Not functioning mini Christmas lights

[countryguy]

I put up my outdoors Christmas lights which included a mini Christmas tree and 2 deer, all 3 of which had the mini lights. Well the light string on the tree would not light at all and only 1/2 of the lights on each deer lit up. Anyone that has these lights knows how frustrating it is to try and find the bulb(s) that need replacing. It is almost impossible to figure out which bulb or bulbs are causing the problem. I was at Home Depot at lunch yesterday and saw a device called Light Keeper Pro for $25 that makes the light string work again even with the burnt bulbs so that you know which ones to replace. I thought what the hell, I'll buy it and if it doesn't work I'll just return it. Well by George this device does work! You just plug the light string into the device (which has 3 batteries), pull a trigger about 10 times (which sends out some kind of energy) and it miraculously makes the electricity flow through the burnt out bulbs so that the entire string lights up and you can tell which bulbs are burnt. Now I know why millions have been sold! LOL

Gary

http://www.lightkeeperpro.com

 

[tomturbomatic]

I'm happy for your success. I have usually had trouble with the wires in the string breaking.

 

[artcurus]

Yup, Lightkeeper Pro is a lifesaver when it comes to 40 year old light sets that like to die while on the tree. The dubious joys of antique light sets...

 

[turquoisedude]

Wow, I had no idea such a gadget existed.  I use the time-consuming 'pull each bulb and test it' method and it can be enough to drive one to the loony bin...   I just found two sets of vintage-70s sets that look like icicles with mini-lights in em.   Fortunately both sets still work, but ya never know when I'm going to need the Lightkeeper Pro!

 

[countryguy]

I didn't know it existed either until I came across it at Home Depot. They also have one for LED lights.

Gary

 

[mattl]

Yes, I've been using one for years.  It does an OK job but is not perfect.  I think more valuable is the seek feature where you go from bulb to bulb to find the culprit.

 

I have many 30+ year old strings of miniature lights I still use on one of my interior trees, some have had all the bulbs replaced.  I use them simply due to the bulb spacing, 10-12" which works well for how I do the trees, I wrap the cord around each bulb as I place it to keep it in place.  My dining room tree has perhaps 400 lights on it.  I'm considering converting it to LED by replacing the bulbs and running it  off a DC source, I can find 100 light LED sets for $12 so now they are getting affordable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dustin92]

IMHO, Mini lights aren't worth the time or effort to keep them working. They are cheap enough to just replace when they die, usually they can be had on sale for less than $2 for a set of 100. I just bought 6 sets at Goodwill for $4, two didn't work though, so returned them for a brand new set of c7's. We have a few older sets of mini's floating around here, but most are only a few years old.

 

[artcurus]

@Dustin,

Here's the thing, the light quality, brightness and colors on these older sets are far superior to the newer ones. Some of the best 35 double flasher sets had multicolor bulbs, where the top half of the bulb was purple while the bottom have may be green or something other color. The end effect is a halo style look that can breathtaking when viewed through a window.

Here's an example of those style lights

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Nom...181?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25989079ed

There's also much more variety in with the older sets. I have some (my favorites) that look like mini chandeliers. They also use those multicolored bulbs. I'll post a pic when I start putting the trees up.

I gripe about them, but in some ways, they are worth it.

And to be blunt, LED christmas lights, absolutely suck. They are either too bright or too dim. The color quality is horrible, eye straining and cheaper ones flicker. The C7 ones aren't even close to the real C7's, or C9's. They are nowhere near as bright. Most have the appearence of something out of a Stephen King novel.

We are really are being duped to accept less quality.

For an example, take a real good look at high quality photos of the Rockefeller Christmas Tree of years past, and compare after the LED transition.

anyway, off my soapbox.

 

[dustin92]

I hate the new LEDs as well, tbey are just awful. I bought some sets a few years back on an after Christmas clearance, and thought they were just great, would last forever etc... but the color is terrible (I bought cool white) they are too bright, and several sets have died already. I only use them outside on the bushes now, but I doubt they will even go up this year. C7's on the upstairs tree, multicolored minis on the downstairs tree, mini's a few other places inside. C9's and mini's outside, and I may use some rope lights this year as well.

 

[mattl]

LEDs are not too bad if you get decent ones.  I wish they would drop a bit in price, I have some C7 units that are indistinguishable from a regular bulb, but they cost $2 each.  On my big 11' tree is use about 300 C7 bulbs, that is a lot of heat and energy.  I split it on two circuits since even at 5w each it's 1500 watts,  I'd like to do at least half and half on that tree.

 

As for the miniature lights you'll have to pry the old sets out of my cold dead hands to get me to part with them.  the spacing is the key for me, most sets are now 4" or maybe 5" between bulbs, totally unusable for me on my trees.  They are fine if you just toss the lights on the tree, but unusable when wrapping the wire around the branch and setting the bulb to point up.

 

[countryguy]

The Lightkeeper Pro is a godsend! Last night I used it on 2 sets each of which were only 1/2 lit. Within a few seconds I found the non functioning bulb on each set. Saving all the time and frustration is worth the price.

Gary