Battery operated Christmas lights

[supergrains]

AIBU to expect them to last more than 8 hrs x 2?

I bought some new lights for the outside tree from Asda last week, also bought new (Duracell) AA batteries to go in them. Not the most expensive batteries, but the next price down, so not the cheapest either.

Put the batteries in (4 per set of lights) set the light up (on constant for 8 hours rather than any fancy flashing etc) and automatically switch off themselves for the remaining 16 hours.

They stayed working for 2 days, and then nothing! The batteries have obviously been drained. I can't afford to change the batteries every 2 days and the environment isn't going to thank me chucking away so many drained batteries.

Is this normal? What am I doing wrong? Wish I could plug into the mains, but that would mean running a cable through my letterbox which is in the middle of my front door, which doesn't seem like an ideal solution!

We have rechargable batteries for ours.

I have given up on battery lights after a few years of trying. The batteries do usually last longer than yours but they are so unreliable on the timer. Some days they just don’t come on but if I reset them, they are fine. Got them all out again last weekend, brand new batteries and one set split in half and one set got waterlogged. Just ordered some mains ones. The leads are so thin, they will usually go out a closed window. Probably not what you wanted to hear - sorry!

I got some this year, needed D batteries, found some 'old' Duracell's that had come out of a high power toy and they have been fine. Been up a couple of weeks. 8hrs on. 16hrs off.

I had the same, it's annoying. Also battery operated candles that lasted 2nights (leary of fire risks with real ones & they do look so real).

Kodak ones from Poundland have been surprisingly effective for me this year. There’s a set of battery ones in the living room dd has been flicking on in the morning without us realising and getting home from work to find them on and they’re still going strong.

Are they in a particularly cold place? I think this affects the longevity too.

The batteries last longer if you set the lights to twinkle rather than steady on.

Lord I thought so, which is why I set to be either off or on even though I love the twinkly lights I can use rechargeable batteries, changing them every 48, I refuse to give over the Christmas period to another task, I'm not at home consistently as I work shifts and you have to put the light on when you want them to stay on for 8 hours

Should last much longer. Is it possible water has got in to the battery area? I put the battery pack in a food bag and seal it, then put it in another bag. It stops most moisture getting in.

I don’t think it’s normal. I have a similar setup and put in some Duracell batteries which were already half-used (had used them for fairy lights in the summer for a short period) and they’re still going strong after more than a week. And they’re on constant for 6 hours at a time (240 bulbs).

Dh is saying they drain faster if they are outside and therefore cold. Not sure if that's right or not.

We have some solar fairy lights which have been working remarkably well. They work for 3/hours per evening which we're happy with. We have them on the twinkle setting.

We bought a what we thought was a lovely new ornament this year, it's like a lantern with Carol singers in and glitter, it lights up and the glitter swirls around, the batteries last one night, one feckin night!

We feed the cable in through the front window so ours can plug into the mains. If the cable is thin enough it will not get damaged

Switch them fully off rather than relying on the timer?
We have to use battery lights because we don't have enough plug sockets in our house. The ones in the dining room, that I have been switching off properly when not in use, are still absolutely fine. The ones in the living room, where I lazily left them to the timer, have gone flat in less than a week. Same make of batteries at the same age, same length of time in use and in the same environment. The only difference is the timer.

Ours seem to be just as rubbish.. this is the first year we have had a set of battery ones on the tree alongside a set of mains lights and I am probably not going to use them again next year. Will go back to all mains. If it wouldnt be such a hassle I would have taken them off already!

I have to admit I left our batteries in the lights last year as I forgot to remove them before packing up. It still works fine.
These batteries have done us 2 years now for these lights. I always get at least that year out of 1 set of batteries. Ours are on constant (6hours on and 18 hours off) and usually use cheap batteries from Aldi. Our lights were bought from a garden centre.

Think I will try and take them back and exchange them for mains ones and try and feed then through a closed window as pp suggested. I can't really do much about the cold if that's what's draining the batteries - and it's been fairly mild where I live.
I just find lights on the trees so cheering in the mid-winter, so hopefully the plan will work!

Always use battery lights on timers and they last a long time. Something not right with your batteries perhaps?