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Joined: Mar 2001
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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 [This message has been edited by Redsy (edited 12-02-2002).]
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 2,236 Likes: 1
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Ahhh, the joys of the holidays! LOL!
-Virgil Residential/Commercial Inspector 5 Star Inspections Member IAEI
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 2,233
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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
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Joined: Feb 2002
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Decorating with lights, my favorite activity this time of year! 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
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Joined: Nov 2002
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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).]
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 440 Likes: 3
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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
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 642
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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
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,691
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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
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Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 456
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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).
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Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 745
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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... 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 . 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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