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Chinese Led with rusty trace :-(


micheleboato

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Hi,
Christimas it's ended but i m not happy with your light beacuse it s all with rusty metal trace :-(

So i don t know which led buy next year, because festive light in uk it s very expansive and i can t find other light with 220v and full wave :-(

 

You don't buy china light!

 

Do you have some suggestion for next year?

 

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I suggest you go to Halfords, and buy a can of ignition spray, I have a number of star's that I know in the past have had a rust bleed. I sprayed them last year, no more problems. I also had some spare inside lights I've had for a few years, I put them on a prop on top of my roof this year, no problems.

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Lights here are all exactly the same., pretty much.

 

I have lights from Festive Lights that look very similar and failed this year.

 

I have another type that have very narrow LEDs and they have lasted for years. They are made by Premiere decorations.

 

 

Finding 220v lights with no multi-function controller and transformer is hard.

Instead, I just cut the lights after the multi function controller and plug them into a 30 volt power supply. Finding 24vac lights is easy, as every store has them, and you can use the CMB16DQC controller which is cheaper.

 

I am mostly RGB though.

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I use non-conductive automotive grease in my L.E.D. sockets and on the L.E.D. leads, just a light coating goes a long way and I have some Big Box Store L.E.D. strands still working and going on 10-15+ years of use now and no issues.  My first year I lost many of the replaceable L.E.D. strands due to corrosion in the sockets and on the L.E.D. leads, but after using a little of this stuff in the sockets and on the L.E.D. leads, haven't had any failures due to rust, just rectifiers going bad or an occasional L.E.D. burning out.   And most of the L.E.D.'s that burn out seem to always be the blue ones, hardly ever replace any other color.   Seems to be the blues that are always the first and most often die in a strand.

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I use non-conductive automotive grease in my L.E.D. sockets and on the L.E.D. leads, just a light coating goes a long way and I have some Big Box Store L.E.D. strands still working and going on 10-15+ years of use now and no issues.  My first year I lost many of the replaceable L.E.D. strands due to corrosion in the sockets and on the L.E.D. leads, but after using a little of this stuff in the sockets and on the L.E.D. leads, haven't had any failures due to rust, just rectifiers going bad or an occasional L.E.D. burning out.   And most of the L.E.D.'s that burn out seem to always be the blue ones, hardly ever replace any other color.   Seems to be the blues that are always the first and most often die in a strand.

I replaced over 100 blue LED bulbs in my icicle lights this year (6 years old tho)...only the blue ones die..whats up with that??? 

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Re the Dielectric grease, I'm sure it's very good for plugs etc. it will also keep them lubricated when putting them together and parting them. However, I found the ignition spray to be a little better around bulbs etc, it dries like a lacquer so it's not quite so messy and doesn't collect the dirt etc

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Those don't look like an outdoor rated string.  Those look almost like a "Fairy" light.  BUT also keep in mind, IF you could find LEDs not made in China, you would most likely not be able to afford them.  China has the market cornered on Rare Earth minerals that are needed for much of the LED light production process.  Their labor rates are also significantly lower then most other countries.  Many have looked for lights manufactured outside of China, but I don't know of anyone who has found any reasonably priced lights.  What you need to do is shop for "Sealed" LEDs from a vendor who also will tell you that the leads are copper, and not steel or aluminum. 

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Those don't look like an outdoor rated string.  Those look almost like a "Fairy" light.

All lights sold here look like that.

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Yeah, that's an issue.  Don't know why all of your lights look like that.  Ours (U.S.) have a lot of different designs and styles.  Does anyone ever sell devices over to step your power down to 110/120 V?  If so, maybe we could work something out to ship you lower voltage lights that will last longer.  I've had strings of LEDs that lasted here for 12 years.  And I live in a rather wet area of the U.S.

 

I just did a quick search, and it looks like there are a lot of transformers available to step down the voltage so you could use standard US voltage LEDs.  Don't know about the rules and regulations regarding that type of stuff for you.  But it could save you a lot in dead strings of lights in the long run.  That, or just converting to 12V DC and run pixel based displays. 

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The 220v strings fail much quicker than 24v strings.

 

And 24v strings are cheaper, and so are the LOR controllers compatible with them.

 

It doesn't take much modification, just a cut and a join.

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Here  I'll say it.  If I win powerball tonight.  I'll start a factory to domestically produce Christmas lights.

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I don't use any Uk lights all mine come from the states. I have 5 industrial transformers to reduce the voltage to 110 volts and my whole system controllers and lights are 110 volt. The lights are cheaper and more robust even the big box store lights. I have just returned from Florida and brought back over 100 boxes costing anything from 50 chest to 5 dollars. The 90% off ones were a great bargin.

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Being an expat, I suggested to another light enthusiast in the Uk, to have a set up exactly what you have, buy the 110volt controllers and buy the lights from the USA, I suggested using 110Volt transformers as used on building site. He said that this was not possible, as getting lights from the USA to the Uk was a problem. I got the impression, it was a customs issue. Maybe if he reads this, you can advise him what he needs to do.

Edited by robongar
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Depends...  Right now you can ship a medium flat rate box from the US to Australia for $35.50, was told it was the same to Canada, or a whole pile of countries.  You could cram a lot of lights in a medium size box.  Say you got 10 strings in there, it would be $3.55 for shipping per string.  So if he was getting strings themselves for $2-$3.  Then a final price of $6.00 or so is really not that bad.... humm... am I coming up with a new business idea?  So maybe cramming a box full of lights, getting it weighed and priced.  Might be a good idea.  I checked on Fedex, and UPS and they started at $70.  But USPS... half the cost.

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We are on 60Hz. This shouldn't be a problem with lights, it should just make flicker slightly different on half wave LEDs.

I thought about asking on here a while ago if someone could ship some boxes over here.

Lights here are expensive.

But a CTB16PC is also expensive.

I am mainly RGB now, and I like RGB, but I may get another CTB16PC in the future.

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Being an expat, I suggested to another light enthusiast in the Uk, to have a set up exactly what you have, buy the 110volt controllers and buy the lights from the USA, I suggested using 110Volt transformers as used on building site. He said that this was not possible, as getting lights from the USA to the Uk was a problem. I got the impression, it was a customs issue. Maybe if he reads this, you can advise him what he needs to do.

I am fortunate enough to have a house in Florida so I bring them back as my luggage. Even my controllers which I buy in the sale then get LOR to ship whilst I am over there so I can bring them back. If you post to the UK you will get charged import duty. Bringing them home as luggage is fine if you are under your duty free allowance. You are right with the builder style transformers.

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Do you put 110volt yellow 16 amp plugs in your LOR controllers?

No I put them on the extension leads to the controllers. I also use US extension leads / cords

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