioactively speaking - upside is that it would decay rather quick too. but thorium molten reactors are inherently safer its simple physics. water cooled reactors want to explode and molten salt thorium reactors want to stop their reaction and cool off.
7:12 buckle up batteries, this year will not be less sunny as it seems...
I bought the colour changing version of those lights last year, the silver paint has degraded but still working great.
Also the intensity doesn't modulate up and down on my light.
Mine was new. It probably didn't have much charge.
With such a large hole, will bugs ingress?
They will use the moisture and work 24 hrs a day because there is no night time for them.
When they die of exhaustion their remains will partially block the hole
Clive understands the subtleties of these things
They've been fine. These do hang from a bush with the holes on the bottom, and no bugs seem to go in.
@@bigclivedotcom Thanks for the reply.
Bugs over here do crazy things..
I found a hornet in my breaker box. It had to climb down 30 feet of pipe, through the meter and down another 5 feet and through 2 elbows...
It was dead.
Now I have underground service to the house...
and you made a nice home for numbers of little critters :-)
I'm curious what one of those lights would be like with a capacitor rather than a battery.
I used E6000 around the gaps in my solar lights. So far, it seems to be working..
But then, how is it they cope in much hotter, sunnier climates without failing? Do they use different cells or circuitry, etc depending on which market they are selling them in?
Consider adding 2 or more battery button-cells instead of one, to make them last a lot longer.
"Not your best (soldering) iron"... Only on bigclivedotcom might you assume viewers even have an iron, let alone more than one!! :)
Thanks Clive . I've had a couple of solar lamps where the wires have come off the solar panel and ripped some of the backing off , i've not been able to reattach these, solder does not work , any ideas?
It's a thin multi-layer film that is easy to damage. Sometimes a very fast dab of solder to tack the wire on and some glue to hold it in place works, but the output is often lower.
@@bigclivedotcom yes thank you .I could not get solder to work i did try glue (hot glue gun) but like you say the output was very low and for the price of a new light it's not really worth getting a new solar panel , when you can get 3 lights for a few pounds. Thanks for the reply Clive i appreciate it. :-)
I found water coming in through the clip holes, I'd recomend to seal these as well
Couldn't you just solder the battery directly to the pcb so its not dangeling around?
The chrome plating is actually vacuum deposited aluminum.
Do they coat it in something to stop it from oxidizing?
Pook365 Aluminium oxidides very rapidly, but forms a hard transparent layer. The same process is used in the mirrors of large astronomical telescopes.
@@gordonrichardson2972 Typically after the deposition process it will be coated with polyvinylidene chloride (PVC). However, in some processes it is actually chromium. This is becoming less and less common due to chromium being restricted in many countries.
I remember last summer well. Was bad in Shetland too. Really pissed off at owning a leather computer chair back then. On to a cloth one now and do we get hot weather? No...
Could moisture enter through the holes where the hanger attaches?
They're just indents.
Perhaps some conformal coating?
14:25 Instead of tape that can lose it's adhesive, why not use a piece of heat-shrink tube? Or if you want to use tape, use black Electrical Tape...I've yet to find a connection that was wrapped in it where the adhesive failed...became impossible to unwrap maybe, but never where it just fell off...
Or self-sealing insulating tape.
I have heard tale that short batteries as this, and the ones you have inside of computers, are actually more like capacitors, as they don't hold a charge for very long
Different thing entirely, super capacitors have a very low self discharge rate, making them ideal for memory backup. Chemical batteries self discharge at a faster rate
@@FarleyHillBilly... No?
@@phonotical
Yes
Farley Hill or, Yes, No...lol. But (for the OP) seriously, these are actual NiMH batteries and not super- or ultracapacitors (which are something else entirely and are proper high capacity capacitors, typically measures in Farads or tenths of Farads...or millions of microfarads). Devices may use either for backup memory purposes though, it all depends upon price point and how long one needs to maintain the battery backup. Properly engineered, a supercapacitor or ultracapacitor will afford a a much longer service life than a NiCd or NiMH backup battery (which require periodic replacement) but batteries have much higher energy densities for their size and have a flatter discharge curve than any capacitor.
@@ethanpoole3443 I am aware, just general characteristics
I think you can easily find clive's house.
At night, look for the brightest house/garden on the isle of man. If it's all poundland/ebay/custom stuff, you've found it.
No you are approaching the whole theory of searching for his house wrong: Look for the pinkest gay LED-lights in the area. :P
Too much sunshine? Is there room for an extra battery to absorb it all?
If the solar panel is getting that much power from the small surface area, wouldn't that overload the battery?
Or would the yellow tape on give it additional juice?
Another factor that might have killed the battery is heat. I'm in AU and the solar panels used on my Xmas lights get too hot to touch, in fact will burn you in summer, so imagine how hot it is inside the battery compartment on the back of the panel.
Hi Clive. How's the homemade phone battery green light holding up?
On a windowsill it's been great.
What about putting a diode in series with a blue led as a cheap alternative as a voltage limiter. 1n400x diodes are good for about .8 volts and blue led's are good for 3.4 volts forward, and the two in series would be about 4.2 volts and that would keep the battery from dying by over voltage. The same idea can be used to make a voltage limiter for any voltage.
Paul R It's not a LiPo battery (~4.2V), It's a NiMH battery (~1.2V). But yeah, if overcharging is the problem, the charging circuit has a problem.
@@johnfrancisdoe1563 In that case use a 1.5 or 1.6 forward voltage red led. or two silicon diodes in series. Most of the solar lights have a very poor battery life, and I noticed that there are two reason. One is the charging voltage is not controlled, and secondly they are discharged fully each day. If the solar panel is large enough to charge batteries that will last all night and then some, and does not over charge then the things would last more than a few months.
I just see many things that are poorly designed and as a result fail quite prematurely. I can hack out engineering projects and get them to be more reliable without a large increase in cost. It is just most things are done more on the cheap then charge people good money for things and then they need to go out and buy new ones. Most companies do stuff like this all the time now, and I am just giving you you one of the issues that can greatly increase life. The other thing is de-rating products, if something has 1/2 w led's in it, why over drive them? it makes more sense in terms of life to run them at 50% less than rated or even half the output. Then the things don't burn out and put more stuff into the landfills.
There are many things that quit working, and people like myself as a kid would like them so they can take them apart and make them work. That is how I would get things such as my first TV, computer, and many other things. Can't afford to buy it new, so get a unit with problems. The other way is when makers sell off old projects for pennies on the dollar to work on new projects. I bought a Timex Sinclair 4K for about $15 including shipping years ago. As I could afford that, but not the $125 price in the store at the time.
We have so many ways that we are wasteful, and people can benefit from things instead of them being ground up or buried in landfills.
A simpler solution would be to install a Zener diode across the cell (assuming it’s at least a pair of cells at 2.4V)...or a couple of silicon diodes (if a single 1.2V cell)...but I’m assuming there are at least 2 series cells since 1.2VDC is too low a voltage for most LEDs to emit any meaningful amount of light, so a Zener diode paralleled with the battery should be an option. Alternatively, one could add a series resistor in series with the solar panel to reduce peak charging current, but then you may not achieve a full charge during winter months when the days are much shorter.
@@ethanpoole3443 Zener diode would work, needs to be rated for the power dissipation that is likely to occur. I mentioned silicon diodes as an option as well. Key thing is knowing that there are many ways of fixing the problem, and the way to do it is personal choice and what is available.
I just bought some of these and they are leaky as all get out.
Good thing there are techniques available for making them last longer
Some years ago I bought some rolls of cheap Chinesium hookup wire, after a few years sitting there unused I needed a bit of hookup wire and discovered that the hookup wire with the black insulation had turned into a roll of verdigris, but the rolls with other colours were fine. The wire on the black roll had become a black/green slimy mess along the entire length of the roll, so I suspect some chemical not present in other colours was leaching out of the black insulation and causing corrosion.
Clive next time you can actually leave the tips of the battery and solder them directly to the board instead of the wires, this way the battery will stay secure.
ahh dead batteries. I've got a faucet water filter with an led indicator light. It just flashes 4 times green, yellow or red when you first turn it on. After 3 years the battery is dead i'm guessing because the led doesn't work anymore. I'm going to try taking it apart. Not sure how that's going to work since its plastic welded together. I'm sure i can get it apart but can i replace the battery and get it back together is the question. Especially being weld/melted together. I'd much rather replace a couple dollar battery than spend 30 on a whole new filter assembly.
3 years is a long time for a filter to last, it's probably overdue for replacement anyway
@@Wooble57 the filter element gets replaced every few months. Just the main housing is where the battery for the indicator light is at. A filter is about 5 dollars versus a new housing is 30. I'd like to be able to just replace the battery.
@@keithyinger3326 ah. Gotcha. Going to be a tough job if the plastic is welded. Best of luck
how about the fibreglass pen for cleaning the wires?
A good soldering tip with corroded wires is to get a small bottle of BAKERS NO 3 soldering fluid and dip wire in then solder, works for me .