Post Cap Adapter Bracket for Solar Light by TerryD22

Last crawled date: 3 years, 3 months ago

Like many solar lights, years of damaging weather and direct sun will eventually result in failed lighting. Upon noticing a failed light, you have four choices: discard, ignore, replace, or repair.
Discarding and/or ignoring is the least costly of the four choices.
Replacing solar lights can be the most expensive option. The solar lights can be replaced with other solar lights or switched out with low-voltage lights. Either way, this path can be costly depending on your expectations and what appeals to you.
Repairing existing solar lights can be frustrating, but less costly than full replacement. For starters, are replacement parts readily available for your make and model? Pay close attention to all repair costs while you plan, because if you are not careful, those costs can end up being more expensive than full replacement costs.
In my case, I had 10 year old solar post cap lights that still looked good, but no longer functioned. The module within the battery compartment had corroded, and the solar lens was so dull that it would no longer charge the batteries as designed. Countless hours searching the internet for components to reconstruct the solar modules seemed sketchy. I wanted an easy, more reliable solution that would be less than the cost of full replacement.
I had purchased my solar lights from one of the local hardware franchises (either Home Depot or Lowes). Fortunately, I had an extra light kit still in the original carton, a post cap productized under the brand name, "Maine Ornamental." It turns out that Decks Direct was formerly known as Maine Ornamental. A quick search on DecksDirect.com I discovered the following replacement solar panel kit and so I ordered 9 of them for my 7 post caps. (Yes, I like to have extras just in case.)
https://www.decksdirect.com/replacement-solar-panel-by-lmt-mercer.html --
Important Note: Be sure to select "Halo" for the lighting type if your light is directly under the solar panel. The downlight is for a different style light (it does not have a bulb, rather only has wires that go to a separate light). In this case, Halo is not a brand name. This confused me during my initial order, and I had to return my lot to Decks Direct. --- Awesome customer service by the way.
The replacement parts were a tad smaller than the square opening on my older post caps, but not to worry - this is why I designed the adapter to aid in mounting the new replacement part to my post caps. The intention behind this deign is
My design is rather crude as I am not a product engineer, but I can model up something like this, which worked out great!
PLEASE USE CAUTION: DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN SCREWS DURING INSTALLATION. A couple of the eyelets are not centered perfectly and you can damage the casing if you over tighten the screws during installation. The eyelets have a 2mm (sides) and 3mm (corners) diameter for screws. I used the original side screws and #6 1/2 screws for the corners.
DISCLAIMERS: Use this adapter at your own risk. The designer assumes NO responsibility for damages of any kind for the use of this adapter. The end user is solely responsible for damages and or repairs caused during and post installation. The end user is also responsible for settling any and all product warranty issues as outlined by Decks Direct, and not through the designer of this adapter. Let it be known that Decks Direct may also state that use of this adapter voids any warranty (if any).
I'm not certain how many people may be looking for this particular adapter, but it may inspire others to use the same replacement part for their failed solar lights.
Special note: I am not affiliated with Decks Direct in any way other than a customer. I have not received any discounts or proceeds from Decks Direct for promoting their replacement part or website. I asked a rep at Decks Direct if they made any sort of adapters for their replacement part at which time they replied, no. This led me to design an adapter for the DIYer.