Whats the best way to store lights

[millersound1]

So after christams I bought 12,000 LED Minis those plus my incans bring my total to 23,000,

While it isnt a problem this year it will be next year. I am curretly storing the lights on those reels in a bag but that doesnt seem like the best method out there. I know i have ssen on some other threads people roll them in a ball and store them. Just wanted to see what other peoiple do about storing their lights?

[Mega Arch]

http://forums.lightorama.com/index.php?/topic/34932-lowes-has-these-nice-totes-on-sale/#entry320144

Use these totes that Santas Helper found.

Unplug from female end and just coil them into the tote. I put cardboard between sections with marking with a sharpie what is next.

Works great.

Edited January 7, 2015 by Mega Arch

[Jim Hans]

I roll them into a ball, plug end out, and put into totes.

[Grinch]

Yep  I roll mine into balls also with the male end out so that you can plug it in and test the lights as you unroll.

[George Simmons]

Rolling into balls is the best way I've found to store mini-light type strings.  Roll them fairly tight and there will be no kinks or twists when you unroll them.

 

Note: This method works ideally with sealed-bulb LEDs.  Removable bulb light sets, either LED or incandescent, might not fare as well and there could be instances of the dreaded bulb-loosening syndrome, causing you to make ugly faces and utter unprintable words after unrolling.

[1983ss454]

I never realized that people stored lights in other ways then rolling them up. My dad showed me that when I was a little kid and I have always done it that way. The only things I stored differently are rope light and icicle lights, those I coil up light you would a large extension cord or garden hose, then zip tie them and hang them in the ceiling in the cellar.

[oilmoney]

Since I've started this hobby I've had the mindset that every prop I build should be designed to store with the lights still mounted for ease of installation and removal. My only exception to this so far is 15 C7 strings that get stored on spools, my strobes, and 12 strings of C6's that go in my windows. It only took me less than 2 hours and I had over 20000 lights removed and put away!

[MCas4380]

Yarn ball here as well.

[jstorms]

I put mine in plastic bags. 1 string per bag. Bags go in plastic totes.

[khawes]

Yarn ball, tossed into a plastic bin.   Sure there is wasted space, but by the time you get 35 100ct strings in in a bin it's heavy enough.

[testraub]

I yarn ball them too, but I found I can get 16 strings in a home depot 5 gallon bucket. 

 

Tom Straub

[Old Sarge]

I make balls out of mine also... Mostly those are the eves of my house etc. a lot are rope lights which I just roll into a coil like a ext. cord.

 

for my  singing faces I am in the process of making I use 2 X 4 frame on the back 2 X 2 frame around the front. the lights are protected and I can lay them flat and stack them without mashing the lights or I add hook hangers on the top of them and can just hang them up on the wall or ceiling.

 

It also allows me to plug them in for testing easier or for checking to see how my seq are looking just by connecting a couple controllers to them. 

 

my mini trees are just covered with a super large heavy duty plastic trash bag, one stacked on the other covered again and stacked for storage... I put 4 trees in a stack for 2 stacks for 8 4 ft tall mini trees

 

My mega tree lights are rolled  into coffee cans with lids for storage and when i want to test the plug end is available.. also allows me to connect them from the can and lower the can down when installing them helps keep them from getting tangled with others when installing them. 

 Of course My tree is not so tall I cant reach the top with my ling ladder.. 15 ft. and I put on one spiral string at a time instead of like some and try to do them all at the same time.... 

[indi]

I fold sections of newspaper and wrap around the folded newspaper with the male plug out, then stack them into a roll around plastic garbage can. The type that many cities use for garbage pickup. It's about 30"x30"x48", something like that. I have two of them. Can be a pain to roll up the hill to my storage building.

[indi]

Those are for my sealed LEDs. I use a plastic foot locker for my pixels. and just lay them in a kinda loose loop. Very loose.

[Wayne K]

I hold the male end in my palm and hold my thumb out facing my shoulder and make my elbow about 90 degrees and then I start wrapping down around my elbow and then back up around my thumb and do this until all wrapped up. I then slide it off my thumb and elbow and wrap what was the top and bottom with a precut length of electrical tape. I do this with all of my strings 100s, 70s, 50s, 35s. I end up with about a 12" diameter string of lights. I don't know the count but a tote holds a lot of these wrapped this way. When I untape them I know to grab the female end and they unwind just fine. I have done it this way for at least 25 years.

 

 

Wayne

Edited May 10, 2015 by Wayne K