Table of Contents
My wife wanted rustic lighting on our back patio. She showed me a Pinterest photo. Mason jars hanging from a pergola. Soft warm glow. No wires visible.
I priced out the project. Hardwired lights would need an electrician. Trenching. Conduit. Permits. Over a thousand dollars.
I bought four solar mason jar lids instead. Twenty dollars each. Screwed them onto jars I already had. Hung them from the pergola with twine.
That was two years ago. They still glow every night.
Mason jar solar lights: rustic charm without any wiring might sound like a craft project for a weekend. It is. But the cheap kits on Amazon fail fast. I learned that the hard way.
Let me walk you through what I tested, what broke, and what actually lasts.
The two ways to get mason jar solar lights
You have two options. Buy ready made jars or make your own.
Ready made jars. A glass mason jar with a solar lid attached. You open the box. You put the jar in the sun. It lights up at night. Costs 15 to 30 dollars each.
DIY jars. You buy the solar lids separately. You screw them onto any mason jar you already own. Costs 10 to 15 dollars per lid. Cheaper if you have jars.
I tried both. The DIY route worked better because I could use thicker glass jars. The cheap ready made jars used thin glass that cracked in the cold.
Why my first set of lids failed
I bought a four pack of solar mason jar lids on Amazon. Fifteen dollars for all four. The brand name was a random string of letters. XMCOSY or something like that.
The lids had a tiny solar panel on top. A ring of LEDs inside. A small battery. The lid screwed onto a regular mouth mason jar.
They worked for one week. Then one lid stopped lighting up. Another lid flickered. Another lid lasted two hours then died.
I opened a failed lid. The battery was a cheap NiMH cell. The solder joints were cold and cracked. The wire insulation was paper thin. The whole thing was junk.
I returned them. Bought a single lid from a better brand for 12 dollars. That lid has lasted two years.
Lesson learned. Random letter brands on Amazon sell garbage. Pay a few dollars more for a real brand.
The mason jar lid that actually lasts
I found a brand called LITOM that makes solar mason jar lids. Twelve dollars each. Also found a brand called Brightech that makes a similar product for fifteen dollars.
Both use better components.
What the good lids have: A monocrystalline solar panel. Not the cheap amorphous kind. A LiFePO4 battery that lasts 3 to 5 years. Not a NiMH battery that dies in one year. An LED at 3000K warm white. Not cool white that looks harsh. A rubber gasket that seals the jar. Water stays out.
What the good lids cost: Ten to fifteen dollars each. Double the price of the junk lids. Worth every penny.
I bought four LITOM lids. I put them on wide mouth quart jars. I hung them from my pergola. Two years later, all four still work.
The batteries are tired now. The lights run for 4 hours instead of 6. I will replace the batteries this spring. The lids have a small screw on the bottom. The battery pops right out.
How to make your own
This is the better route. You control the quality. You save money.
What you need: Mason jars. Any size works. Wide mouth jars are easier to clean. Solar mason jar lids. Buy from LITOM or Brightech. A drill with a small bit if you want to hang them.
Step one: Wash the jars. Remove the labels. Let them dry completely.
Step two: Screw the solar lid onto the jar. Hand tight. Do not overtighten. The rubber gasket needs to seal but not crack.
Step three: Charge the lid in direct sun for two days before first use. The battery ships with a partial charge. Two days of sun tops it off.
Step four: Test the lid at night. Cover the solar panel with your hand. The light should turn on within 30 seconds.
Step five: Hang or place the jar where you want it. The jar needs 4 to 6 hours of direct sun per day. A south facing spot works best.
That is it. No wiring. No soldering. No electrician.
Where to put them
Mason jar solar lights work anywhere you want a soft glow.
Hanging from a pergola. I hung mine from eye hooks screwed into the pergola beams. Twine holds the jars. The jars hang at different heights. Looks great.
On a fence post. Set a jar on top of a fence post. The jar lights up the post and the ground below. My neighbor did this with six jars along his fence line. Looks like little lanterns.
On a table. Centerpiece for an outdoor dinner. The jar sits on the table. The light shines through the glass. No candles to blow out.
Along a walkway. Set jars on the ground on each side of the walkway. The soft light guides your feet. I tried this. The jars got kicked twice. I moved them to low posts instead.
Inside a fireplace. An old outdoor fireplace with no fire. Put a jar inside. The light glows through the firebox opening. Looks like a small fire.
On a windowsill. Charge the jar during the day on the sill. Bring it inside at night. Works as a reading light. Not bright enough for a whole room. Fine for a bedside table.
How bright are they
Not bright. That is the point.
A mason jar solar lid produces 20 to 50 lumens. A standard 60 watt light bulb produces 800 lumens. The jar gives off a soft, candle like glow.
You cannot read by this light. You cannot cook by this light. You can see where you are walking. You can see the face of the person across the table. That is all.
My wife wanted atmosphere. Not task lighting. The jars provide exactly that.
If you want brighter, look for lids with more LEDs. Some brands sell lids with 20 LEDs instead of 6. They produce 100 to 150 lumens. Still not bright. Still not for reading.
What about rain and snow
The lid seals the jar. The jar keeps the electronics dry. Water cannot get in.
But water can get under the lid if the jar is upside down. A hanging jar collects water in the lid recess. The water sits on the solar panel. The panel stops charging.
The fix: Drill a small drain hole in the lid recess. A 1/16 inch hole lets water drain out. The hole does not affect the seal because the lid is not submerged. I drilled drain holes in all my lids. No water issues since.
Snow is different. Snow covers the solar panel. The panel stops charging. Brush the snow off after each storm. I keep a small broom by the back door. Takes 10 seconds per jar.
If you live in heavy snow country, bring the jars inside for winter. The batteries do not like extreme cold anyway. Store them in a cool dry place. Put them back out in spring.
Battery replacement
The battery in a solar mason jar lid lasts 2 to 5 years. NiMH batteries last 2 years. LiFePO4 last 5 years.
When the light starts running for only an hour or two, replace the battery.
How to replace: Open the lid. Look for a small screw on the bottom or side. Remove the screw. The battery compartment slides open. Pull out the old battery. Note the voltage and size. Order a replacement. Most lids use a 1.2 volt NiMH or 3.2 volt LiFePO4 cell. Drop in the new battery. Close the compartment. Screw it shut.
The LITOM lids use a replaceable 18650 LiFePO4 cell. Costs 5 dollars on Amazon. I replaced mine at year two. The lids now run like new.
The cheap lids from random brands have sealed batteries. You cannot replace them. You throw away the whole lid when the battery dies.
Cost comparison with hardwired lights
Hardwired mason jar lights exist. An electrician mounts a junction box. Runs wire. Installs a pendant light fixture inside a jar. Cost? High.
Hardwired for 4 jars:
4 jar pendant fixtures at 50 dollars each = 200 dollars
Electrician to run wire and install = 500 to 1,000 dollars
Permits = 100 dollars
Total = 800 to 1,300 dollars
Solar for 4 jars:
4 solar lids at 12 dollars each = 48 dollars
4 mason jars at 2 dollars each (or free from your kitchen) = 8 dollars
Twine or hooks = 5 dollars
Total = 61 dollars
Solar saved me over 700 dollars. The lights work without an electrician. They cost nothing to run. The batteries need replacement every few years. That adds 20 dollars.
The look and feel
Glass and warm light create a feeling. Plastic and cool light do not.
The mason jar throws light in all directions. The glass diffuses the LED dots. You see a soft glow, not individual points of light. The warm 3000K color looks like firelight. The jar itself becomes part of the decor.
My neighbor bought plastic solar lanterns from a big box store. Same price as my jars. The plastic faded after one summer. The cool white LEDs looked harsh. The whole thing felt cheap.
My glass jars still look new. The glass does not fade. The warm light feels welcoming. People comment on them every time they visit.
The bottom line on mason jar solar lights
Mason jar solar lights: rustic charm without any wiring deliver exactly that. Charm. No wires. Low cost.
Buy lids from LITOM or Brightech. Ten to fifteen dollars each. Avoid random letter brands on Amazon. Their lids fail fast.
Use your own jars. Wide mouth quarts work best. Drill a small drain hole in the lid if you hang them upside down.
Place the jars where they get 4 to 6 hours of direct sun. Clean the solar panels with a damp cloth every few weeks. Replace the batteries every 3 to 5 years.
My wife got her rustic patio lighting for 61 dollars. The electrician quote was 1,000 dollars. The jars have glowed every night for two years. They will glow for five more.
That is the real value. Not the light output. The feeling. A warm glow. A quiet evening. No wires anywhere.
Summary
Mason jar solar lights cost 10 to 30 dollars each. LITOM and Brightech sell reliable lids for 10 to 15 dollars. Avoid random letter brands on Amazon. Their lids fail in months. DIY your own jars using lids and any mason jar. Drill a small drain hole in the lid if hanging upside down. The lights produce 20 to 50 lumens of warm 3000K light. Enough for atmosphere, not for reading. LiFePO4 batteries last 3 to 5 years and cost 5 dollars to replace. NiMH batteries last 2 years. Hardwired mason jar lights cost 800 to 1,300 dollars for four jars. Solar cost 61 dollars. The author’s four jars have glowed every night for two years. No wiring. No electrician. No electricity bill. Rustic charm on a budget. Glass jars do not fade like plastic. Warm light feels like firelight. Perfect for pergolas, fence posts, tables, and walkways.
