# DIY Sun Jar



## silentcropduster (Feb 27, 2013)

Hello all,


First time poster, but this isn't my first rodeo lol.

I have made various types of "DIY Sun Jars" and ran into several issues that I was able to over come all besides one.

The LED's I'm using are from these exact lights: http://www.lowes.com/pd_141120-5917...9520__?productId=3822305&Ns=p_product_price|0 (not sure of the rating of these I forget at the moment but i believe they are 2500 MCD)

and these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-x-Outdoo...086?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2573e16846 rated at 15000MCD which is (i believe) 1.5 lumens, which is not very bright imo.

I'm aware there are numerous LED websites that sell various types of LED's that can vary widely in output, size, color etc.

Is it possible for me to replace the LED with another thats brighter? 

I would aparently have to solder it & i think it would affect the run time of the light (by having a more powerful LED) but is it as easy as picking a brigther LED and soldering it, or do I have to take into consideration other aspects such as mAh, RGB, difussed, Voltage, viewing angle etc?

It's slightly confusing to me & i did take about 20 mins to search the form and didnt come up with much.

Any help is greatly apprecieated!


----------



## silentcropduster (Feb 28, 2013)

Anybody!?!?!?


----------



## Optical Inferno (Mar 1, 2013)

Short answer would be no. Long answer yes, but like you said very short runtime due to the higher current consumption of the brighter LED. Also, the RGB light may have a controller that would need to be addressed due to the different forward voltages of the LEDs. Also, the batteries that are present won't last very long due to the constant draining and recharging.

If your considering a modification why not look into making something yourself. Might be a little more expensive then what you have but it will look and function like what you want. Get in touch with a local metal fab and have them lathe you some nice design and add your own electronics. Also, why solar? If they are close enough to the house, run some cable with a plug in power supply to ensure the LEDs will be nice and bright.


----------



## silentcropduster (Mar 1, 2013)

I'm trying to make them for profit. It's a B**** finding LED's that are powerful enough, and the battery, solar panel, etc will fit inside the glass jar. My current cost for the jars, light, frosting spray, battery (bec i swap out w a better rechargable battery) is roughly $12.00 (which doesnt include my time to make it) and I sell them for $20. Then I also run into the issue of one of the soldering didnt hold the hot wire on one and i had to glue it back, but it wont hold, so I guess I'm going to have to solder it back.

It's a huge cluster f*** lol


----------



## AnAppleSnail (Mar 1, 2013)

Every once in a while I see RGB LED solar lights. I have one in my front yard. They go on sale for as low as $3 with a small (cheap) panel/battery/driver. On a well-charged cell they're fairly bright.


----------



## silentcropduster (Mar 3, 2013)

The problem is the rechargable batteries that come with those are pathetic @ best. Some work good, others are crap, the quality control w the batteries is NOT good lol. Plus, they are the 2/3 AA & I have to swap them out for better ones. Those are NOT cheap to swap out either. I can get Energizer rechargable AA's for like $1.15ish a bettery and AAA for $1.25ish a battery.

Also when u put those LED's in a frosted glass jar it doesnt affect the brightness.

I ordered some lights online for like $4.00 that are ther RGB that are powered by a AAA. They are decently bright (2.0 lumens i think?) With everything my cost ($12) not including my sanity etc lol. I sell them for $20.00. I think it's a fair price. Seeing how i frost the glass myself, replace the battery and charge it up full and charge/de-charge it several times to make sure it's good to go.

On another note...this site is addicting lol.

But thanks for your input!


----------

