My cheap solar path lights caught fire after a storm last month

3 comments

3 Comments

You mentioned they were cheap lights, but did the storm damage them first before the fire started? I mean, was there wind or water damage that might have caused a short circuit? Just trying to figure out if it was the storm or the quality that did it.

grantmartinez1mo ago

Three houses down from me had a similar setup with those solar string lights from the big box store. Theirs got water inside the casings after a normal rain and started sparking before any wind even showed up. So yeah, the cheap quality is the real problem here, not the storm. Those lights aren't sealed for crap, and a little moisture gets in and bam. You're overthinking this. It's not some complex engineering failure, it's just junk electronics that can't handle basic weather.

terryk101mo ago

Starts to feel like we're all stuck with stuff made to break or burn up the second the weather gets a little rough. I've noticed that pattern with a lot of cheap electronics lately, not just lights.