About a month ago I stumbled across a reference to the Brinkman SL-7 solar security light. After looking at the info a bit, I found a decent price and decided to get one. (It helps that I'm a bit of a solar gadget freak.)
It's a pretty straightforward setup. It looks like any other motion sensing security light, but comes with a small 6 volt solar panel which can be mounted several feet away from the light. Inside the housing is a 6 volt battery that appears to be roughly the same size as a 4 amp hour battery.
Mine arrived with a the power socket broken, meaning that I couldn't plug the solar panel in. Luckily I was able to repair that with a bit of epoxy (it was a good excuse to open it up and look around inside). A few days later, I used the template on the last page of the instruction manual to put a couple of screws in the wood next to my back door and hung the unit.
I mounted the solar panel up a bit higher and let it charge for a few days (the manual recommends 2-3 days of good sunlight before turning it on). I tested the battery before putting it outside and knew it was pretty well charged already, but the solar panel is pretty small--just enough to trickle charge.
A few days later, I put turned it, aimed the sensor, adjusted sensitivity, and haven't touched it since then. The unit "just works" and has the added benefit of lighting my grill reasonable well now that it's getting darker around dinner time.
My next solar device review will be less favorable.
Posted by jzawodn at September 26, 2006 07:26 AM
I've been shopping for one of these and have been really upset at not finding what I want (i.e. NO WIRES AT ALL). So I'm buying a couple of these. Yay!
I have been looking at these as well, because I do not have any lights between my garabe and backdoor. I live in Chicago and it gets cold here, and I am wondering what you think will happen in regards to battery capacity when it gets cold?
Also how bright do you think the thing is? I have seen some halogen ones and others that use LEDs, and I am not sure which to get. I am guessing the LEDs will be dimmer but be able to light up for longer.
The internal battery is a ~4aH SLA, so it'll have reduced capacity in the colder conditions.
This unit is pretty bright. The lights don't stay on that long unless there's more motion, so I don't even need to think about it.
I picked up one of these units at a garage sale, and after replacing the bulbs it lit well in test mode. However, the motion detection does not trigger the light. Can the motion sensor be replaced, or perhaps a substitute motion sensor from another brand?
There are a bunch of great motion activated solar security lights at earthtech products. I found this cool site while browsing.
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