I made my own Dollar Store Solar Panel
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 เม.ย. 2020
- I tested dollar store solar panels and then combined them into a larger solar panel that outputs 7.2 volts and 85 mA of current. This project is currently charging 18650 cells one at a time!
Thingiverse Files: www.thingiverse.com/thing:448...
share.glowforge.com/n5n792df
Ender 3: amzn.to/3kVAyfE
Multimeter: amzn.to/3utSUrf
TP4056 Modules: amzn.to/3kVOJBF
18650 Battery: (Best to Salvage but heres some from amazon) amzn.to/2WpXIkW
Hookup Wire: amzn.to/3D3u5FF
Donate some sats: bc1qy90czk37qsjexz368jtkjhuqschf83pj69vv43 - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
Yes, I now know isopropyl alcohol helps remove hot glue! Lol Thanks everyone for the tip. Here is the new version: th-cam.com/video/mHej2r32wWk/w-d-xo.html
Appreciate it, Alan. You wouldn't believe how hard it can be sometimes to find the right search results! Great video! I sure needed the help!
Doing the same thing brought me here. Great sense of humor. I enjoyed your video. Excellent data points for my project, as well.
Just started hacking dollar store lights. Now I have another project to work on!
Lol, save some for the rest of us.
these are the kind of project I enjoy
About 3 years ago I recycled my old solar lamps exactly in this way. To easily remove the solar panel, you need to heat it with a hairdryer. When the glue dissolves, it is very easy to push the panel out. If possible, it is better to leave the original cables. Just like in the movie, it's very hard to solder them. In several-year-old panels, during soldering, the cable often fell off along with the silicon layer
I learned isopropyl alcohol dissolves the glue as well.
A plus 1 tool is a decent heat gun . its basically a high power blow-dryer. That will get hot enough to solider video processors to motherboards . and heat up 1" PVC pipe to name custom bends
I've broken three of them because I desoldered the wires...
My local cemetery threw a bunch of solar lights away so I grabbed them out of the trash. I think the batteries are only dead in most of them.
I love dumpster diving!!! Some people just throw away good s##t without a care in the world.
Honestly you can get some good flower racks from a cemetery dumpster as well. (I have strawberries and succulents hanging on mine.)
But heck, if you get enough of the small ones and get some batteries you could make a large solar charger block.
I've been scavenging dollar store solar lights for a few years. I've made several small,panels using dollar store pictures frames as a framework. Add a 12 volt gelcell and a cheap Chinese controller and I have lights for a couple of garden sheds.
I had a similar idea cuz one day I found a bunch of those in the dumpster behind the dollar store I wanted to try to make a phone charger with them but I really don't know how to do it but it's nice to see somebody else was thinking the way I did
Liked for the pink hot glue gun and sarcasm lol
I took apart a £10 solar garden light and wired it up to a spare domestic switch, and separated the light from the panel to turn my 'shed toilet project' into a girls toilet for no 1's only on fire nights down the allotment. The light shines at the toilet and the tiny panel is at the window. The switch is at the entrance as expected.😋 £10! Job done! No more fumbling around in the dark. Subscribed!
I tried something like this with hot glue and my own structure (not rich enough for 3D printer) the hot glue got soft enough with heat from the sun and the ting fell apart. I later used silicon which worked well. I have larger polycrystalline cells from larger garden bright spot lights. (They were thrown out and thus got them for free!) There were 2 2000mah 18650 cells already in there and the solar panel gave 6W (5V x 1.2A) output in full sunlight. Easily charges my phone.
I have made one and it puts out 14.3 WATTS. I recharged my ATV Battery and used it to maintain my Truck Battery.
Nice! How many panels did you use and how big did it end up being?
Look up " jewel thief " and as pointed out by another comment, the boards have an inductor. It would be one way to use smaller than required voltage/current to light LEDs. There are ways with an inductor, not a hand wound transformer to make the circuit. As long as they are all in paralell and roughly the same voltage drop on the LEDs, they will all light up to the same brightness until you reach where there isn't enough power to make them bright. At that point, remove only one at a time until they work again.
I purposely looked this up. Glad someone actually did it. My biggest problem i have no clue how to use one of those testers. Lol. Yeah been shown a few times but...it doesnt stick.
Great video! Please do more small solar project. I enjoyed watching this video very much!
Thank you! Make sure to subscribe. I actually have a big solar project in the works :)
That works out to $19 per Watt. Interesting project, informative video. For a second there, I got excited thinking about solar cells for $1 each but then I did the math 7.2V x 85mA = 0.612 Watts for $12 (plus frame and charge controller). The dollar store isn't a great bargain after all. Oh well. OTOH, I found a 2 Watt solar panel online for $7 with free shipping, about 4 inches by 5 inches.
Lol reality
Can I have a link to those
Just fun project. If your that concerned id just pay electric bill thats 12 cents per 1000W
These panels found in solar lights perform better in low light/overcast conditions and generally are more expensive, so it‘s not a bad deal.
Here is a hot tip- If it is just the usual “hot glue” you can put alcohol on it and it will release from what it is stuck to.
Thank you!
The transistor is of the switch variety.
The circuit board is a Comparitor board that compairs the battery voltage with what's coming out of the solar cell. When the solar cell voltage is high the battery charges and the LED is off. When the solar cell voltage drops the battery powers the LED. It's the compairator board that decides this.
Thank you!
If the little wires on the solar cell fall off, you are stuck!
There isn't a visible terminal to solder to, so you have to guess where to apply the solder. I got lucky by adding a BIG blob of solder.
BTW- I'm putting together a few cells to power a watch winder, so you can use it in the winter without the A.C. adapter, or you can take it when you travel. It needs 3CDC(2 AA cells.)
At 1:20 it's not a resistor and a transistor. It's an inductor and an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit, e.g. YX-8018 or QX-5252); transistors have three leads, not four. The inductor increases the 1.5 volts from the NiMh or NiCad cell to the 3 volts required to light the LED, so it's a voltage increasing circuit, not a voltage drop one. At 8:16 the TP4056 module requires an input of 4.5-5.5 volts, usually a USB input. Data sheets are your friend.
I have ran a tp-4056 board with 10 volts under test with no ill effects so he should be okay
Cool, wondered what those were as someone new to electronics it kind of threw me off. I like the simple design how it charges the battery when theres light, otherwise turns on the light when its dark. I wondered if they could be repurposed for other applications, I salvaged some panels from the same type of lights, albeit even smaller then in this video.
I managed to get 6v 50ma out of my 3 in series and another 3 in parrallel, which seems about as bad as whats being shown here, it would take like 20 hours to charge a aa battery or something , which at 10x the size wouldnt be an issue but then size does and you see the ratio of solar panel needed to battery is still pretty inconvenient. You really need a foldable solution to charge 18650 type batteries or like a phone or powerbank. Id imagine newer solar cells perform better and these have to be the most budget cells they use in these dollar store things.
Nailed it!!
The TP4056 works with a voltage of 4.4-8V as far as I know. Because it‘s linear, if the voltage is higher it won‘t be as efficient.
Thanks for not dragging out the video.
This is actually a genius move because I could get 10 of these at a dollar store plus the leds plus the charge modules
Great work, I have a bunch of these and needed some motivation.
Great video, I am privy to lots of old discarded garden solar lights, enough to power my dogs house with lots of cool bells and whistles. 👍
I built something like this many years ago. I had a friend give me 14 old yard lights they were getting rid of. I made a frame out of bamboo chopsticks. It put out enough power that I could trickle charge a car battery with it. Keep in mind that hot glue is a terrible choice if this is going to be exposed to high temperatures (like sitting behind the windshield of a car sitting out in the sun).
How long did it take to get a full charge
Honestly I don't remember anymore. But the charging rate was very slow.
How many small DG Solar path lights do I need, MINIMUM, to be capable of charging a 12v battery?
After the last video i watched claiming to be dollar store solar yard light hacks i simply must like this video because it actually does something unlike putting a already existing light into a jar to create a light that lets see already existed? She was only placing it on diffusers for "style" points. good job on your video you've restored some of my faith in humanity
Thanks!! I really appreciate that 😊
That's exactly how I ended up on this video. Glad that I did.
You need a diode between the solar cells and the TP-4056 board.
You're right. Thanks!
I liked the pink glue gun
Dollar tree just announced a recall on all the pink hot glue guns. Just go back to store with it.. today is 4/30/22. This was 4/27 i believe.
Your humor sold me on a sub first video lol keep it up
I proposed this project to the King of Random, like 7 years ago. Never had the know how to do it myself, I absolutely love this! Great Vid!!
Hey thanks! I appreciate it. :) Any other ideas you proposed? lol
Make aa and c and AAA D 9v batteries PAck with re chahngebles you need about 6 1.2v batteries to get 8.4 then buy a booster to put 5v so you can change your phone with it I get about 50%
King of stealing peoples video ideas, without refering to the creator. Never trust a man that waxes hos eyebrows..
Lol who are you?
@@AlansInventions A man that wouldn't watch 10 seconds of King of Randoms videos
Great video!!! So glad TH-cam lead me to you. I’m gonna have to try to do it.
Interesting video. I live and travel full time in my 25 foot 1994 Winnebago warrior class A motorhome with my little dog Tinkerbell and I loved seeing you make the solar panels.
Sounds like you're living the dream man! Glad you enjoyed the video
I love this project!!! Idk how u dont have more subs man. Keep up the good work! 👍😊
Hey thanks! I appreciate the support. Gotta keep going right?
I guess he needs to get his videos out there more. I just subbed myself, after finding his videos by accident (I mistyped the url of another less interesting video)
“and i do like my pink hot glue gun” i love this guy 😂😂
Haha I love you too! Lol thanks for watching my stuff 🙃
An absolutely beautiful project.
Thank you 😊
I haven’t read all the comments, so forgive me if someone has already given you this tip. But a couple drops of isopropyl alcohol will cause the hot glue to dry and can be easily cracked off. I use hot glue for temporary mounting because I know I can get it off later.
Thanks for the idea. I’ll be doing this soon!
Yup!! Thank you
I do a lot of recycling in my area and offer electronics recycling. So, I get a lot of damaged solar light where the photovoltaic cells are still good. I have been collecting them up for a while and plan on next winter (got too many projects for this winter, sigh) to build as large a panel as I can and see what I can do with it.
But, thanks for posting your ecperiment.
FANTASTIC IDEA THANK YOU
i have done that with a large number of these solar lights as well. i found some really old ones and the cells all still worked great too. i ended up creating a 12v output panel
How many small DG Solar path lights do I need, MINIMUM, to be capable of charging a 12v battery?
@@KryptaKnight I have 12 of them hooked up in series parallel to get the proper V and amp. mine are all recycled so they werent running perfectly which is why I had to hook so many up. I would suggest you connect yours up and test to see what you get from yours. I saw output from one cell to be anywhere from 2v to 5v but the amps were under 100ma so had to put some in parallel to get the current going enough to charge a 12v
Thumbs up for the reference to 33.3 rmp's channel at the end. Hahaha
Which one exactly 😂
Man, this is cool! Thanks for linking the 3d file too!
No problem! Glad you liked it..You can probably build this for less than 20 bucks. You will also have abunch of 150 maH batteries left from the lamps. Thanks for watching!
I remember trying this as a kid using a CD case to house the array, though I never actually glued them in (heck, I still have the little panels in a bag somewhere).
Looking back at it now the £ per watt is pretty bad, though they did come installed in lights after all.
From my experience, the solar panels in these cheap lights have very short life spans. My mother liked to buy them. Long ago, you could get solar lights that would last 5-10 years, where you could just replace the batteries when they failed. But it seemed each year the construction got cheaper, with the panels failing faster and faster. Eventually it reached a point where the lights wouldn't even last a full year, you could look at the panels and see that they'd cracked and become cloudy just from several months of outdoor exposure.
Standard chinese landfill garbage
Same conclusion. What doesn't break doesn't sell... More than once. Wicked ones
If you lose the wire contact you can get Liquid Solder from off the Net.
ITS LIT!! very cool to watch. excited to try
Well done, wish good health to you and your family :)
The number of times I thought about doing this exact same thing. I told my neighbors that when their solar night walk lights stop working to give them to me instead of throwing them away... Another interesting idea is to use LEDs for solar power. Most any LED in the sunlight will produce voltage. The clear ones should produce more than the colored ones too. Just another idea to try...
I thought red LEDs produced the most voltage?
LED = solar panel and vice versa. Same technology but manufactured more for one purpose versus another.
It would be kind of interesting if someone manufactured a solar panel to both absorb light, and emit it. - I imagine it wouldn't absorb light efficiently, or emit it strongly, but I think the concept would be cool.
This is why Transistors were put in small cans when they first came out in the 50's. Researchers found the transistors produced the unwanted voltage.
I did the same thing you did I have already purchased the dollar store lights
You should ad the extra batteries for the extra run time for whatever you want to power. This is a good idea to do what you did. Great job. I get the 18650 batteries in battery packs from 5below. Also they have the flat lipo battery packs for 5.00.
Thanks for the tips! 🙂
Very nice build 💡, maybe toss a stepper motor in the base to auto spin the thing off the 18650 x)
Gr8 job I learned alot thank you Alan
The mini solar panels were enough for me. But you killed it with the 3D printer. That was awesome.
I wonder if you keep adding more batteries, will you get more volts?
its not a transistor or resistor . though still usefull stuff there . its a rather specialized circuit and the resistor looking circuit is a coil or atleast its a circuit that is used like a coil to boost the voltage . i looked the parts up at one point .
Pretty cool, thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
Nice stuff.
Very interesting to me. I have so many Solar Panels but don't have the smarts to use them. I have a 300 W huge panel and about 6 - 100W Panels and then have at least 200 or more mini solar lights that I keep lit all the time inside the shop and outside. Using FREE batteries I scoop a lot of free energy. But I am anxious to get the big panels in use. I will sub. TY
Thanks for sharing.
That isn't a transistor as far as I know, it's a charge controller IC 4 PIN! NOW IF IT ESSENTIALLY A TRANSISTOR AT ITS ROOT, POSSIBLY BUT IDK!
Pro-tip -- if you use Isopropyl alcohol, you can remove hot glue really easily -- just soak a small paper towel and hold it on the glue spot for about 15 to 30 seconds -- if the glue doesn't just peel right off, add more IPA and another 15 to 30 seconds -- it should just lift right off, all as one piece, without much hassle.
Also -- PSA is fine for outdoors -- even in wet or humid environments. It's fine.
Haha 😂 thank you. I have received that tip so many times lol
I believe the tp4056 just wast any extra voltage as heat not buck converter or anything so if if you can get by with 2 in series that would probably be a lot more efficient
Great idea! Good job
Thanks!!
My Mother in Law buys those lights all the time. Never attempts to referb them when they poop out. She gives them to me. Problem ? She never buys the same ones. Of the dozen I have panels from like two are the same size and shape. LOL When mine crap out because of the chity batteries they use, I just solder in a Alkaline AAA cell. YES they RECHARGE just fine. I recharge Alkaline cells for our flash lights about 10 times before the take the dive. In the Yard lamps they last a few years easy. Trick is to recharge with a really low current. 20-50mAh seems to agree with them. The yard lights produce less then that from the mini panels. Cool Video...
One may be more optimized if printed a frame in two different parts and bolting them together. Then you could adjust the angle for sun strength.
At the time my 3D design and print were tough enough to do as is. :) I am still trying to learn how to print hinges and other mechanical items.
Thinking back on this now,,,,the adjustable/wing nut stand kind could be attached simpler
I can't wait till I can get a printer I have a feeling I'll be learning a lot more about many more varied projects with it
With the power of flux, you too can solder anything. 🤭
Alan, thank you so much for this video. I have wanted to find something to do with the solar lawn lights when they quit working. This is ingenious.
You're welcome, I'm glad you like it 🙂
Brilliant bro!
Thank you! Check out my solar shed if you have a chance. Thanks again!
use heat or a heat gun to remove hot glue , use paste flux when soldering - yes your soddur allready has the flux in it , so does mine - use paste flux when soldering , then remove the excess with 91 alcohol . clean the hot glue spider webs up with a hair dryer or heat gun . but an embossing tool works well too . super cool project alan !!
Thank you!! Part of the difficulty is learning to film all of it as well. 😁
Bus stop booths. They have _nice_ solar panels on them. A couple of bolts holding them on. And school crossing lamps too. You said scavenge, didn't you?
Haha 😂 😂 great thinking for when the world falls apart lol. Until then, ebay and renogy it is xD
I did this little experiment and I realized it's actually cheaper to buy a small solar panel that puts out more power then all the lights. What I didn't try is if it's possible to remove the silicon used to make the solar panels to make a homemade panel.
Use Isopropyl alcohol to get the hot glue off
You do good work
Thank you 😊
Great job.I enjoyed this video
Thanks!
The explanation for the circuit is wrong:
The 4-Pin chip is a switching chip because the LED requires a voltage of 3V and the NiMh cell puts out 1.2V, the resistor thing actually is a coil. Together, they work as a really simple boost converter circuit. The NiMh cell most likely charges directly through the solar panel because you don‘t need much circuity to charge a NiMh cell (a low current source or current limiting resistor).
Nice ! If I had the lights , I would test it out.
Cool video, I would have commented for the free solar panel, lol
Lol, I dont think the cheap solar panels would handle the trip. ha
Impressive.
I did this 2 Series 2 parallel I need more solar panels
pretty cool!! thanks
Hey bub, great video! If you need to remove hot glue in the future, put isopropyl alcohol on it and it will release the bond.
Not a bad idea.
Nice work.
Thank you 😊 one of my favorite videos and build thus far
I would totally love to see you build a disco ball lamp. #Newsubhere great job! #Keepupthegreatwork
Thank you for the sub 😁
Shine a laser pointer at a solar panel and your voltage should go up.
9:17 Put those small and cheap electric motors in that to rotate, hot glue a printed gear in it and then choose the ratio to rotate.
More interested on that Ender 3 and how to program something in and have it come out
Hey it's a fun little 3D printer, entry-level cost, easy to work with, lots of videos out there troubleshooting common issues. I have had it for a few years now and works just as good as the day I bought it. I did a quick assembly video if you're interested in seeing it be built. I am sure there are much better videos out there talking about the 3D printer specifically. Here is the linkth-cam.com/video/o4IUaqO6rgk/w-d-xo.html
Love this bro keep at it 🤘🏻
Thanks! Will do!
You’re very smart your TH-cam channel is going to be super successful in your near future
Thank you
@@AlansInventions your welcome don’t ever stop at this because it’s going to be big if you keep pushing
I LOVE UR CHANNEL....
AND COVET THE PINK GUN...!!😉
Lol thanks! Make sure to check out my IG. I am working on another video coming out soon.
brilliant video :)
I recently tried this very thing but me being not as knowledgeable as yourself it failed. Considering the common interests I subscribed and look forward to you teaching me a thing or two.
How did it fail? Thanks for liking subscribing!
good job.
Thanks
That glue you used will melt under the summer sun i can tell you that,and the plastic frame you used will be brittle in no time.Good for indoor,but not for outdoor.
Correct. That was more for demonstration.
Cool I did that exact thing before. I never thought about a 3d printer. Lol I used Styrofoam. The only difference was I used more parallel circuits for more amps. Great Job
How much power did you end up getting out of it?
yeeeeesssssss plz make a disco ball cause I want to make one
Still might do it not Sure yet!
Good job. You have a new subscriber
Thank you for the support!!! 💯 😊
Next time just pick up a bigger solar panel that performs even better for about $8. They make them to maintain car batteries
Yes, didn't watch to the end huh? 😂
I though i was the only one! Doing the same shit!
You can turn those light into security camreas , the solar panel idea was very creative, the 3d printer definitely made things better for the structure that holds it together.
Good SOURCEFUL thinking!
Your life opinions, and accomplishments matters!
I acknowledge the Good things of life !
I would like to know how to make a solar panel out of scrap in the woods , a survival tactic for anyone to do.
No 3d printer or things that have already been made, just strait forward the nautral earth.
Thanks! This is my best video and end product in my opinion. I am coming close to 1k subs and want to do something but not sure what yet.
Life needs many things,as an inventor, you always want to be SOURCEFUL.
Create a self generating system .
This is my recommendation.
I'm thinking about doing something like this.
Maybe don't 😂 it's not very cost effective for the performance you will get