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#17778 12/02/02 09:26 PM
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,056
R
Redsy Offline OP
Member
Ahh, Christmas.
The time of year when a years worth of collusion & conspiracy by the manufacturers of holiday light strings to make my d@#%mn life miserable comes to fruition.
20 or so strings of 100, 15 which work fine when tested, only 10 of which work immediately after standing in my %$#@ uneven mulch bed on the 6th step of a &@#% 8' ladder in the freezing #@%@# cold.
Once you find the lousy offending bulb, none of the initial 5 strings have the same #@&% dimension, and the 1 spare that is provide by the manufacturers in their infinite benevolence can't be distinguished from the other 200 %@#@# spares that are in the same bag from years of not wanting to throw any away for fear of being one lousy bulb short.
So I'll send my wife to the store to buy 10- more strings of 100, which will probably be comprised of 4 different manufacturers, and all will be well until we remove them after Christmas and indiscriminately throw them into a box with all the other lights that work this year but won't work next @#$#@ year!!
Please excuse the language, and have a very Happy Holiday [Linked Image]

[This message has been edited by Redsy (edited 12-02-2002).]

#17779 12/02/02 10:05 PM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 2,236
Likes: 1
Member
Ahhh, the joys of the holidays!

LOL!

[Linked Image]


-Virgil
Residential/Commercial Inspector
5 Star Inspections
Member IAEI
#17780 12/02/02 10:08 PM
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 2,233
H
Member
Redsy,

I love Christmas but HATE those !@#$%^&* cheap Christmas lights. I once saw an above ground pool, with a fence around it, all adorned with Christmas lights. So this way you can sit in the pool, reach up and change the light bulb!

Harold

#17781 12/02/02 11:32 PM
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 840
C
Member
Decorating with lights, my favorite activity this time of year! [Linked Image]

At least UL upped the standard for X-mas lights. My old strands with the flimsy wires and cheap sockets are headed for the landfill.


Peter
#17782 12/02/02 11:37 PM
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 267
W
Member
There's an electrician in my town who has been wiring the common free of charge for the towns christmas lights. He made the front page of the local newspaper a couple of years ago, big write up on how he volunteers his time. He wasn't a big outfit at the time, now I see several of his trucks,10 guys working for him and have heard that he's overloaded with work. Not sure if it's related to his act of good faith, but I'm willing to bet it didn't hurt him any.

[This message has been edited by Wirenuttt (edited 12-02-2002).]

#17783 12/03/02 12:12 AM
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 440
Likes: 3
Member
I don't mind hangin' 'em, but I don't like taking them down. I suppose that's why you see so many people (stupid as it is) leave them up year round.

Hang 'em high,
Doc


The Watt Doctor
Altura Cogen
Channelview, TX
#17784 12/03/02 12:25 AM
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 642
N
Member
Put em up- take em down Throw em away next year when the don"t work. Buy new for that year.
The light manufacturers have a good racket.
Or put em up and leave them - sob they all worked this yr!


ed
#17785 12/03/02 10:44 AM
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,691
S
Member
Instead of getting those miniature light strings, why not try the ones that use the big screw-in type bulbs (the ones that look like candelabra bulbs but use an intermediate base)? Those seem sturdier and the bulbs are standard so you can always screw them in and out when you need to replace.

I don't care what UL says or does...those cheap little speaker-wire strings are too flimsy for my taste. I wouldn't want to put one of those outside. I've had one where the contacts pulled right out of the little sockets.... grrrr [Linked Image] [Linked Image]

#17786 12/03/02 11:39 AM
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 456
C
Member
You have to think like those obnoxious strings to fix them. Last week I made two
sets of cascading icicles out of three
(took some doing, probably more than they are worth, but since I am not really employed
at this tome, no loss to me).

#17787 12/03/02 12:30 PM
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 745
M
Member
Sven:
I'm with you! I grew up with lights like the type you're talking about. Much nicer, as well as more durable.

BTW...Do y'all remember using the C-8 style lights, the ones that used small screw-base lamps wired in series (usually about 8 lights to the string, complete with fabric-covered wires)? Probably not quite as miserable an experience trying to chase down a burned out bulb, since there were only eight to test on any one string...unlike 35, 50 or 100 with the miniature sets. After sitting for a while, substituting lamp after lamp, you start thinking that your time is worth something, so into the trash the #$*%&$ string goes... [Linked Image] Almost without exception, a new string will work perfectly while laid out on the floor, then once it goes onto the tree...PPPFTT!!

Regrettably, this is also the season of increased house fires, attributed to overloaded extension cords and receptacles, and staples through the wire insulation [Linked Image] . The fewer of these, so much the better.

Best wishes to each of you for a happy holiday season and a prosperous 2003.

Mike (mamills)

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