Thread: PVC Candles Rewired for AAs

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A23 battery? 12v small, basically 8 button batteries all packaged up nice and neat. From what I've read and looking at the tealights they each run off 3v so with 12v you can run 4 off one battery that cost between $2 - $4 (one of the videos I watched they guy purchased his from Walmart in the camera/video section for $1.88 for two.)

Battery info

Battery holder

Just one thing the A23 is only rated for 40-65 mah, where the SR44 (AG13) is 110-150 mah which the dollar tree candles takes 2 or a CR2032 is 220-225 mah for other cheap tealights. So the tealights wouldn't last very long? There are SR63 (AG0) which only produce 10-18 mah each, I may have to hack an A23 to find out what's inside.

A23 contain 8 - LR932 1.5 v 4.125 mAh so they won't last an hour if you're lucky.

Well after about 2 hour of research I've come to a conclusion (sorry about the ramble, but I figured I'd keep it up for others)

To keep this cheap and have the ability to hidden the power source. I'll keep my groups of 3 and add one more candle to the group of 5. For 3 candles you need a 9v battery (they aren't as expensive as I thought and I think you can even get them from the dollar store) , a 9v Battery snap, wire (what gauge I don't know), solder and a soldering gun. So if you have the soldering stuff already and for 30 candles your looking at $25.60 and that includes shipping.

Originally Posted by lucky13

I did find this GT&E: Backyard railroad lighting | How to build a big flickering lamp for a structure (bridge rectifier) and this LED Circuitry tutorial: how to hook up LEDs..

Now I just need to think about this a little more 3 tealights is 9v and those aren't cheap nor is 6 AAs.

Scott N. - I may just have to go with you on this, I don't like wasting things but when it gets down to money and time which this requires both.

So I'm not going to throw away the ones that need new batteries, but I am just going to buy replacements.

you can get 2 tea lights for $1 at the dollar store and just flipping a little switch is pretty easy, I just dont see the need for AAs......much cheaper to just buy dollar store tea lights. But I'll be interested in seeing what you do

Yeah those 3 volt button batteries are more expensive than just buying new lights... viscious circle. I may tinker tonight with a 12 volt transformer on them and I'll post what I find.

In just buying batteries it's more cost effective to buy the lights for the batteries? LOL

Yubney, I know absolutely nothing about wire gauge, wire anything for that matter and what to use with this project. Can you give me a quick wires for dummies or just suggest what I'm looking for?

Originally Posted by lucky13

Yubney, I know absolutely nothing about wire gauge, wire anything for that matter and what to use with this project. Can you give me a quick wires for dummies or just suggest what I'm looking for?

The higher the number the smaller the wire. I like to use what I remember as an 18 gauge speaker wire from Radio Shack. It's a 50 foot spool of solid wire (not braided) with each side being white and black to keep the positive and negative easy to follow when connecting. I hadn't done anything with it this year but I remember it being about 4 bucks (used all I had last year so I'm in need of more now).

Hope that helps.

Okay tried running 4 x 3 volt tea lights in daisy chain with a 12 volt wallwart. They lit but no flicker. Tried 5 hoping the button battery might get choked somehow with what ever governing chip makes the flicker effect and still nothing but glow and no flicker. Tried 3 just to see what happens and same deal.

Thoughts?

Are you using just the LED? I've been working on epitaphs since the weather still nice. In the few tutorials of rewiring the tealights almost all of the components have been reused and nothing said about the lost of flicker. Flicker Candle and even the Flicker Lamp included the circuit boards, odd as it seems but the on/off switch may have to be included in the daisy chain. My thoughts if you only include one all of the LEDS will follow the same flicker pattern which would not be realist. So each LED have it's own switch and left on would allow each light to do it own sequence of flicker.

But I'm new to this and can only theorize since I don't have first hand knowledge. Try including one switch and see what happens.

I just soldered directly to the battery contacts. Neg to pos, pos to neg and so on. Batteries are 3 volt, so 4 lights times 3 should be 12 volt I would think.

You would like 12v - 12v I'm stumped, once the holidays are over and it's to freaking cold outside I plan to take on this project. Until then good luck, maybe the New Year will bring some flicker back to your candles.

Maybe Parallel instead of a Series, parallel allows each LED to receive the full voltage.



But from whet I've read the Series should be:
neg to pos, to neg to pos
Not neg to neg to pos to pos