H3RRS Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 Hello All, I would like to have a 15-20 Ft. tree, with a winch/crank system, where I can just crank it up, with lights already attached. Do any of you do it this way? Are there any good articles/tutorials on how to construct one? I truly appreciate all of your feedback! Thank you! -H3RRS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santas Helper Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 (edited) Google "mega tree crank" and you'll get all kinds of helpful video. https://www.google.com/search?q=mega+tree+crank&oq=mega+tree+crank&aqs=chrome..69i57.6519j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 Edited October 17, 2017 by Santas Helper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kapkirk Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 Yes I Use 2 boat winch cranks from Harbor Freight. I use a 3G lighting mega tree kit I used last year, this year I added 2 additional colors and now with 3 strands of lights it would have been too heavy to hand pull up, so I added the winch cranks. Last year my buddy and I had all we wanted with one color so knew we would not be able to put up the three strands. Not sure what what 135 strands weigh but we are looking forward to hand cranking this year. I think the hand crank winch's cost like $22 a piece, money well spent. I am using 2. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Arch Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 11 hours ago, H3RRS said: Hello All, I would like to have a 15-20 Ft. tree, with a winch/crank system, where I can just crank it up, with lights already attached. Do any of you do it this way? Are there any good articles/tutorials on how to construct one? I truly appreciate all of your feedback! Thank you! -H3RRS I use a combination of parts from 3G and Christmas Light Show: https://www.christmaslightshow.com/20-mega-tree-kit-for-outdoor-decorations-1.html http://store.3glightingcreations.com/mega-tree-parts/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericm Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 http://www.magicchristmas.org/how-tos.html the monkhouse's have some great step by step tutorials for building a mega tree with a crank. I was going to make one this year but ran out of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H3RRS Posted October 20, 2017 Author Share Posted October 20, 2017 (edited) On 10/17/2017 at 10:58 PM, Mega Arch said: I use a combination of parts from 3G and Christmas Light Show: https://www.christmaslightshow.com/20-mega-tree-kit-for-outdoor-decorations-1.html http://store.3glightingcreations.com/mega-tree-parts/ How many strings are on your mega tree and how many channels does it use? BTW: Love your arhces! I'm looking into LED arches, not pixels. What piping are you using? Edited October 20, 2017 by H3RRS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Arch Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 Mega tree is 69 strands and 69 ac channels. 16 super-strands of red, white and blue & green. 3 channels star. 2 strands for strobes. Didn't look quite full enough - so adding 16 more each color this year. Arches are 1"PVC schedule 40 wrapped with 8 strands pure white LED - 8 channels per. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeysNole Posted October 22, 2017 Share Posted October 22, 2017 I used the christmas lights show parts to make ours. 20' the first year, up to 25' this year. Might try 30. Always makes me nervous as heck, but it never shifts. 48 strands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H3RRS Posted October 25, 2017 Author Share Posted October 25, 2017 (edited) On 10/17/2017 at 10:58 PM, Mega Arch said: I use a combination of parts from 3G and Christmas Light Show: https://www.christmaslightshow.com/20-mega-tree-kit-for-outdoor-decorations-1.html http://store.3glightingcreations.com/mega-tree-parts/ Did you make your candy cane circles? I don't know what you call them. They're very neat! If you can be so kind and explain how you build the stand and put them together! Edited October 25, 2017 by H3RRS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Arch Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 2 hours ago, H3RRS said: Did you make your candy cane circles? I don't know what you call them. They're very neat! If you can be so kind and explain how you build the stand and put them together! Thanks. Really easy build and many of us call them Candy Cane Spinners. Had pretty cool pics posted until Photobucket got full of themselves. Also easy to post pics through Tapatalk. But LOR's last upgrade jacked that option too. Mounted one end of an empty plastic electrical wire spool onto a Home Depot fence post. Zip tied 12 cheapo Walmart $1 candy canes to the spool. Uses 12 channels of an a/c LOR controller. Easy peasy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_b Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 On 10/17/2017 at 12:56 PM, Kapkirk said: Yes I Use 2 boat winch cranks from Harbor Freight. I use a 3G lighting mega tree kit I used last year, this year I added 2 additional colors and now with 3 strands of lights it would have been too heavy to hand pull up, so I added the winch cranks. Last year my buddy and I had all we wanted with one color so knew we would not be able to put up the three strands. Not sure what what 135 strands weigh but we are looking forward to hand cranking this year. I think the hand crank winch's cost like $22 a piece, money well spent. I am using 2. Keith I pretty much did the same thing, only I use 1 winch, but 2 cables to pull it up. 51 superstrands of Red, Green , and White, making a total of 153 strands of lights. I grouped 3 strands of each color together and mirrored it on the other side making 6 strands per channel, 8 channels per color. Believe it or not it doesn't take much effort to crank it up. You just have to make sure the Hook Head is going up straight and not angled or it digs into the pole. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5i2F72IyBY I got the pole from a local metal shop. It's 1-1/4" and 22' long, (3' in the ground, 19" above) http://www.metalmart.biz/ I got the Pulley Topper from Christmas Light Show https://www.christmaslightshow.com/mega-tree-pulley-head.html?category_id=44 And the Hook Head from 3G http://store.3glightingcreations.com/mega-tree-hook-head-threaded-24-peg/ I got the aviation cable (guy wires) and hardware from Lowes or Home Depot. To anchor the guy wires to the ground I use tie out stakes https://www.lowes.com/pd/Covert-Tie-Out-Stake/999909353 We've had some pretty good winds and haven't had any problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H3RRS Posted October 31, 2017 Author Share Posted October 31, 2017 (edited) On 10/26/2017 at 7:14 PM, Little_b said: I pretty much did the same thing, only I use 1 winch, but 2 cables to pull it up. 51 superstrands of Red, Green , and White, making a total of 153 strands of lights. I grouped 3 strands of each color together and mirrored it on the other side making 6 strands per channel, 8 channels per color. Believe it or not it doesn't take much effort to crank it up. You just have to make sure the Hook Head is going up straight and not angled or it digs into the pole. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5i2F72IyBY I got the pole from a local metal shop. It's 1-1/4" and 22' long, (3' in the ground, 19" above) http://www.metalmart.biz/ I got the Pulley Topper from Christmas Light Show https://www.christmaslightshow.com/mega-tree-pulley-head.html?category_id=44 And the Hook Head from 3G http://store.3glightingcreations.com/mega-tree-hook-head-threaded-24-peg/ I got the aviation cable (guy wires) and hardware from Lowes or Home Depot. To anchor the guy wires to the ground I use tie out stakes https://www.lowes.com/pd/Covert-Tie-Out-Stake/999909353 We've had some pretty good winds and haven't had any problems. My only issue at the moment is finding the correct pipe, and ensuring it's threaded. (To screw the pipe together and screw the pully head on top.) Can you lend me a hand and tell me exactly what pipe to get from Lowes or Home Depot ? Not the best when it comes this, my apologies. Kind Regards, -H3RRS Edited October 31, 2017 by H3RRS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H3RRS Posted October 31, 2017 Author Share Posted October 31, 2017 Hi All, I just wanted to say thank you to all who contributed to this post, explaining how you build your mega tree. As I stated earlier, my first show will be the 2018 season, but I am trying to get all of my information together now. I am happy to say with all of your feedback, I have chosen a design for my mega tree. I will be using 2 10' 1 1/4 threaded steel poles to make my 20' tree. I will then be using the pulley head, winch system, and hook head from ChristmasLightShow and using PVC piping for the base. Again, thank you very much for all of your help and assistance! Truly, -H3RRS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caniac Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 On 10/25/2017 at 7:47 PM, Mega Arch said: Thanks. Really easy build and many of us call them Candy Cane Spinners. Had pretty cool pics posted until Photobucket got full of themselves. Also easy to post pics through Tapatalk. But LOR's last upgrade jacked that option too. Mounted one end of an empty plastic electrical wire spool onto a Home Depot fence post. Zip tied 12 cheapo Walmart $1 candy canes to the spool. Uses 12 channels of an a/c LOR controller. Easy peasy. not that easy, gave my wife and I quiet a workout getting them straight. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caniac Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 11 hours ago, H3RRS said: My only issue at the moment is finding the correct pipe, and ensuring it's threaded. (To screw the pipe together and screw the pully head on top.) Can you lend me a hand and tell me exactly what pipe to get from Lowes or Home Depot ? Not the best when it comes this, my apologies. Kind Regards, -H3RRS I use 1-1/4 galvanized pipe and you want to buy a pole pin to connect them, tried using a coupler and screwing them together - too much wabble. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DisneyMatt10 Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 We have a boat winch on ours, and it is VERY handy. However, since we do a spiral mega tree... It's a bit of a pain because we have to winch it up... spiral lights... winch it up... spiral lights... repeat. However, I do suggest getting a winch. It makes life a LOT easier. As far as the center pole is concerned, we use a 2 inch black galvanized pipe from Lowes. The great thing about buying from them is they will cut it, and re-thread it in store for you! We then just use a coupling to keep the two segments together! Thankfully that's one of the only things we haven't had any issues with in the light show! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H3RRS Posted October 31, 2017 Author Share Posted October 31, 2017 1 hour ago, DisneyMatt10 said: We have a boat winch on ours, and it is VERY handy. However, since we do a spiral mega tree... It's a bit of a pain because we have to winch it up... spiral lights... winch it up... spiral lights... repeat. However, I do suggest getting a winch. It makes life a LOT easier. As far as the center pole is concerned, we use a 2 inch black galvanized pipe from Lowes. The great thing about buying from them is they will cut it, and re-thread it in store for you! We then just use a coupling to keep the two segments together! Thankfully that's one of the only things we haven't had any issues with in the light show! I just bought 2 10' 1 1/4 sections of pipe and I will also be using a coupling to attach both of them. I will be using guy wire on top and in the middle. Thanks for your reply! -H3RRS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caniac Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 5 minutes ago, H3RRS said: I just bought 2 10' 1 1/4 sections of pipe and I will also be using a coupling to attach both of them. I will be using guy wire on top and in the middle. Thanks for your reply! -H3RRS this is what I use and you don't need the midsection guide wire:http://www.christmaslightshow.com/pole-pin-8-for-mega-tree.html?category_id=30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caniac Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 I have two mega trees and use this on both, withstands 40mph winds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H3RRS Posted October 31, 2017 Author Share Posted October 31, 2017 (edited) 30 minutes ago, caniac said: this is what I use and you don't need the midsection guide wire:http://www.christmaslightshow.com/pole-pin-8-for-mega-tree.html?category_id=30 This looks great, and looks like it will withstand the winter weather I get here. How does the pin work? Is it a sleeve? Do I need to drill a hole in the pipe? All information will be truly appreciated! Thank you and Kind Regards, -H3RRS Edited October 31, 2017 by H3RRS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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