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LED Lights Which Type? Mega Tree


Theyork5

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IMO, if you only want to use icans then don't do the mega tree.  Do mini trees and other props.  We have a local guy that did a 30+ ft mega tree last year with green and white icans, was less than impressive.  Best thing that happened to that show was when the wind toppled it.

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for me my first year I used icans in my display, additional light bill was $400.  next year replaced with LED's and three times the lights, additional light bill was $75.  I hate paying the power company.

 

And I'll add to that.

When I had icans, didn't even have a mega tree. I had to use several different outlets so I wouldn't blow a breaker. Also, the house lights inside would flicker when I ran my light show. 

When I went to LED, I was able to plug ALL my lights for the WHOLE display in "one" 15amp outlet (over 10 controllers). And it didn't even make my inside lights flicker when I ran my light show.

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It isn't that we are trying to promote the LED light industry, they just work better, are brighter, less worries.  If memory serves me correct every time a bulb blows on mini's you lose the strand, after about the dozenth time of replacing a strand you will understand what we mean.

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I might retire mine this year.

 

16/32 Superstrings of 70 count RGBW in g30 & M5's.

 

PM me if interested.

 

I sent you a PM a couple of days ago but haven't heard back. Are you still interested?

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Nice tree S.H. I did like you, but do not have the blue on the tree. So tree is RGW and same for the 3D star. And have C6 icicles in RGW&B. But my Tree is a mere 18' 12 folded over to make 24 up/down strings.

 

And I agree with S.H. about the breakage and loosing strings due to burnt out bulbs. Cost more for LED, but fewer hassles maintaining or breakage of the glass bulbs. Experience has spoken many times above. Do as you wish.

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Thanks to everyone for sharing your experience and I have made my decision to go with LEDs.  I couldn't get around that feeling in my gut that I was taking a short cut and would end up with something less than impressive and upgrade next year to LEDs and just have a ton of icans sitting aroudn with nothing to do with them.

 

I keep looking at Novelty Lights and LED Holiday lighting as they seem to have the best price for lights right now.  Average is $13 a string for 70 count C6 strings.  Any other suggestions or sales on the horizon coming up that anybody can share?

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I get mine from Holiday Lights Express, have had the best price in the past.  Even if you go with 16 initially you won't be disappointed, then next year just add in increments of 16.  The key thing IMO and what swayed me was if you lose one bulb with mini's the strand is shot or you have to take it down and figure out which light is bad, with LED if one light goes out the others stay lit.

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 Any other suggestions or sales on the horizon coming up that anybody can share?

 

Did you contact CDI as I mentioned earlier in this thread?

20% off. You need to email or call Paul at CDI.

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I submitted a request through the contact us section on the website and was Paul said they would be on sale November 11. Not sure i can wait that long. Still looking

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Ok, I have a question in regards to this. It seems as though the two favorite vendors for most people are Holiday Light Express and Creative Display Incorporated. I have been looking at both websites and want to know if they are describing their lights a little different but saying basically the same thing. Both I'm sure are made in China as most everything now a days is but just wonder if there is any difference  in them. I know they both say their lights are full wave so they are dimmable for our shows, both are plastic break resistant bulbs, both are sealed so they are waterproof. The thing that I'm not sure about is the following.

 

HLE describe their lights as:

Most LED lights use AC power straight out of your outlet. This causes the lights to turn off and on at 60Hz. In other words, they "flicker".

Our LED lights are Full Wave Rectified and have inline rectifiers which converts AC to DC. This removes the flicker, makes the lights brighter, and allows the lights to be dimmed which makes them great for light shows.

We're so confident that our LED lights are the best on the market that we give a FULL ONE YEAR Warranty on all the LED Lights that we sell!

 

CDI describes their lights as:New LED mini lights – twice as bright, waterproof, Crush-resistant, and affordable! Our manufacturer has been testing and improving the LED Mini light for nearly a decade. Other vendors offer an HWR (half-wave reflector) but our new Pro-Grade™ LED mini light has a FWR (full-wave reflector) plus a rectifier. What does that mean to you? It means a 50% increase in brightness with vibrant colors to match. These new minis are waterproof, crush resistant, UL approved, rated at 50,000 hours and most importantly – attractively priced! New Pro-Grade™ LED mini lights are 120-volts, spaced on 4-inch centers with 100 lights on a 33-foot string. They use 4.8 watts per string and you are able to connect up to 42 strings!

 

So without being an electrical engineer does a rectifier convert the energy from AC to DC as HLE is describing or does a reflector? HLE is saying their lights have a full wave rectifier and CDI says their lights have both a full wave reflector and a rectifier. I am looking to get C6 lights for a new Mega tree for next years show so I could wait for any pre sales either vender may have and will contact them. Just want to know about the reflector/rectifier thing. Sorry, I'm an insurance underwriter not an electrical engineer. :huh:

 

Thanks for any advise!

Al

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Al, it's just in the wording.

Both are saying full wave lights (dimmable). Both are AC to DC.

 

If your looking for a sale, I know CDI is having a 20% off sale for 10 weeks with different items each week.

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Hi SH,

 

Thanks for the info. I really appreciate it. Always looking for a sale! :D

 

I will contact Paul at CDI as you suggested earlier in this post.

 

Later,

Al

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Al,

I thought the "reflector" part was a little strange. So I checked it out.

 

CDI says - New LED mini lights – twice as bright, waterproof, crush-resistant, and affordable! Our manufacturer has been testing and improving the LED mini light for nearly a decade. Other vendors offer an HWR (half-wave rectifier) but our new Pro-Grade™ LED mini light set has an FWR (full-wave rectifier) plus a resistor. What does that mean to you? It means a 50% increase in brightness with vibrant colors to match. These new LED Holiday lights are waterproof, crush resistant, UL approved in the US and Canada, rated at 50,000 hours and most importantly – attractively priced! New Pro-Grade™ LED mini lights are 120-volts, spaced on 4-inch centers with 50 lights on a 17-foot string. They use 2.4 watts per string and you can plug an amazing 35 strings together! They’re packaged for ease of use with no poly bag or tray to clean up. Take them out of the case, untie a wire binder, install and enjoy them for years! Packed 12 strings per inner pack – Priced per case of 12 strings

 

Nothing is mentioned about a reflector. But a resistor is mentioned. But then again, most LED light strands needs resistors to lower the voltage anyway. (again, I think it's just wording)

I did some searching on LED reflector and it's basically a reflector (like it says) to direct a beam of light.

 

I'm just going to add, most all vendors get their LEDs from China whether they be full wave or half wave. But some China suppliers have more robust/commercial products for the commercial community and others are cheaper made for the big box stores.

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Hey SH,

 

Thanks for the clarification. I agree with you on the China suppliers being a different quality for different end users. I saw CDI at the recent Christmas Expo but didn't look into them too much because it looked like they mostly cater to commercial and professional customers. They had two massive trees on display and a Season's Greetings sign about 15' high by about 30' long!

 

Thanks again!

Al

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