Xmas Tree Lights for buildings etc.

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psocks

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Nov 20, 2003
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Okay,
I have seen this shown on here how people use lights from Christmas tree sets for scenery lighting. I also see that they are using resistors on them. Please forgive me as I am not electrically inclined here. But why can't you just use say a 24 ct. light set and remove the number of lights you want to use and restring them back into the main power cord they are already attached to. Maybe I am over simplifying this and that is why I came here. Before I burn my entire town down :)
Thanks in advance
 
In short, the strings are rated for the number of bulbs they carry. When one or two are removed, the voltage load increases on the others, eventually overloading the remaining bulbs. My recommendation is always to use low voltage lighting unless you are experienced with electrical work. The risks involved just are not worth the short term economic benefit.
 
Try the newer LED Christmas light. They come in all shapes, are bright and use 80% less energey then conventional mini-lights.

But most importantly ** they stay cooled to the touch (They don't "warm up)*** :thumb:

Since they are LED they'll be working for years to come..

I have a couple of multicolor strings for the Christmas tree and they're awesome. I'll find a good place for them on my layout :thumb: :)
 
I have used some of those flaming Christmas lights to light the interior of my steel mill. They make it look like the blast furnace is in action. This type of lighting is like the out door type in that its wired in parallel so it is possible to use only the number of bulbs you want without having to worry about resistors. The only problem is that the bulbs are larger size.
 
...like this:

*Forever Bright LED 4 COLOR MULTI-Set of 35 Micro-Chip LED Lights C6
*1 1/4" Height Strawberry Shape Red, Green, Yellow and Blue
*Indoor or outdoor use,
*1.75 Watts .015 Amps Per String 12' Length, 4" Spacing, 120V, C6, UL listed.
*5-year Warranty, Green cord plugs end to end and/or piggy back
ForeverBrightBox.jpg


http://www.christmas-treasures.com/AboutUs/ChristmasTree/PurchaseLED.htm



:wave: :wave:
 
psocks said:
Okay,
I have seen this shown on here how people use lights from Christmas tree sets for scenery lighting. I also see that they are using resistors on them. Please forgive me as I am not electrically inclined here. But why can't you just use say a 24 ct. light set and remove the number of lights you want to use and restring them back into the main power cord they are already attached to. Maybe I am over simplifying this and that is why I came here. Before I burn my entire town down :)
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

You can use the mini-lights in your structures, I've done it and I've seen it done to great effect here

But you can't remove bulbs because they're wired in series. When one bulb is missing (or loose) nothing lights up. This is why it's such fun at this time of year trying to find the loose bulb on the sting of 100!!!!

It doesn't matter if the bulb is burnt out though - the kind I have still light. You can save burnt out bulbs for this purpose.

Val
 
At Target for $4.99 I found an LED microlight set with 18 clear lights. It runs on 4 AA batteries for roughly 60 hours. They work fine and look good.....I have a small 2x4 N-scale layout and this set stretches just enough to light an Interlocking Tower, Passenger and Freight Depots, switchman's shanty, MOW building, general store and a house.

Fast, easy no hassle lighting.
 
I want to second Shaygetz' recomendation to stick with low voltage. AC power on your layout isn't a good idea. Christmas lites can be run by the power supply that runs answering machines, cordless phones, etc. to do this, you need to know a little about electricty, if the power supply puts out 12V and the bulbs draw 2V, then you can run 6 bulbs of that supply. The problem is that these lites draw different amounts of voltage and you need to be able to test the output and the draw of what your using to be safe. Seams there was a thread about this a while back, try using the search feature on this site for more info.
 
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