SAVE $100s on batteries with this simple decorating hack
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- Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
- If you like to decorate with fairy lights, flameless candles, or any other battery device, you can hack those devices to be powered from a simple USB charger and save hundreds of dollars on batteries. USB chargers output 5 volts, which is roughly the same as 3 AA or AAA batteries. Most decorations with 3 batteries will probably work with 5 volts. Don't waste money on batteries in decorations.
If you don’t have the skills to tackle this, there are commercial alternatives. See handydad.tv/a4h7.
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If you don’t have the skills or tools to do this, there are commercial alternatives: handydad.tv/a4h7
Thank you, I have no electrical skills at all so love this suggestion. I had no idea such a thing existed. This is a game changer!
Thank you so much for this tip 👍
You and me have an all together different idea of what “simple “ means.
🤷🏻♂️
I certainly couldn't figure this one out.
Haha, I kind of agree! Simple and easy are not synonymous though. I once made a dust ruffle for my sister, I came up with a simple idea which worked very well. But it was truly tedious because of the volume of fabric. The finished product was very nice though! I do like this idea, but I would just use Eneloop rechargeable batteries. However I learned some things I didn’t know before.
I agree. Great idea and not beyond my skill set but beyond my patience and motivation. Lucky wife.
Yeah but now that I see it done once, it’s simple. So that helps a lot.
Great work. I have found my peace with rechargeable Eneloop batteries. 21 years ago (!!!) I bought 48 AA and 16 AAA cells. With a storage box and 8-way charger. (All together it cost about $200) Eneloops do not discharge, the whole family has got used to it, puts the empty batteries in the charger, the charged ones in the box and I have not bought such a single AA/AAA cell for over two decades! With all the children's toys the battery consumption is extremely high, I would definitely pay $10 a week for disposable batteries. In 21 years I have easily saved $5000.
That’s a great story! So I see Eneloops are rated for 2,100 cycles. Have you needed to replace any in those 20 years?
@@handydadtv Thanks. I have never calculated it, but it probably doesn't come close to 2000 cycles, but certainly well over 1000. No, never replaced, only lost three. I once got four black "Eneloop Pro" that broke after a few years.
@woodchild48 The regular ones are better than the Pros?
@@handydadtv Yes, the normal, white Eneloops are much more durable.
I hadn't heard of Eneloops but found them on Amazon UK and bought some. AA, AAA and a charger. Wish I could find a good quality C2032 rechargeable set too. Any suggestions? We also go through some tiny circular batteries for hearing aids that I wish we could recharge. Thank you for commenting @woodchild48
Extra points for demonstrating an *actual* hack and not just “watch me use an out of the box product in a slightly unusual way.” This is genius.
Thanks so much 😊
Gotta love those "hacks" that are literally using a product the way it is intended. Lol. I see a lot of that in organization hacks videos, like "use drawer organizers to organize the stuff in drawers."😅
@ LOL exactly!
I added a 1N4001 power diode i series with the positive. They are good for 1 amp. They give a approx 0.6 volt voltage drop so the lights are getting the correct voltage. They are operate differently from a resistor so they don't get hot. For a light that has 2 batteries that give 3 V I put 3 diodes in series. Works very good.
Good idea 👍🏻
Excellent modification to avoid the possibility of a fire, caused by over heating by excess voltage.
Your hack has easy to hide wires. Much better than bulky battery packs! I’m saving this for future reference. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful 👍🏻
I make delicate indoor fairy houses and struggle with making the bulky and heavy battery packs being discreet. This is an ingenious hack. Ty so much! Merry Christmas.
Glad it was helpful 👍🏻
I hate those battery packs! Hard to hide and heavy.
Did something like this to power an LED Christmas star for the top of our Christmas tree. Very gratifying to see star go through all it's colors without having to replace expensive batteries.😊
Good idea
Just checking for a few seconds for the voltage might not be conclusive. Most LEDs will work with overvoltage, but it greatly reduces the lifetime. Adding a series diode will reduce the voltage by 0.6-0.7V and will have almost ideal voltage.
Good point 👍🏻
Can you be more specific about the diode you put in series? Do you really mean a diode and not a resistor?
@@bbacher95 yes, I mean a Diode. The forward voltage of a silicon diode is 0.6v to 0.7v depending on current and temperature. That voltage is lost and converted to heat. Just put it in series in forward direction.
@teslatrooper85 got it; thank you
except the nominal full charge voltage of a AA battery is usually about 1.7v. 1.7 V times three batteries is 5.1 V.
therefore, the 5 V output of the USB charger should be perfect.
Would love a longer step by step on this or similar!
Ok
2nd that request for the soldering piece as can't figured what was wrong & how it was corrected!
I love the fact that you connected it all with a Wego. You can add and remove super easy in the future. Nice
Thanks
Your wife's decorating is very nice.
Thanks 😊
Yes it is actually
Nice hack, the rechargeables you start with are ~1.2v each BTW. There's a small chance the 5v may over-drive the LEDs - but since it looks like you are powering 4 strings off of one usb cube, this should lower the overall voltage. Make sure the USB cube doesn't get too hot to the touch!
AA are typically 1.5V, and 3 in series are about 4.5V. They’re likely under powering by design 5V analog LEDs. Supplying 5V to them will just achieve their full potential with no issue. I would however fuse the connection.
The little cube didn’t get hot to touch, but it would shut off after ~4 hours every day. So I upgraded it to a 4-amp power supply. All good now.
@@handydadtv That’s interesting… you should try powering just one, and measure max amps, then account for proper gauging and supply to handle all combined.
That would make sense. But I’m more trial and error.
This will change my Christmas life. Thank YOU!!!
Glad it was helpful 👍🏻
Beautiful decorations. Thank you for the hack!!
You are so welcome!
I love it! I am getting into electrical now nd just touched on circuit boards. No schooling just UA-cam and maybe wiki how…..I love how simple you made it including the error! Thank you so much I’ll be watching much more of your channel.😊
Thanks for the comment! Glad it was helpful 👍🏻
Great idea! Save our environment and our money too. Thank you for sharing. Happy Holidays! ❤
Merry Christmas 🎄
Is there a way to do the opposite? To take something that is originally meant to plug into an outlet and convert it to run on batteries so it's portable? ie Christmas decorations / lights?
Yes anything is possible with the right circuitry.
@@handydadtv would you consider making a video about that?
@Veronica.John10-10 It’s beyond my skills.
it's not really wasting batteries if they are rechargeable, though. I just bought a bunch and rotate them out from charger to lights. It IS WAY less of a hassle to not have to do that, though! Now, I have to learn how to solder, lol.
There are commercial alternatives: handydad.tv/a4h7
You’re a genius! Thank you! Merry Christmas! John 3:16❤
Thanks 😊
I found some nice LED lights that ran on 3 AAA batteries. I mounted the lights in the trunk of my car and I used a 12 volt to 5 volt USB adapter I got from Dollar Tree (same place as the LED). Now when I open the trunk install of a dim light coming on I have nice bright LED lights coming on.
Good idea!! 👍🏻
Okay, guys my dad taught me how to do a lot of DIY including rewiring a lamp. That was it for electrical!
I have long wondered if there was a way to convert battery lites to plug in!
Can someone either do a deep visual video step by step how to do this. Or even better yet invent the conversion and sell it so we non-electrical folks can easily do this! Thank you 😊
This is as far as I can take you. You’ll need to search for something more detailed.
The "complicated" part of this video was reusing the circuit board, so kudos for that. I have been using old power converters for years with simpler Christmas decorations. Just cut the connector end and do a test hookup to ensure that you have the correct polarity. Switch the wires if not. Once you have the correct polarity you can simply use crimp style connectors to make it permanent. There are several crimp options. I prefer male/female type connectors so that if there is a failure with either the power supply, or the fixture, it would be an easy task to replace it. Not to mention that you can switch it out for any LED lit fall decorations if needed.
This would actually be a really fun project, making a guide for this. I know how to use arduinos and such so this is something I’m very comfortable with doing. :)
You can buy ready to use sets with dummy batteries, no soldering needed, you just put it in like normal batteries and plug the stocking out plug to USB port. Also, they sell different kinds, only 3-battery ones are straightforward like that, they sell stuff for 1 and 2 battery powered sets with different voltage.
I love this. Batteries, Batteries & more Batteries. This Christmas, I decided I would make me the Christmas village I have wanted for many years. So many of the houses are now battery-operated. I spent almost $40.00 on Energizer, AAA, AA, which lasted about 4 days at 4 to 6 hours a day. I knew something had to give. My sister ordered some plug-in converter lights. My houses are brighter, better for the environment, and cost a lot less.
I'll watch your video again and convert my fairy lights, too. Thanks!!!👍🎄🏡🎄🏡🎄👌
Glad it was helpful 👍🏻
@@handydadtv You could get rich selling conversion kits! 🏆
Very awesome! I bought some fairy lights at Walmart for an art project and didn't realize until I got home that the button batteries couldn't be replaced. I don't want to return them as they are exactly what I wanted in size etcetera. I will try this out. Thanks for sharing. Heidi
Hope it works for you.
PS. If you were my daughter, you’d be Heidi Heider. 🥰
Good vid. I knew this could be done, but big thanks for showing it so clearly.
Glad it was helpful 👍🏻
Great video! You can now also put those fairy lights on a smart plug and have them come on with a wireless switch or timer 👍👍
Yes exactly
Great hack! I've been trying to get inspired to do this with my book nooks but they mostly use 2 AA or 2 AAA batteries and that will likely require some engineering on my behalf and after doing it all day at work, I like to do other things at home.
Thinking is living 👍🏻
Wow! My hubby is an I.T. guy.. why isn’t he doing this for me lol This is awesome btw!!! Thank you for sharing! New subscriber and I look fwd to the other videos I haven’t seen! ❤
Thanks for subscribing! Welcome to the family!
Great idea, Just ran into this problem yesterday with a battery box that was rusty, I'll try this ,Thanks.
Glad it was helpful 👍🏻
Rechargable batteries for the win. We have been using them for years...
Good option
Last year I bought some fairy lights that have a USB cord. That proved to be a bit of a challenge but nice at the same time. I don’t have many small plugs for that. But then it occurred to me to use one of those rechargeable blocks you can use when traveling for your phone etc. This allows me to use a string in a location that is not close to any plugs in the bathroom.
Usually, with rechargeable batteries you lose a little bit of light as they are 1.2v, not 1.5v meaning you will have less available power.
It's a noticeable difference but it is still ok for some people
@ for this particular application, which is purely decorative it isn’t significant. But I could see where it might be.
@@TheAllMightyGodofCodLithium batteries might be an exception. Just measured my 2 different brands of lithium rechargeable batteries; both sets reflect 1.5v.
A neat idea and model railroad enthusiasts have been doing similar things for years.
👍🏻
Great idea about using the USB supply, but I'm thinking a different route. I'll connect wires at the end of the cable and attach the wires to the individual control boxes with mini clips. That way everything is removable for storage and if necessary for repurposing the lights can be changed back to battery power.
Good idea
Yes, I was thinking the same.
Genius...I had the battery issue as well.. thought there had to be a solution. Thanks I'll give it a try.
Glad it was helpful 👍🏻
This is also helpful because every year we put our decorations up in the attic for 11 months, and through a whole season of hot weather the batteries usually have leaked or died by the time we get them out next year.
I always remove the batteries before putting decorations away.
Why don’t you take the batteries out and continue using them. Rechargable batteries are best.
@ forgetfulness
A "THUMBS UP?" My only "problem" is that I can only give you ONE! Great hack. 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks 😊
"Where's your other hand? "
@handydadtv - overall I'm in complete agreement with you! I'd like to see a better looking completion than the electrical tape.
I'm going to look into this! 👍
A 3D printer would be nice.
Very nice. Answered all my questions. Ty
Glad it was helpful 👍🏻
I always used a USB charger, a USB cable, a round ink pen and 2 flat thumb tacks. I cut the pen tube to the size of an "AA battery. slide the positive and negative wire up each pen tube, connect the wire to the thumb tack as the terminal and hot glue in place. Now you can use it on anything that takes three AA and AAA batteries, but the pen tube has to be the size of an AAA battery.
Great idea 👍🏻
Please do a video of this, GetReal3327.
So if the battery pack has multiple switches say, on, off, 6 hour timer, 6 hour timer fade. I switch it to the one I want before doing this? Meaning it’s permanently set on what the switch is set to?
Yes. Select the one that’s permanently on.
@@handydadtv I read the question and was hoping i had the answer right....I did! Ty
What a fantastic idea! I am always taking my old batteries to the hazardous waste roundup. Waste of money. Question, though. Can you make the lights work with the various modes like blink and alternating twinkling? Thanks and Happy New Year.
Sure by leaving the switch in whatever mode you want.
@@handydadtv Awesome! You are a genius.
Absolutely genius work
Thanks so much 😊
Mac Gyver
Taking it one step further, you can now automate them with a Wi-Fi plug! Great video!
Yes indeed!
oh snap !! I have the same issue with my home-made stuff. I've always thought the USB thingy was strictly for 12V. You have ENLIGHTEND me ! MERRY CHRISTMAS
Merry Christmas!
I have a couple miniatures I built that live in my office and I love them. But the lighting kits I got for them are battery operated and an absolute nightmare to manage. Currently I use rechargeables in them but the batteries have to be swapped out every other day which is a pain. Tempted to see if I can do something like this and make them plug in so I don’t have to keep swapping and recharging batteries.
Definitely 👍🏻
Very smart, going to do this with our lights too!
Glad it was helpful 👍🏻
If you don’t care about switching on and off and you’re okay with always on, can you just cut the cord on the lights and solder those wires directly to the power supply wires?
No, there is other circuitry on the board. Not just a switch.
Screw single-use batteries! Love your ingenuity. 🙏😘
Thanks 😊
Well done.....In design I Use the solar lights that are made for the garden. They go for about a dollar each. As a designer, you can illuminate the trees without having lights on the tree. Also, if you really want to save money in general ,use florescent bulbs.....this will give light to the home for pennies on the dollar. I am a champion African Violet grower and found to my delight, those were the only lights I needed in the evenings , I do my reading by daylight too. Tell your wife she's quite talented at design. Cheers!
Thanks 😊
To everyone reading this, they actually sell things on Amazon where you can have a battery converter. I do it all the time. It allows me to turn batteries into plug-ins and I don’t need to do anything fancy like this video
handydad.tv/a4h7
Heck yeah! I did this for the fairy lights around my office desk. Found an old keyboard that was dead, cut it and put the red and white wire on the corresponding positive negative terminal in the batter casing. Yours is cleaner than what I did haha. It last forever and the lights don’t start dimming 24hrs later
Good job 👍🏻
Waiting for this to come out in stores.
You can buy them with USB plugs now.
Nice! Just 3D Print some cases for the Wago and the boards and it’s even better 😊
Although, I‘d just use rechargeable batteries for those short term use cases.
That’s an option.
That works! Love it!
Thanks 😊
Brilliant idea! 👍
Thanks 😊
My wife goes through tons of batteries during the holidays. I gotta try this. Thanks for sharing.
Glad it was helpful 👍🏻
Hello! Your wife’s decorations caught my eye. I know your video is about converting the battery pack, but may I ask where she got the mini trees from? And the vases they are in? Thank you and Happy Holiday!
Thanks! She thinks she got them from Pier One before they went out of business.
@ that was a great store. Please tell her she has good taste. Thank you and Happy Holiday!
This worked perfectly!! Thank you!
Glad it was helpful 👍🏻
I did this to the Christmas lights on my tree, but I kept the battery pack as an option. A 5volt power bank is also useful.
Yes
Yes, but most Powerbanks are designed to shut off, when no power is drawn. If you have a fairy light with a timer function, it won't come on again automatically.
Well done mate!
Thanks 😊
Respect and Love ❤️ Thank's and Bless you 👌 Congratulations ❤️ Beautiful 😂
Thanks 😊
Very good video, informative and well produced.
Thanks for taking the time to create and share it.
I’m now a new subscriber.
Thanks for subscribing! Welcome to the family!
Thanks for the tip. Will this work with the lights that run on a coin battery? Maybe several hooked together? :)
Not without reducing the voltage somehow.
If you don’t want to DYI, search for AA battery eliminator cables and they are USB to a battery shape to just insert into the battery box.
Thanks!
Luv it. Now to get the soldering thineee .
👍🏻
👍I love this hack. Thank you
Glad it was helpful 👍🏻
It takes some time to pick up all my battery charged Christmas decor and turn them on and off. I would love to have them all plug ins so I could just unplug them or put them on timers. I did remove the battery pack out of one that quit working and used a village house light in it so it is plug in, but did not want to do that to the ones that still work.
And don’t forget to remove the batteries at the end of the season or they can leak.
SMART!!!! Love it
Thanks 😊
AWESOME!! Thank you for sharing!
My pleasure!
Great idea.
Thanks 😊
Cool idea!
Thanks 😊
0:21 his midwestern accent makes it sound like he said “fleshlights” and while I know those don’t need batteries I can’t shake how hilarious this is
I see where your mind is.
Good job! I will be doing this but instead I'm going to solder to the batter posts inside the box and make a small hole for the wire to come out so it's all enclosed.
👍🏻
great video. will this work for lights with only 2 batteries
No, because two batteries are only 3 volts.
@@handydadtv bummer. thankyou
@@GoodenuffCollective You can just buy a replacement kit if you don't have the electronics knowledge. Otherwise, it's mostly a matter of taking a USB A to whatever cable and cutting the other end off so you've got a USB A to wires cable and wiring in a diode or resistor to drop the voltage from 5v to the necessary 3 volts. It's not necessarily that hard, but if you're at all worried, just buy the kit that has all of that done for you.
Pretty cool!
Thanks 😊
Since LED Christmas bulbs can be a little bright, would it make sense to add one more string to the circuit?
I don’t think that would help.
Genius!
Thanks 😊
Great idea. Thanks for..🤓
Thanks
Hi i have fairy light with smallest pill battery version(i didnt know the name of this battery) it usually came with brown case. Can i use this hack to covert to usb plug?
It’s all about voltage. One button cell, probably not. If it has two or three, it could work. I couldn’t say.
I love this. I hate wasting batteries.
Me too
Very smart!!
Thanks 😊
Great idea, can you show a bit more, close-up detail tho?
Sorry
I like this. I think I would have kept the battery box and drilled a hole in it. Then fed the wire through and used the battery terminals to wire it. That way the switch is still useful and it can be reversed easily.
That’s an option.
Good idea 👍 but why not use rechargeable battery’s
That’s an option
Could i do something like this with my battery powered Black and Decker garden tools. The batteries are no longer made......
GREAT QUESTION!!!
Hope you get an answer ~
@@thisbushnell2012 i have an old mikita drill. battery’s weren’t available from Mikita. i looked on line an found some after market battery’s. they are working fine. good luck
I’d look for aftermarket batteries.
I would think you are not comparing apples to oranges.
I buy comparable batteries for my tools if name brand is expensive or discontinued
Great idea!
Thanks 😊
Thanks 😊
Can you do one video on doing a deal wall battery?
I’m not sure what that is.
How many amps was the charger? Might overheat it supplying multiple strings of lights with just one charger.
I don’t know but it worked.
Brilliant!
Thanks 😊
Damn, I miss my daddy! He could've done this for me!
❤️
Does the amp output of the charger have any effect? I'd be concerned those tiny little wires would overheat with any extra voltage / amps going to them.
The fractional voltage difference will have no effect on the wires - and a higher voltage lowers the watts/amps (in general) :)
For a single string, you’ll be fine. In my case, I was powering 4 strings from a small Apple charger and it worked fine for around 4 hours. Then it would shut off. Probably an internal thermostat. Next day it would be fine for another 4 hours.
So I swapped it out for a 4 amp power supply. Now it stays on forever.
Nifty. Solid idea…
Thanks 😊
what are waygo leaver nuts? and where do I find them?
handydad.tv/wago
@@handydadtv Thank you!
@@aprilyoungblood7326 Most hardware stores these days have an assortment. I don't personally trust them for household wiring, however, for low voltage stuff like this, there's little reason to trust them as there's just no possibility of meaningful heat build up with such low power and not even trapped in a box.
If you added a single silicon diode to the incoming power it would drop 0.6 volts and the LEDs would last longer running at the voltage they were designed for. Also you say AA 'batteries' (cells) are 1.5v yet you show rechargeables which are 1.2v?
Yes I had 3 rechargeable batteries to play with one string. I would have had to buy 9 more. I chose this instead.
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍Definitely going to do this. Thanks!
Glad it was helpful 👍🏻
great video
Thanks 😊
But how would you do this x 6? Say you had 6 strings of light s, each with their own battery pack. Wouldn't their combined voltage 4.5v x 6 = 27v? Thats what im dealing with right now. The biggest power adapter I have is 12v. I thought to use say a laptop power adapter but I fear that would far exceed the output I need. So should I be looking for a 30v-35v power adapter??
Wire them in parallel (all positives together; all negatives together). Voltage is the same for all of them. Just need a strong enough power supply for the combined amperage.
@@handydadtv I was hoping you'd say that. So you think a phone adapter should cut the mustard then? I have them ranging from 5v to 12v, not to brag about all my cord collection 💁also have assorted resistors on hand.
If they each have 3 batteries in series, that means they run on 4.5 volts. You should be able to power them from a plug-in USB charger because it outputs 5 volts. No need for 12v or any resistors.
@@handydadtv Thanks for going through it with me pal, appreciate ya!
You should add a diod or resister so as not to overdrive the leds, otherwise you will shorten the life considerably
I want to learn how to make differemt things work with solar power. Like the lights from the dollar store light work.. I want to know how much power I can get out of the little stake lights solar topper? I know nothing about powering of anything but this hack I will try from a motion detector fairy light strand I have to let me know when the cat is at the door to come in the house.
This is way over my head.
Very cool idea, looks like I need more tools
Tools are good.
I wish I knew how you did this. I have a back message that runs on 3 batteries. It would be nice to convert. I don’t have saiter tool.
If you don’t have the skills or tools to do this, there are commercial alternatives: handydad.tv/a4h7
I would love to change out battery things for USB but do not have the skills to do it. Maybe you could make a commercial product to help us less skilled ones.
Somebody already did: handydad.tv/a4h7