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16 channel spiral mega tree


Brett H.

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I am thinking about adding a 16 channel spiral mega tree for 2012. Any suggestions on how tall everyone has been making them? Is 16 channels enough? Should i use 1 color using all 16 channels or should i use 2 colors with 8 channels each? Any help before Dec. 26th would be great. Got to figure out how many strands of lights to buy and what colors before then. Half off all christmas lights makes this alot cheaper to build.

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Hey Brett,
I added 16 channels of spiral to my mega tree this year more as a test and to play around with but it is pretty cool.

My mega tree uses 20 foot strings of C6 LEDs. I have 96 strings using 24 of each color (r,g,b,w). It worked out good for me to use my 70 count, 23 foot M6 strings in white which ended up being approx. 1-1/3 turns for the spiral.

I really wished that I had done 32 strings now (2 strings per channel) as I think it would have been fuller looking but hey that is what this test was for.
I think that next year I will use 2 colors for the spiral as well (maybe white and blue or thinking blue and green) and use 32 strings of each color. I may even wrap the spirals in different direction but not sure yet.
It has worked fine so far as the C6 strings hold the M6 strings pretty well in line and they have not been blown out of whack yet.

I would think that the 70 count strings at 23 feet will allow you to get an 18 to 20 foot tall tree pretty easy using a 10 foot diameter base.
I would also say that doubling the amount of strings will give you a much fuller looking spiral effect as well.

Hope that helps.

I am hoping to get some video soon of my mega tree with the spiral so I can get it on my site. I need a nice little snowfall and a good clear evening to shoot it.

Bill

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Thanks for the input. Should have said i am not using LED for this tree. Thought about it but at $1.44 per box of 100 lights for incandescent i cant go wrong compared to @ $5.00 per box of 70 lights. I did find 100 light strands of LED at Mills Fleet farm by us but even at half price they are $10 a box.

:P

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16ch should be fine. I added a 16ch spiral to my mega this year. 17.5' tree (base 18" off ground, so actual lighted portion 16'). Base diameter was 8-8.5' (don't remember which). Two 60ct strings per channel made 2 rotations nicely. Here is very useful calculator:
http://www.lightsonsixth.com/stuff/spiraltreespreadsheet-97.xls

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I added a 16 channel spiral tree also this year, all white C7 led. I based my height using 2 strings of lights. It ended up about 14 feet tall. I have been happy with it. Last minute I put up a 6 foot mini spiral tree using the same channels as my red and green mini trees, 8 channels each. That tree turned out awsome, everyone loves that tree. That being said, the only thing I am doing different next year is making my big tree 2 colors.

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Thanks for input so far... alot of help. The calculator is a huge help. Thanks for posting that. My thought was if i go with a 8 foot tree i could get once up and once down off 1 strand filling out the tree pretty good. Definately going with 1 color this year. My local Wally world has 150 boxes of blue left as of the other day and dont think there will be a big rush between now and the 26th. I love half off lights.

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I added the spiral to this years Mega Tree and I used 16ch with 32 strands (2 per ch) and love the effect and fullness of the tree. Here is a video of this years display with the Spiral-Mega Tree. Hope this helps.

BTW the Mega is 20 foot tall and I used 150ct mini-lights from Target to do the spiral.

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Added a spiral this year. I installed a 25' flagpole, added a pulley system on top and a hand winch on the bottom. The tree tops out at 22' with a 10' base, because this is perfect for 1.5 rotations around the tree with 33' light strings. 16 Single color LED strings(blue) for the spiral with 16 vertical LED white strings (these are 24' strings). I think I would have gone with more strings if I used incans but the LEDs are more than bright enough. The calculator worked perfectly for spacing and string length.

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Has anyone ever tried a smaller (say 8ft) free standing weber/spiral/? tree, weighted down with say sandbags, water or (?)

I have a small yard, but large driveway; and for 2012 would like to plan some type of spiral tree in the driveway; Just don't want to drill a hole in it. It does get very windy in our area.

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wmilkie wrote:

Has anyone ever tried a smaller (say 8ft) free standing weber/spiral/? tree, weighted down with say sandbags, water or (?)

I have a small yard, but large driveway; and for 2012 would like to plan some type of spiral tree in the driveway; Just don't want to drill a hole in it. It does get very windy in our area.


somewhere on here someone had done a "portable" mega tree stand, mainly it is a two foot by two foot square chunk of concrete about 8-12" deep. It has a screw base that you connect the flag pole to. You can add an additional 2x6 structure to it for the guide wires. Can also add wheels so it can easily roll, weighs about 150lbs. It is doable and has been done.
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caniac wrote:

wmilkie wrote:
Has anyone ever tried a smaller (say 8ft) free standing weber/spiral/? tree, weighted down with say sandbags, water or (?)

I have a small yard, but large driveway; and for 2012 would like to plan some type of spiral tree in the driveway; Just don't want to drill a hole in it. It does get very windy in our area.


somewhere on here someone had done a "portable" mega tree stand, mainly it is a two foot by two foot square chunk of concrete about 8-12" deep. It has a screw base that you connect the flag pole to. You can add an additional 2x6 structure to it for the guide wires. Can also add wheels so it can easily roll, weighs about 150lbs. It is doable and has been done.

I'll keep looking, thanks
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MikeA wrote:

I have a 12' tall spiral tree. I only use 12 channels and it looks just as good as the 16 ones I see.

Any pictures or videos?
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I did a 16 channel 13' hybrid (8 channels of multi-color megatree and 8 channels of white spiral) tree this year. I came out pretty good and gave the ability to mix the type of effect that we wanted at any give time.

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any pics or video would be awesome. I was thinking of staying around a 12 ft tree or as short as a 8 ft. I am going to work on it through the summer and trying to get the most out of each strand.

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Mike a video would be awesome. Would like to compare a 16 channel to a 12 channel. If i could get away with a 12 channel that would leave me 4 to use elsewhere. Which i could use for a nice 4 channel star on top of the tree. Options, options, options.... love lots of options. You guys are the bomb. Couldnt get half of what i got without everyone.

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  • 2 weeks later...

so after alot of back and forth we decided to use 35 count green c6 led lights. I am thinking of a 9 ft spiral tree with a 4 foot base or a 8 ft tree with a 5 ft base. do you think 4 feet on the base is big enough or do i go with the slightly shorter tree with a 5 foot base?

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The general rule is the base is half the height, but that can vary depending upon the length of your light strings and where you want the lights to end. Both of your suggestions will work, though one will result in a more slender tree and the other a wider one. It really comes down to your preference.

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