A shed 'light' for less than £2

Our outside shed is small, and only used for storage of garden equipment. A light would be a good thing as at the end of the day, when it is dark, is is difficult to put items away. I noticed just how bright the LED's on the solar garden lights were so I decided to convert one of these as the shed light. If you want to do the same conversion then this is how I did it.

1. Cut off (hacksaw) from the lampshade the spigot that locates in the plastic tube that you push into the ground. 2. Take apart the section that has the solar panel, remove the electrical panel from inside and cut the LED off from this, midway between the LCD and the panel. 3. Solder whatever length of cable you need for the purpose intended to the four ends and tape over any exposed wire. 4. Glue a CD, shiny side down, to the lampshade and after fitting all the parts back on the solar panel section, glue a CD onto this taking a small nick from the outer of the CD so it can, if required drain away any water that may get in. 5. Stick a piece of 'Duck Tape' over the hole in the lampshade CD, make a small hole in this, put the LED through and tape the cable to the CD. Hang the light end inside where required and place the solar panel end where best suited, in my case it is hooked into the tiles on the shed roof.

Note, an LED will only work when connected up the right way. A diode is simply a one way street for electricity, so before you solder it onto the cable, touch them both, wire and LED, to a battery to make sure it will work. This is because if the negative side of the diode is connected to the positive supply of the battery, and vice-versa then it will block the power. If you need to it is simple to fit an on-off or a pull switch to one of the cables, but as the only time I intend to make use of the light provided is when it first gets dark I won't worry about this and the light can shine on. Like the light of many such like solar lights, a constant reminder of the inexhaustable energy the creator has provided for us, all we need is the (commercial) will to tap it.

PS. If you are wondering what that dark photo with the light at the top end is, this is a non-flash photo of the lamp, now in the shed, taken from the garden.