Customer Reviews

Westinghouse 15-Piece Cobalt Solar Light Set, Stainless Steel

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

The secret I've discovered is to replace the included batteries with better ones. The included AA NiCd 900 MaH rated batteries actually store only 1/3 or 1/2 of their rated energy (300 - 450 MaH), therefore only shining a few hours per night. When I replaced them with AA 2000 MaH rated NiMH batteries (1500 MaH actual as measured) and they store more energy and run longer at night. Do a web search "lenmar nomem pro" for some examples of inexpensive NiMH batteries. Plan on spending about $1 - $1.50 per replacement battery ($2 - $3 per light) is about right. These lights are a actually very good deal here for < $6 apiece, but replacing the batteries makes them run longer at night, and you are still well under $10 per light.

Also, a couple more tips for people having trouble: 1) the lights have on/off switches inside which come set to off. they will charge in the sun set to "off", but will not shine at night unless "on". 2) the solar cells (very good ones by the way) come with a clear plastic protective sheet on top. You must remove that sheet or they won't work.

The cobalt solar light set in Stainless is absolutely delightful and the best looking solars that we have. They are also the best price that I have seen in a very long time.
Our walkway with stairs going down to our boat dock is beautifully lit and very attractive . I will likely buy another set for our entrance. I love the white lights...not yellow...bright white...very nice indeed and they arrived packed well and we are very pleased.

I'm very satisfied with the lights. They're nice and bright for solar lights. Easy to set up and install. All lights illuminated the first night with about 6 hours of sunlight charging. The lights do a great job of illuminating the paths in the landscaping and remain lit throughout the night.
My only real complaint is that I wish the extension post was more securely attached to the spike. The post detachs from the spike and falls over if the garden hose rubs against it as I'm moving the hose around. Ideally the post and spike would be one solid piece.

These are excellent for marking driveways and sidewalks..these are brighter than most and are of relatively good quality..metal spikes are always a plus, which these have. I have bought 2 boxes and they are all working great

Stainless steel in a 15 pack...can't go wrong with that. On Monday, I put them together and they came on right out of the box. We get lots of sun in the front which is where I placed them. All 15 came on that evening (approx 6pm) and stayed on. Next day the sun didn't shine, cloudy, cold and snow. Snow covered the tops which I suppose blocked the solar panels. I wasn't expecting them to come on...well they did! Now they didn't stay on as long as the night before, maybe 3-4 hours. I read someone's review saying they didn't work and their yard didn't get much sun...well DUH! These are solar lights...they need sun...don't place them in shade. I had no problem putting all 15 together and have not had a problem with them falling over or coming apart.

UPDATE: Here it is in May and all 15 are still going strong. Some are even on in the morning when I get up.

These lights are good looking and provide excellent light. However, three of the lights are defective. Customer service was good about replacing the defective lights.

I have been fighting with plastic lights for sometime now. They fall apart and they are just horrible. After buying the stainless steel Westinghouse lights I am really happy. They came out of the box working! They are of good quality and they look great in front of the house. I am now going to purchase some more for the back yard. They have two lights in each stand and look great at night. If you are tired of the plastic lights these are the ones for you.

These lights are great and oh so affordable. They light up our yard nicely and having 15 of them makes it easy to cover a large area. A fantastic buy! I would get them again and again!

At first glance I like them, I liked look, brightness, color. But this set works only for about 6 weeks and then quits. Half of my lights are dead now (not lighting up at all after about 3 weeks). Another half barely holds charge for an hour or less. And even for that they have to be in direct sunlight for the whole day, anything less then direct sunlight and they will not light up at all. Another problem is shoddy craftsmanship (I guess it is excellent for Made in China): there is almost no sealant between solar battery and metal surround, thus there is water leakage into the lamp itself. Lamp itself consists of three pieces - top, tube and spike. Once you assemble part together and stick light into the ground you have to be very careful if you want to place it into another spot, if you disconnect parts and reconnect them again - it will no longer be tight fit and would wobble. I would definitely not recommend this particular product from this company to anyone.

These lights look sleek during the day, but don't work as well as hoped.
After reading all the reviews, which seemed to be 50/50, I decided to take a chance as I was able to purchase this product for $50. This would have likely been better spent elsewhere.

On a clear day (no clouds) lining a driveway (no shaded areas) in Pennsylvania they begin to fade at 6.5 and then die completely by 7hrs. During the day they're very sleek metal & glass, but function doesn't meet form.

Our neighbors have relatively cheap solar lights that stay lit all night, regardless of the intensity of the sun during the day... I'm jealous.

It may be a poor solar pannel, the low voltage batteries that come with the lights, or possibly 2 LED's is just too much for their technical set-up... Who knows, I'm not a solar expert.

Customer service provided a long drawn out 5 day testing proceedure which failed to result in longer lasting lights ~ they noted the winter season and less intense sunlight as a likely issue. (However, I can't exactly prevent winter, so it wasn't much help.)

If you live in an area that receives at least 12 hours of intense sun they'd likely last closer to 8hrs, but I would not recommend them if you have any shaded spots you'd like to light (such as the front walk way, for which the house shades during some of the day).

Good luck.