Erlexation is home based on the South Hill of Spokane, Washington. The Inland Empire.
With care! The surface is easily scratched.
Use a microfiber cloth and cleaning solution. Use plenty of liquid and little wiping. Wipe in one direction only, not circular.
Honestly, I use my fingertip. It's easy to feel surface issues and do the cleaning at the same time.
Did I mention to use a lot of liquid with the wiping.
Window cleaner solution is good for general cleaning. Water hardness that can coat a solar panel (e.g. from irrigating the yard) can be removed by a weak acid solution such as vinegar, lemon juice, or very weak CLR or Lime-a-way. Again, use plenty of liquid and have minimum physical contact with the solar panel.
Make a final rinse with distilled water and blot dry to avoid scratching the surface.
Batteries generally work best and serve longest when operated in the range of 20-80% capacity. Six hours of Sun exposure should get a battery to 80 or above. More is okay, but it's better not to push the charge to maximum on every cycle. If an artificial source is used to charge a battery, concentrate the source onto the solar panel for maximum effect.
In Spokane, there is a limited season to effectively operate outdoor solar lights. At the end of the season, remove the batteries from the fixture and charge them to maximum capacity on a charger (above 90%) before storing for the next season. The next season, reinstall the batteries and if after the first regular, full solar charge, the light performs normally, then the battery is still in good condition. Less than optimum batteries can still be used. Assure clear solar panels and maximum Sun exposure. Giving a worn-out battery a special boast on a charger may improve performance in the short term, but recharging via the solar panel will return to the natural reduced state of the battery.
Meanwhile, taking out the batteries also lets you clean the lamp interior of dirt and insects.
Most items are designed so that the glass can be replaced. It won't be easy, but generally the light fixture can be opened, and using a heat gun soften the glue to loosen the glass.
**** Take care not to overheat the plastic frame ****
The frames are made by additive manufacturing (3D printing). In our shop, the plastics used are PETG (like recyclable PET drink bottles with glycol added for better melt flow) and PLA (polylactic acid, which has good biodegradability).
Most items require assembling several pieces. At Erlexation we custom design each component, print on our machines, and assemble with the glass chosen and shaped for the purpose.
Our supply comes from the Kanawha River valley of West Viginia, a traditional glass-making area. The glass is what is called 'seconds' in that it is essentially waste from a special molten glass pour. The special pour stuff is too expensive.
Lights that are used outdoors are designed to be water-resistant to protect the electrical components. The frame top is sealed with silicone. In normal use, rain, splash from a garden hose, or cleaning solution shouldn't be a problem.
With a solar system, there are 3 components: the solar panel, battery, and lights. Actually there a 4th component: the electronics that tie it all together.
The batteries used in our solar products are rechargeable 1.2V NiMH (standard AA size) or 3.7V Li-ion (18650, used in the motion sensing lights).
To fully charge batteries, the solar panel should put out more wattage than the battery is rated for, which in turn has to be high enough to drive the light diodes. Our solar panels put out in the range of 3-6W.
Non-solar lights, the kind that plug in, have either a regular wall plug and run at 120V, or have a transformer and operate at 12V.
LEDs are used either as bulbs running 3-6 watts each, or strings at 1-5 watts. Some items have dimmer control for the intensity of the light.
The choice of lighting is a factor in the presentation of the glass colors and textures.
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