Asked by: kimy
Quick links
Buy locally from a partner
Bundled options
Kitronik Solar Garden Light with Battery plus wire cutters
+
Kitronik Solar Garden Light with Battery plus wire cutters and soldering starter kit
+
+
Description
Build your own DIY "Sun Jar" with our Solar Garden Light Kit. It's an interesting project kit that uses sustainable energy to illuminate a white LED. During the day the solar panel charges an AA battery, then when it goes dark the board automatically switches from charging the battery to illuminating the LED.
The solar panel is resin encapsulated and therefore waterproof. You will need to make a waterproof enclosure for the rest of the parts. Alternatively, the board has been shaped so that it will fit into an old jar.
Features:
- Waterproof solar panel.
- Automatically switches on when dark.
- Make custom enclosures to brighten up the garden at night.
Contents:
- 1 x Solar Cell (60mm by 60mm).
- 1 x Rechargeable Battery 1300mA/h.
- 1 x 22ohm Resistor.
- 1 x 330ohm Resistor.
- 1 x 1Kohm Resistor.
- 1 x 10Kohm Resistor.
- 1 x 100Kohm Resistor.
- 2 x 1nF Ceramic Disc Capacitor.
- 1 x Wide White 5mm Water Clear LED.
- 2 x BC337 NPN Transistor.
- 1 x AA Battery Holder, PCB Mounting.
- 2 x 470uH Inductors.
- 1 x BAT41 Diode.
- 0.5m Connecting Wire (For Solar Cell).
- 1 x Solar Garden Light PCB.
Dimensions:
- Length: 56mm.
- Width: 44mm.
Video:
Requires:
Free samples:
Teachers can order a sample of this kit (one per school) request a sample kit.
You will need to select the kit from a list of all the sample kits; the stock code for this kit is 2134.
Note: this service is only offered to schools for evaluation purposes only.
Buy British:
This product is designed and manufactured in the UK by Kitronik.
Same Day Dispatch
- Orders placed online before 3:00pm Monday - Friday (excluding public holidays and our Christmas shutdown period) are always dispatched the same day provided the goods are in stock. If the goods are not in stock we will endeavour to contact you as soon as possible to discuss a dispatch date.
UK Deliveries
- If you live on the UK mainland and don't have any large materials or lithium batteries in your order it will cost £3.95 (£4.74 including VAT) if you spend less than £40 (£48 including VAT).
- If you spend between £40 and £200 (£48 - £240.00 including VAT, excluding large materials or lithium batteries) delivery is free to most locations, £12 (£14.40 including VAT, excluding large materials or lithium batteries) to Northern Ireland and £15 (£18.00 including VAT, excluding large materials or lithium batteries) to UK remote locations. For a list of postcodes that will be charged the remote location rate: remote area list.
- If you spend over £200 (£240.00 including VAT, excluding large materials or lithium batteries) delivery is free within the UK.
Rest of the world
- These orders are sent via UPS, and the cost is dependant on the service you choose at checkout. Alternatively you can choose the free collection option and have your own courier collect it from us. International orders can only be shipped to the registered card address. Please note: International orders may be charged import duty dependant on local import laws and duty rates. These charges are usually billed to you directly from UPS.
- Delivery times vary for international orders depending on the service selected and the destination. You can see the delivery time and cost at the shipping stage, or by using the shipping estimator from within the shipping basket.
Collection
- If you would like to collect your order, or use your own courier then there is an option you can select during checkout. We do not charge a packaging or handling fee for this service, and you will receive an email when your order has been processed, you can collect half an hour after receipt of this email.
Further Information
- For information about all of the delivery options we offer see full delivery details.
These Solar Garden Lights were produced by students at Hawkley Hall High School.
These Solar Garden Lights were produced by students at Hawkley Hall High School.
This sun jar was made students at the Hardenhuish School using the Solar Light Kit. The design uses a recycled glass jar with some laser cut ply & Perspex.
This sun jar was made students at the Hardenhuish School using the Solar Light Kit. The design uses a recycled glass jar with some laser cut ply &...
How to solder - an introductory guide: If you're new to soldering our Soldering School will have you up and running in no time. What is soldering? Soldering is a...
How to solder - an introductory guide: If you're new to soldering our Soldering School will have you up and running in no time. What...
Emma shows you how to make a solar powered jam jar lamp. At the time of writing, the sun is just beginning to wind up for summer, so it's the...
Emma shows you how to make a solar powered jam jar lamp. At the time of writing, the sun is just beginning to wind up...
Q:
How long does the light take to charge?
A:
Hi Kimy,
Thank you for your question unfortunately the answer is that it very much varies.Normally in the UK the solar cell might generate 15mA to 50mA per hour. The battery can be charged with upto 900mAh so between 60 and 18 hours depending on the season and so on.
Best Regards
Cullen Lewis
Answered by: Cullen Lewis
23-Apr-19
Q:
Hi Cullen
how do I mount a completed PCB onto say a jam jar lid. this kit does not have the M3 bolt holes, my concern is that if it was siliconed in, the silicone may affect the joints on the back of the PCB. Any suggestions please.
thank you
Liz
Asked by: elizabeth gmir
A:
Hi Liz,
Thank you for your question, silicone paste would normally be my suggestion you just need to make sure it is similar to the one below. This does not contain Acetic acid whereas some other variants do and this can eat through tracks and joins over time but if it does not have acetic acid in then it should be fine.
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/silicone-sealants/0555588/
Best Regards
Cullen
Answered by: Cullen Lewis
12-Mar-19
Q:
Could you please tell me if, instead of the LED provided, I could use a colour changing LED? If so, could you also recommend one?
Thanks
H
Asked by: Hayden
A:
HI Hayden,
Thank you for your question, unfortunately not as most colour changing LEDs run on 4-6V of power depending on the LED. This kit only supplies 1.5V of power and to change that you would basically have to redesign the kit from scratch. You could however do that with our solar kit below that uses 3 x batteries to generate 4.5V of power.
You could buy the kit or the parts separately I have also linked you to one of our most commonly used colour changing LEDs.
https://www.kitronik.co.uk/2168-solar-power-starter-kit.html
https://www.kitronik.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?cat=0&q=3527
Best Regards
Cullen
Answered by: Cullen Lewis
12-Dec-18
Q:
if I wanted to put a switch in the circuit, instead of using it as a garden lamp, but instead as a torch, where would I solder it to? the other circuits I saw on the website were a bit too big for my application.
Asked by: Hrishi Dave
A:
Hi Hrishi,
Thank you for your email, unfortunately that's not possible with this kit as the kit uses the transistors to switch the power supply between the battery and Solar cell based on the amount of sun light the solar cell is receiving (and thus the voltage it produces).
I would recommend against trying to modify this kit in this way instead I would recommend purchasing a solar cell, diode, battery pack and LED similar to our 2168 project but with smaller parts so they fit the size you are after.
best Regards
Cullen
Answered by: Cullen Lewis
07-Dec-18
Q:
What is a dry joint?
Asked by: Barry Walters
A:
Hi Barry,
Thank you for your question, a dry joint occurs when too little solder is used to attach a component to the printed circuit board. This means a proper electrical connection cannot be established in the circuit and can cause a circuit to not function correctly. For some example pictures of dry joints check the link below.
https://www.kitronik.co.uk/blog/how-to-solder-in-ten-easy-steps
Best Regards
Cullen
Answered by: Cullen Lewis
11-Oct-18
Q:
I was wondering if you can use more than one 3.1v led in the circuit
Asked by: Jacob Judge
A:
Hi Jacob, Yes you could technically add additional LEDs but they would need to be wired in parallel to the first LED. This would also decrease the battery life you would get as you would be drawing twice as much current.
Answered by: Michael Lockhart
06-Feb-18
Q:
Can you use a different light to the led one provided ? If so what light can be used.
Asked by: Jacob Judge
A:
Hi Jacob, Although the circuit has been designed very specifically as long as you made sure the forward voltage of the replacement LED is 3.1V then it shouldn't be a problem. A large selection of our LEDs have a forward voltage of 3.1.
Answered by: Michael Lockhart
25-Jan-18
Q:
I understand that the diode is to stop the current from flowing back to the solar cell, can you please explain me what protect the Battery from over charging or it just keep charging until when the light level drop? thanks for the support.
Asked by: Ekpamaku
A:
Hi, the solar cell delivers a very low current so overcharging is not really a concern if the battery is discharged through the LED at night. It could theoretically overcharge the battery, but this would take many days of charging without being discharged.
Answered by: Aaron Sturman
11-Nov-13
Q:
Hi. I have this kit and I would like to collect the power from 5 solar cells and I want to know if I can store the power to use it when I need it with for example switch. Thank you very much.
Asked by: ben
A:
You could parallel up 5 solar cells and use them with something else. However most of the circuit is involved in switching the LEDs on and off. All you need to charge the battery is a diode to stop the current flowing back in to the solar cell at night. I suspect you might be better buy solar cells on their own. You have miss typed you Email address if you Email support I can give you more info.
Answered by: Geoff Hampson
28-Jun-12
Q:
I want to fit the solar panel into a recess which has a dia of 71mm. Can I simply trim the corners of the panel? Otherwise can I use 4 mini cells wired together which fit ok and give the same voltage and wattage?
Asked by: Ian Boulton
A:
The active section of the cell is the part in the middle, with the silver lines, there is a section around the edge which is not electrically part of the solar cell. So yes, as long as you are careful it would be possible to remove the corners on the solar cell.
Answered by: Geoff Hampson
08-May-12
Q:
Hi Kitronik, I am using this kit with some u/grad trainee teachers in conjunction with a sutainability project brief, do you know if it is possible to simulate the operation of the cct using Circuit Wizard? I have tried this but failed to get the correct operation. It may be a software limitation as the cct is fine and operates as described in the booklet. Best wishes, Alan
Asked by: Alan Rowse
A:
It wouldn't surprise me that you are struggling to get the circuit to simulate. Both circuit wizard and crocodile clips have in my experience been poor at modelling circuits where the voltages are rapidly changing, which is the case in this circuit. I should however point out that when voltages change slowly the software simulates it very well. Since this circuit runs off a 1.5V battery and the LED needs 3.5V the circuit switches the LED on and off many times a second. When the LED is off power is pumped in to the inductor, this is then used to increase the voltage
feed in to the LED but for a shorter time. Because all this is happening very quickly and the software models it sampling the voltages at a slower rate it doesn't simulate. Unfortunately I don't have the software to try this, however I suspect if you change some of the component values it might well simulate. I would try changing C2 from a 1nF to a 1uF capacitor. If that doesn't work try changing L1, L2 or R3.
Answered by: Geoff Hampson
23-Feb-12
Q:
Hello. I am hoping to incorporate the solar garden light kit into concrete garden ornaments that I make, but would like to have two led's ie for the eyes etc. 1. Is this possible 2. What would be the revised cost of the kit with the extra led 3. Could it be adapted to accept two of the colour changing led's and what would be the cost of that kit. Thank you in advance Phil
Asked by: phil
A:
The issue would be that the light has been designed so that the solar panel is matched to the LED, so that on all but a winter day the battery is charged by the same amount the LED uses. By adding a 2nd LED the battery would be discharged twice as fast. You could put the two LEDs in parallel off the same current limit resistor in which case it would take the same amount of current, however the LEDs would be dimmer. Additional LEDs are available separately - enter 3546 in the search box (top right). This kit runs off a single AA battery at 1.5V, but the LED has a forward vo
ltage of 3V so wouldn't work directly off the battery, instead the kit works by driving the LED only for 50% of the time but at twice the voltage. This is done so fast that you can?t see that the LED isn't constantly on, but it would mean that if you connected a colour changing LED to the board it would keep resetting and never move off red.
ltage of 3V so wouldn't work directly off the battery, instead the kit works by driving the LED only for 50% of the time but at twice the voltage. This is done so fast that you can?t see that the LED isn't constantly on, but it would mean that if you connected a colour changing LED to the board it would keep resetting and never move off red.
Answered by: Geoff Hampson
21-Nov-11
Q:
Hi I made your solar circuit but the light comes on when the sun is shinning on the solar panel not when it goes dark. What component recognises the dark or no light? Your help would be appreciated as I hope to do this project after 1/2 term Thanks Julia
Asked by: julia sinclair
A:
It is the voltage on the solar cell that determines if it is light or dark. In the teaching notes that were supplied with this kit is a fault finding flow chart. Assuming that the LED is always on and there is only one fault with the board then the problem will be fixed by checking: R1 for dry joints. R1 & R2 are in the right place. C1 for a short. The solar cell is in the right way around and for dry joints. Q1 for dry joints or shorts. If you are still struggling to get the board to work feel free to Email support at Kitronik.
Answered by: Geoff Hampson
23-May-11
Ask a question about this product
Payment & Security
Your payment information is processed securely. We do not store credit card details nor have access to your credit card information.