Sterno Home Solar LED Post Cap Light with Solar Panel, Rechargeable Battery

I ordered and received five of these lights. The first thing I noticed is that they are made of die-cast aluminum - not plastic. I'm surprised to see this at this price point. Aluminum, for this application, is much better than plastic as it allows the housing to be very solid, and can be repainted if ever needed in the future. Installation on my 4"x4" fence posts took about two or three minutes per light. One screw on each side of the top section and your done. Even during the day these lights look great. One reviewer mentioned an industrial/nautical look and that's a perfect description. At night, they really look terrific. They throw off a lot more light than I expected - waving my hand in front of them throws off a shadow onto the grass in my yard. Illuminating the ground as they do is a bonus, as I really purchased them for ornamental use only. It should be pointed out that unlike post lights that sit atop the post, these do not throw light off in all directions, just on the side of the fence they're mounted on. As a result, I receive all of the benefit of the look and the light output, and not the guy on the other side of the fence. I haven't been able to stay awake long enough to see how long the lights stay on. Overall, I am very pleased with this product and so is my wife. I'll probably buy another one to keep as a spare in case one of the installed ones gets damaged by a fallen tree branch.

I really like these. I had four 4x4's in a flower bed and put the lighted caps on. They were pretty much useless. I replaced them with these and there is a big difference. These will not light up an area but thes do accent it. The light is bright enough to accent an area a couple of feet in a semicircle. They turn on as dusk and run well past the time I go to bed. They seem durable. Don't wast money one the top mount caps. These are much better.

Positives: -Last all night (when they work) -Looks -Good quality, consistent light only tapering off slightly on the bottom -Very good fit on a standard 4x4 Negatives: -Solar panels cloud over the course of a few months, reducing their capacity -Batteries frequently need to be taken out and turned (not replaced). Seems to be corrosion buildup on the terminals. -Inconsistent lighting duration. Side by side, in full sunlight during the day, some last all night, others only an hour, others 3-4 hours.

So first off this is a nice item, however it does not match the description. First off, it is metal or at least the one I received. I put it outside to see how it functions. It lights up nice but not bright, so if you are looking for that, this will not work. HERE IS THE ISSUE. Indicates it fits 4 x 4 square posts. It doesn't. It is 3 3/4 in on each side, too small can't get it on the top of the post. If I could would be them for every post in the yard. Love the look!

These do fit a standard 4 x 4 post. They are snug, but I bought 24 of them and they all fit. I compared price and features among many lights but these are the one I chose. 1) First of all I do want to say that these are indeed metal, for the same price as other plastic ones. 2) The frosted diffuser is nice, it completely lights up, as compared to a clear lens. 3) All of the light is on my side of the fence instead of being a top post light and spreading in all directions. 4) These come on at about 7 pm and run until 7 am, with the exception of two lights. Sometime earlier in the night they expire. I think this must be a battery issue, not the light. 5) They provide a nice soft glow round my entire fence perimeter. Allowing me to see where the dogs are in the yard at night. I do not see any photos of these online yet, so I have submitted 5 images of them. I took them when not completely dark outside, so they could be easily seen.

There are numerous misconceptions about these. One of the most important is the material they are made of. There was a remark that they are indeed metal, despite the fact that the manufacturer themselves said right in their product description that they are solid, long life plastic construction. There is no question at all that they are all plastic. There’s no issue with that and I’m not sure what can be gained by claiming that they are metal. I would never have expected metal at just over ten bucks. The plastic is attractive and has been able to withstand our desert temperatures that can hit as high as 120°F There are also reports varying from them staying on until bedtime to staying on until dawn. Actually either could be true under certain conditions. If you live in an area with long daylight hours and 300 sunny days a year like I do and the solar cell faces right at the sun and doesn’t get any shadows you can reasonably expect to have the light shine most of the night when they are new and the batteries fresh. When it starts getting dark at 6:30PM mine stay on until about 3:00 AM. The nice thing about them is that they use a standard AA rechargeable battery. Here are a couple of hints … do not use ene-loop batteries or lithium rechargeables. The solar cell in these lights is optimized to charge standard everyday NiCad batteries. Once the batteries run out, charge the AA NiCad battery in a standard plug-in recharger first before you install it in the light. Do that in the morning so the charger in the post light can optimize the cell during the day. One more thing, physically open the unit and check the battery in spring and Fall to assure there hasn’t been any water leakage that may cause the cell to rust. The construction of these lights is not waterproof but it’s not a design issue with the unit if the batteries rust, that’s can happen with any rechargeable light and with any rechargeable batteries. If you see any rust or corrosion removed the battery and replace it immediately. There can often be misperception when people describe lights like this as cool or warm color temperature. People see things differently. Being a pro photographer I measured the color temperature two different ways and found it to be close to 14,000° K, which is scientifically accepted to be in the very blue range of the spectrum. I have a sample to compare it to a similar garden fixture which has a much warmer white light. It has a frosted diffuser but unfortunately you can still see the bulb inside. One design quirk is that the flange that’s supposed to fit around a 4 x 4 post isn’t very deep, in fact it is so shallow the entire lamp can fall off in a strong wind. It comes with two mounting fasteners and pre-drilled holes so you can attach it to a post. I would have liked to be able to slip it off without having to fasten it down. The final thing worth noting is that they come with a clear plastic film over the solar cell. It is important to remove that, otherwise after a few days in the sun the clear film will appear to haze over. In fact the type of solar cell they use should last a reasonably long time in outdoor weather.

We have tried so many post cap solar lights & this one seems to be the winner. We have the mitered top post, so it will go on with a bit of angling the screw. It looks nice & the light is just right to accent the new fence. Only issue is that we also needed some to go on what we call the ugly side of the fence where the braces go across but it hangs down too far. So will just use this one on the corners. I wanted one on every post I liked this light so much but we would need over 80 of them. Great solar light!

We purchased these because the size of post it was supposed to fit was a 4" x 4" posts. We have exactly 4" x 4" posts and these to not fit. Even if it did fit it is not very bright, recharges slowly so it will not last the night. If they fit on your posts and are bright enough for you then be my guest, but never again.

We absolutely love these solar lights on our new front deck they light up the stairs and deck area where they r all night. We r waiting to order more once they r back in stock. Love the look of them as well looks beautiful with our black balusters and cedar deck.