Cheers Al

I don't have them, but wanted to ask you how satisfied you were with the quality/amount of light that they give off? I have heard that they can be a lot dimmer than others, but am hoping that is not true of them all. Solar really seems like it would be the way to go.

We've had a lot of incidents of theft of solar lights, though, and it seems that it is a common occurrence in many areas. I had 2 stolen this year from my yard. I'm not sure what the thieves are using them for - there have been several found, with the solar chips taken out of them.

I left it in the garden last winter. When the snow was on the solar panel, it didn't light up, of course. It didn't get damaged at all, though. It's in our fenced back yard, so no worries about theft. After having the decorative portion of my water fountain stolen this year, I won't put anything in the front yard that is of any value or that can easily be carried away.

I don't have any solar lights, but do have solar ornaments such as a tree trunk with a face and his eyes light up. I suppose I will just throw it in the shed for winter. When you store things they say to remove the battery, so maybe I'll do that.

Even for those solar ornaments I question the quality because if mine is lit up and you move it, it flickers a bit. Some loose connection or something.

We bought what looked like a frosted gazing ball on a Roman column for a gift. It was solar powered and was suppose to glow at night. No matter what, we couldn't get the thing to work, even with a new battery. The person who received this gift exchanged for another one but the same thing, it didn't work. Very frustrating especially since it wasn't cheap, but at least we got the money back. But, that experience has made me think twice about buying any ornament that's solar (unless it's cheap enough or might look nice even without the light working).

Other than that, I have the electrical transformer noma moonray garden lights and pretty well leave them on all winter. Of course they are hard to see in some spots, when the snow drifts over them, but it's neat to see snowdrifts "glow".

Glen

It's too bad that other people cannot leave items alone and respect other people's property that are in front yards in the city. It must be frustrating.

Ours have been left out all winter, and they do look neat glowing under the snow. We received another set as a gift, and we put them up along the path at the lake. The instructions said that they could be left out in the winter, but if you were to bring them in, place them somewhere that they'll receive a bit of light in order to keep the batteries charged. (These are Moonrays, actually).

-Kim

Cheers Al

You're right, sigh...

In the winter, in the past few years, I have left the lights all out in the perennial beds. The deer have stepped on one or two in the past few years because they could not see them under the deep snow. I also like the look of the solar lights under a thin blanket of snow. The more snow, the less light because they cannot see the sun as much during the day in order to recharge.

It's too bad that people cannot respect other people's property and leave their stuff alone, re. stealing out of front yards. I imagine it could be quite frustrating.

I won't have the "covered by snow" problem because of course I'll be keeping the mailbox dug out. The solar light isn't very bright, but it serves my purpose.

The April incident really was an accident, not deliberate vandalism. The police officer who took the report that night showed me a piece of the vehicle that got left behind along with the splintered post. He said that piece told him it was a Chevy Cavalier, and he was sure it took heavy passenger side damage. Going too fast on a country road on a dark night - not real smart. Lucky it was just a mailbox.

For my better quality ones, however, I just bring inside and put in the dark of downstairs. They will glow the first night but then not get enough light to recharge, until you put them back outside in spring.

I had a neat glass globe light that changed colors and it stopped working. Tried a new battery in it but no such luck to get it to work.

Glen

As far as what to do with solar lights during the winter:

1 - If you can, take them in, they're not going to be working too well anyway.

2 - If you want them out, just understand that you'll be getting less light duration at night. Since the days are shorter the batteries may not be fully recharging, so lights that during the summer illuminate for 8 to 10 hours may only be giving you 4 to 6.

3 - If you notice snow on the solar panel, simply brush it off. Solar lights are meant to be outside and deal with the elements, but leaving snow on top of the solar cell can be detrimental to the life of the lights, and will certainly negatively affect the recharge.