[Otaku]

Hi all,
I found 6-packs of flickering tea lights at Michael's for $10. Suitable for hacking to make lanterns etc.

 

[Sickie Ickie]

I tried them. One doesn't give off much light, and I scrubbed the idea. I haven't tried multiples though.

 

[Otaku]

Yeah, I know what you mean. I replace the stock LED with a 10,000 mcd white LED, and wire in a 2AA battery holder. THEN you get some good flicker! There's an instruction for the hack at www.johnnyspage.com.

 

[Sickie Ickie]

ah! Good idea. is the flicker unit in the base then, not a blinking led?

 

[Otaku]

Yes, it's a small PCB. The reason I use a AA battery pack is that the high output LED's will drain the original batteries real fast.

Later that same day...
Yep, they're hackable. The flicker circuit is a little PCB, and you just de-solder the LED and replace it. The flicker looks good with the brighter LED. You can remove the entire circuit if you want to mount it another holder.

 

[IshWitch]

Hi all,
I found 6-packs of flickering tea lights at Michael's for $10. Suitable for hacking to make lanterns etc.

I got a couple of those 6pks at our Bealls Outlet store for either $4 or $6 each. I can't remember. I need to go back and see if they have any more!