Solar garden lights

[Kelpie]

A few people on here have reported using solar garden lights as anchor lights with some success. I've been looking them up and they can be found surprisingly cheaply, but with pretty mixed reviews.
Would be interesting to see if anybody can share examples of what they have been using, and if they have stood up to the rigors of the marine environment.

 

[C08]

The ones I have used (3 different over a few years) did not last a full night more like 4 hours. I thought of fitting a bigger re-chargeable battery, I think with the advent now of low power LED lights that the solar garden lights have less appeal.

 

[Brent Swain]

In bright summer sun, they get enough charge to last all night. In winter they don't get enough sun to charge or work at all. A big solar panel hooked to your main battery , running a small LED anchor light ,works fine year round.

 

[Kelpie]

I should maybe add a wee explanation: my mooring is near a fish farm where work sometimes runs over into the early evening, after dark. I'd like to make my boat a bit more visible whilst moored (yes I know this isn't exactly to the letter of COLREGS) so I thought a couple of little solar garden lights would provide a few hours illumination. I do have 50w of solar on the boat but would need something totally automatic that doesn't drain my main batteries.

 

[lpdsn]

I should maybe add a wee explanation: my mooring is near a fish farm where work sometimes runs over into the early evening, after dark. I'd like to make my boat a bit more visible whilst moored (yes I know this isn't exactly to the letter of COLREGS) so I thought a couple of little solar garden lights would provide a few hours illumination. I do have 50w of solar on the boat but would need something totally automatic that doesn't drain my main batteries.

Over the years I've seen a fair few posters complain about the visibility of solar garden lights when used as anchor lights, but they may still be brighter than the lights you often see on fish farms.

An alternative solution is to use a 25W equivalent BAY15D LED at deck level, where it will be very easily seen, and build a simple circuit to turn it on and off using a light dependent resistor. You could then calculate the power drain and maybe, if necessary, add a temporary additional solar panel to cover that plus a margin.

If a BAY15D LED draws too much you could probably still find an LED with a lower current draw. Important also to stress that if you're on a mooring then there's no recognised requirement under the ColRegs to be lit, so this is simply a deck light.

 

[Robin]

A few people on here have reported using solar garden lights as anchor lights with some success. I've been looking them up and they can be found surprisingly cheaply, but with pretty mixed reviews.
Would be interesting to see if anybody can share examples of what they have been using, and if they have stood up to the rigors of the marine environment.

we overlook a popular anchorage on the ICW and I loo out most nights just to see who has lights showing. The garden lights are often seen late evening, rarely after midnight. On our own boats we used a Davies LED plug in light with atomatic sensor on/off. WE also have some AA and D Cell battery powered 'hurricane lights with variable brightness LEDs fitted instead of the paraffin wicks THese were bought initially for use as cockpit lighting, but as they last several nights on a set of batteries now do duty as emergence lighting at home during power outages like in hurricane Matthew when we had no power for 5 days/nights. They will be traveling home to the UK with us to use as anchor/cockpit lights there on our next floaty thing. They cost here just $!9.99 each, via amazon.

This is a similar cheapo version, butthere are now dozens of outdoor camping lanterns that would all do a similar or better job. INdeed I have since bought a 'Coleman' one for use in the spare bedroom in power outages It can aslso be had as a rechargeable one ( if you have power to charge it! ) It claims up to 600 hrs on a set of batteries .

 

[benchmark]

ordinary solar lights a deliberately keep affordable as they are expendable and hence made with corresponding low quality materials.
i will personally be hesitant relay on my boats visibility at night hang a cheap non purposely built or approved light source as the results can be devastating if i am not seen on time .
That being said, solar anchor lights are nothing new and can be purchased....though NOT at the meager prices of ordinary garden solar lights as some of them have up to 3 nautical mile visibility range.

see her:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Navigation...ee-Anchor-Light-All-Round-White-/252845325332

http://www.mcdermottlight.com/catalog/solar_navigation_lights_tophats.html

 

[GHA]

I should maybe add a wee explanation: my mooring is near a fish farm where work sometimes runs over into the early evening, after dark. I'd like to make my boat a bit more visible whilst moored (yes I know this isn't exactly to the letter of COLREGS) so I thought a couple of little solar garden lights would provide a few hours illumination. I do have 50w of solar on the boat but would need something totally automatic that doesn't drain my main batteries.

For that a few would certainly help. They're not great, not very bright and don't last all night but 2 or 3 round the boat wouldn't break the bank and stand a good chance of being seen if there's mot much shore light and the fish farm guys know there's a boat out there somewhere. Give it a go.

 

[Neeves]

We have found we can buy solar garden lights, bought direct from China, that will last all night when new. They are let down by the batteries, but as someone says - they are cheap and it does not break the bank to buy 2, one for a spare. We find they will last all night, but then they do sit under the Australian sun. On gloomy days they are less (and less) dependable for overnight. As the batteries age they become less effective.

One advantage of solar lights is that they display light all round and shine on the deck, if you hang them from the forestay - and making the deck standout is better, I think, than having a light at 15m up in the sky.

I have thought of placing, or hanging, one on top of the other. When the top one comes on it will provide sufficient light to ensure the lower one does not light up - but then as the top one fades the bottom would would switch on - but have not tried it.

I cannot suggest relying on a solar light to meet colregs but in a mooring field where there is no requirement for a light (and you simply want to illuminate your yacht) they are very cheap way of achieving same - especially if you are leaving the yacht for any length of time.

Coming into an area of anchored yachts the ones with anchor lights lower than the mast head are much more user friendly as you do not need to search the sky - when you really should be searching for what is dead ahead. People without lights should be admonished - solar lights are hardly expensive and wiring a LED at cabin roof height or to hang from the forestay is hardly difficult.

Jonathan

 

[smert]

We have a few of these in the garden: https://www.thesolarcentre.co.uk/products/Mini_London_Solar_Post_Lights_Set_Of_4-760-7.html
They easily last all night, even at this time of the year. I can't vouch for how long they will last as we only got them about 6 months ago, but I am pretty impressed so far.

We got other ones from ebay and they are nothing like as bright!

 

[dunedin]

For marking an unattended boat I would definitely go for it with a decent garden light (or three)

In Scotland we generally left a light attached to the pushpit all season. In a busy location we added a “proper” anchor light, but for a quiet place might just stick with the garden light.

Ours easily lasted all through the Scottish summer nights, and the actual light for 3-4 seasons, before we decided to rep,ace like for like simply because the non marine grade s/s post tarnished after a year or so.
We bought out first one from the hardware shop at Tobermory as a stop gap when the primary anchor light failed. Bought one out of a box of 6. Next year bought another, from the same opened box. Finally took pity and bought the remaining ones as they still had the box 4 years on. Not the most modern stock control in Tobermory?

 

[RupertW]

We've used them as our anchor lights for the last few years and even the cheapest last through a Med night in Summer. They are bright half a mile away and we just make sure we take the batteries out when we fly home each time.

 

[BrianH]

I have unashamedly used this solar-powered garden light as an anchor light for many years now despite the strictures against such use from this forum. Probably more muted these days of LED and solar cell technology improvements. It is bright due to multiple LEDs and lasts a summer night, admittedly in the Adriatic.

.

 

[DipperToo]

This light works well - but it does need a 12v socket.
In the summer, if i go ashore for a meal, say, I found some of the garden solar lights had a shaft the exact size to put into the top socket of the winches round the cockpit.

 

[duncan99210]

This light works well - but it does need a 12v socket.
In the summer, if i go ashore for a meal, say, I found some of the garden solar lights had a shaft the exact size to put into the top socket of the winches round the cockpit.

Been using one of those for five years or so as my anchor light. Put a bit of gaffer tape on the bottom of it so that when hung in the fore triangle it doesn't annoy at night.

We also have a collection of garden lights round the aft end of the boat, not as anchor lights but simply to help us spot our boat in a crowded anchorage. I've noted that they often cannot be seen until we're within a few hundred yards of the boat, whereas the anchor light is easy to spot from a considerable distance. Garden lights stay on all night and last a couple of years but at a few pounds a time, I regard them as expendable items.