Jump to content
Light-O-Rama Forums

storing icicle lights in hanging position year round?


evandewindt

Recommended Posts

I just purchased $400 worth of LED icicle lights this week at costco and im concerned with how id like to store them year round.

In the past i always have done my best to keep my icicle lights from becoming tangled during storage however i usually have to replace at least few strands of incandescent icicle lights each year just because the get tangled and stop working because i don't have patience lol.

after spending what seems to me, a ridiculous amount of cash on new LED icicle lights I've decided id like to hang them all from 1/2" PVC pipe attached the the eves of my house and then hang the 10 foot PVC sections on my garage wall during the off season. is this a bad idea? i feel that gravity will be working against me and the stress/weight from the molded plastic icicles on the wire over time may cause them to stop working?

do you guys think im paranoid and that ill still probably be better off then having a tangled box of icicle lights each year?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a lot of icicle lights for many years. I stored them in boxes by putting a layer of newspaper between each strand. They never got tangled, yet could be stored compactly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I use a lot of icicles and store them by wrapping the top strand on a cord wrapper and then hanging the bundles in my ceiling space. Works well, NO tangles.

Attached files 259990=14401-Icicle lights storage-P1040

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I also use the cord hangers...but I just wrap them around it...not as neat as Geoffs though!!! LOL

Will definatley have to try his method this year. :D

Though his icicle lights look a bit different from ours...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I cable tie the ends together and hang them in my crawlspace from bike hooks (one on each end and one in the middle). Then the wife and I just have to pull them out and seperate the strands. Nothing fancy, but keeps them from becoming a tangled mess.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I usually store mine in tubs as well, separated by cardboard dividers. One thing I did do the summer before I used the lights was to hang them up in the attic to "unbend". You may want to hang them up at first just to let them unbend so when you hang them, they're not all scrunched up at the top when you install them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

HiTechLights wrote:

You should check out http://holidaystoragesolutions.com/ they were a vendor at Christmas Expo this year and got alot of great feedback on the product. I highly recommend it.


I second this suggestion. I picked up some at the expo and used them to re-store my icicle lights. Shold be much easier to put them up this year.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

jimswinder wrote:



Though his icicle lights look a bit different from ours...




My lights are all low voltage so the insulation on the wires is probably thinner. Also, in the first picture, some of the icicle bundles were made from strings by cable tying these in up/down loops because I was unable to find the wanted icicle colours in Australia.

The attached photo includes several types of commercial icicle strings including LEDs & minis. The ends of my arches are also shown. Note that I wrapped my arches with LED lights at 50mm (2") spacing so they did not bunch along the arch, but interspersed the lights with white nylon rope to give an even wrap and reduce the total number of lights required.

Attached files 260165=14415-Icicle light storage 2-P104
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Don Gillespie

I throw mine in a box then in Sept, I pull out the box and start untangling them, it gets me out of the house and into the fresh air, nothing beats working on your lights and having everyone that walks by say man you got a mess there :P

Actually I am going to be storing my icecle lights on 2x2s in my garage, not like Geoff did, but by hanging them on 2x2s I have hung in the garage, its nice to have the extra room I may change my mind though, my thinking is hang them from now till set up that way they have the chance to straighten themselves out, after the take down I may try Geoff's idea but I still like the idea of letting them hang in the warm weather to striaghten them out, if you didn't notice Geoff lives down south so when he hangs his icecle lights they straighten out with the heat, here in canada they like to curl up into a ball and they look horrible, also this could be the longest post I have ever written I am more of a one liner type of a guy.:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Geoff Harvey wrote:

I use a lot of icicles and store them by wrapping the top strand on a cord wrapper and then hanging the bundles in my ceiling space. Works well, NO tangles.



i like that idea..ill go out and get one and see how it works.

I actually may not even have issues with my lights tangling this time around due to the style of icicle lights i purchased.

here is a pic of them hanging off some PVC in the garage. the actual lights have a molded clear plastic icicle around them

299264_10150282842186513_505321512_8201440_7294257_n.jpg

thanks for all the ideas guys
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...