I am interested in any recommendations for rechargeable batteries for my solar lights.
They come with a generic Ni-MH 900mAh 1.2V AA rechargeable battery.
The lights have a chip for anti overcharge and also anti overdischarge.
The light produces 10 lumens.
Thanks for your help.
XTAR AA Ni-MH 2500mAh Battery
What NiMh light has those features? (Link maybe?)
I thought most NiMh solar had no battery protection at all. None I’ve ever owned did. I gave up on them. They often came with a Nicad 500-600, which was really 400 and crappy at that. A seriously worn down NiMh 2000mAh (any brand) worked better. I often used those since the battery is going to get hammered any way > partially charged >discharged to empty > repeat most days.
A much higher capacity is not of much use if you don’t have adequate sunlight to charge it. That’s also a common issue-inadequate charging > scant surface area and low grade panel.
If money isn’t a problem then just buy the usuals, Eneloop, or those Xtars below, or the more economical Tenergy AA which I like, if you have short days try the Tenergy solar batteries at 1000mah, they are probably pretty good and will work all night.
When my old AA 2000mah Tenergy batteries and Rayovacs I bought in 2011 are worn out I put them into my solar lights and they work great for years (usually).
Eneloop lite trades capacity for cycles, might be worth a shot.
Or the 1900mah IKEAloops, because they’re cheap and good.
Thanks Brad. I am going to look up the Tenergy solar batteries, etc. I appreciate it very much.
Thanks gravelmonkey for the information. I appreciate it very much.
Solar brings a whole host of other problems.
You could have a 10000mAH cell, but if it doesn’t get enough sunlight during the day, it’ll still only last 2hrs vs overnight.
My motion-sensing light is north-facing, only gets incident light from the sky and nothing from direct sunlight, but always has enough oomf for a few good hits simply because it’s not triggered that often (just me when putting out garbage, or the occasional critter that’s big enough to trigger it).
My always-on light is just a few feet away on the same wall, and even set at near-minimum brightness, only lasts an hour or three. If I charge it via powerbank 'til topped off, it’ll last most of the night.
Thanks for the input Lightbringer. I appreciate it!
The comments about capacity and the ability to charge it are good, but i think maybe a bit misplaced.
The light will run as long as the solar panel provides charge to the battery, so overcapacity doesnt “hurt” anything here aside from simply not fully utilizing the capacity. If you get enough solar for three hours of runtime you will get 3 hours of runtime regardless of if you use a 1000mah cell or a 10,000mah cell.
On the other hand if these systems have no, or minimal, battery protection then a large capacity is a benifit. That large capacity will keep the cell from overcharging. It also lets you store up multiple days worth of sun, instead of just a few hours, if you have sunny days and minimal use. A smaller battery wont allow that.
Bottom line i think the largest capacity you can get is better.
Snoman002- Thanks very much for your informative reply. I will definitely keep that in mind. Best wishes always. Ted
I agree with you, I’m too cheap to use new 2000mah batteries in those solar lights but I do love the result of putting my old dying ones in them (the old batteries seem to like it as well), so if a few bucks doesn’t matter, just use the good brands.
My vote is for Eneloops. I’ve been using them for many years (after previously using other brands which didn’t seem to last- like Varta, Energizer etc.) They just seem to keep working. I have had the odd failure, but it’s rare.
What sort of condition is the solar panel in? On my solar garden lights that’s a common failure- perhaps the Aussie sun kills them prematurely?
I love the hype by the people who sell these. “Super bright” and “10 lumens output” do not compute in my brain. That’s a pretty low drain on the battery so that it will run for a lot of hours on the 900 mAh battery. Since the protection is built into the circuit used to charge and run the light it does no make any difference which NiMH you choose though using a slightly higher capacity may be worth trying.
Smurcod brings up the problem that I have had with any solar light out here in the southwest desert where it gets hot in the summer and the light is pretty intense. The solar panels deteriorate. Sometimes the edges curl and begin to delaminate. Even so, the lights work OK for quite a few years. Where possible I am much more likely to use low-voltage (12V DC) LED lights where possible as it is possible to get much brighter output.
Vegas_LED_Fan- Thanks for the information. I wish we had more light here in the Northeast. I envy you! Best wishes always.
smurcod- Thanks for the vote for Eneloops. My brother-in-law turned me on to Eneloops a few years ago. He is a flashaholic too! 
Here are photos of a brand new, unused, solar panel from a new light set I just got and an old solar panel from the same model installed in May, 2021. The old solar panels are darker but still emit fair lighting at night.
Do you pull them at the end of summer?
I’m in the NW/Seattle. I think our light-charging situation might not be too different.
Anything like this is mostly useless after ~Sept-Oct. I can use them effectively 3-4 months.
I have a couple motion-controlled, lithium powered (18650) which are MUCH brighter that go year around, but they are seldom triggered. They are dedicated to dark pathways and security lighting.
I wired in a small external plug in a couple so I could charge them without taking them apart.
flydiver- Sometimes I remove and charge the batteries in most of them during the winter. These are AA rated. I haven’t tried a 18650 in them. Do you think it’s feasible to use that battery?
Sounds like you’re much more successful with these than I am.
Thanks very much.
No. 18650 is 4.2v charged. And it’s quite a bit larger.
AA is functionally ~ 1.2v when working.
Wouldn’t fit, and you would have a bright light, but only for a few seconds.
I don’t know if I’m more successful. By experience and throwing a lot of these away, I learned what would work for me, and what I couldn’t do/wouldn’t tolerate.
There simply isn’t enough solar surface area to charge a substantial portion of the year for that kind of light, not around here.
Maybe if the top panel was the size of a dinner plate…
The 18650 DO have a larger panel, AND they are motion controlled so only on for like 30 seconds a few times during the night when triggered. A couple are near the sidewalk and light the driveway so dog walkers set them off.
