adamj12b Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Hello Everyone,I was hoping some body could point me in the direction of affordable LED strings. Mainly Red and Green in color.I need to try and lower my surge power consumption as my 17k light display was making the neighborhoods lights blink.Thanks.-Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LORisAwesome Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 I went with some cheap LED lights a couple of years ago, now I'm paying the price. (See the thread I started titled "Seriousr Frustation with LED strings". ) in the General Decorating forum.I would recommend staying away from the cheap stuff and going with CDI for your LED lights. They are more expensive, but they are full wave, and CDI stands behind what they sell. They also provide great customer service.Out of 32 of the cheap blue strings, 10 are bad. That is almost a 33% failure rate. With that in mind, the CDI strings may not be that expensive.My .02 worth.Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imawlkr2 Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 I agree^^^^^I bought some cheap LEDs last year and had 4 strands out of the 16 go bad. Saving to get new ones from CDI now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericnagel Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 I have lots of LEDs fromhttp://holiday-decorations.americansale.com/search?w=LEDand no problems with them. I think they have good prices Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LORi P Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 ericnagel wrote:I have lots of LEDs fromhttp://holiday-decorations.americansale.com/search?w=LEDand no problems with them. I think they have good pricesI hope you don't mind a few questions... How many years have you used any of these strings out doors? I see you joined the LOR forum in 2009. So were any of your strings used both in 2009 and 2010? Have any of the strings from American Sale been used more than 2 years outdoors?Thanks for any info you can provide.LORi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LORi P Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 imawlkr2 wrote:I agree^^^^^I bought some cheap LEDs last year and had 4 strands out of the 16 go bad. Saving to get new ones from CDI now.What brand(s) did you use and/or where did you buy them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LORi P Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Double post, sorry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imawlkr2 Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 I don't remember the brand, but I bought them at Menards last year. Since I don't have the money to buy enough to replace all the strands on my mega tree with CDI LEDs, I am going to buy some more of these cheap ones for this year, with a few extras for spares. Mega tree looks bad when a couople sections go out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamj12b Posted September 12, 2011 Author Share Posted September 12, 2011 So it seems CDI are the best. I have been doing some google'ing but im not positive what CDI stands for. Could somebody share a link to one?-Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaceMedic Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Creative Displays .... http://www.creativedisplays.com/DaveP.S. 99% of my lights are from them with no problems Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaceMedic Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Creative Displays .... http://www.creativedisplays.com/DaveP.S. 99% of my lights are from them with no problems Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaceMedic Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Creative Displays .... http://www.creativedisplays.com/Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamj12b Posted September 12, 2011 Author Share Posted September 12, 2011 Thanks for the link.Those wernt the ones I was looking at. The prices are about the same though.I only have a $900 budget this year and need to get 3 more CBT16K diy kits, so I dont think I will be able to upgrade as much stuff LED as I had hoped.Looks like I will go back to fighting with the power company for the dedicated transformer.-Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Showalter Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Just an FYI on Creative Displays, Inc. I received an E-mail today letting me know that for the next few weeks they will be featuring an item that is either over stocked or discontinued at substantial savings. If you are not already on their mailing list but are interested in receiving notices for this and other sales visit their website or contact Paul Sessel. Paul is a forum user and will respond to your PMs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wbottomley Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 adamj12b wrote:Looks like I will go back to fighting with the power company for the dedicated transformer.-AdamWhat?I run 150K lights off of a 200 amp service with multiple homes attached to the transformer including the building where the display resides.Plus... 3/4 of my display is on a sub-panel that's 50 amps @ 240VAC.With the amount of lights you have, I could run them on a very small circuit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamj12b Posted September 12, 2011 Author Share Posted September 12, 2011 wbottomley wrote:adamj12b wrote:Looks like I will go back to fighting with the power company for the dedicated transformer.-AdamWhat?I run 150K lights off of a 200 amp service with multiple homes attached to the transformer including the building where the display resides.Plus... 3/4 of my display is on a sub-panel that's 50 amps @ 240VAC.With the amount of lights you have, I could run them on a very small circuit.Currently the transformer for my house is 3 poles up. There is a total 8 houses on the transformer that is on smaller size. I can very effectively make the lights in everybody's house in the neighborhood blink in time to the music.-Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wbottomley Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 I wouldn't worry about it. That's not your problem. It's the power company.One way to get a new one is blow the existing one up with more lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubado Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 I agree, If your lights are affecting the neighbors, there's a lot bigger issue going on that you and your neighbors should be complaining about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rikerz Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Anyone have any sales on Orange 5mm LEDS? Just asking but isnt $18 per set for orange LEDs kinda high (Paul)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamj12b Posted September 12, 2011 Author Share Posted September 12, 2011 I know its the power companies problem, the issue is getting them to do something about it. Last year I ran 48 channels and 17,600 lights. When everything was on, It would pull a total of 70.24 amps and was balanced to 3.64% between phases.The neighbor's love the lights, even the neighbor kids love to help set everything up.Last year, one neighbor said something that really set me in gear to get the blinking fixed. He likes the lights, and can "deal" with the blinking inside his house as they are only on for a month. I do still feel bad and dont want to upset them.I went for a walk tonight and got house numbers and pole numbers and counted 10 housed over 6 poles (about 1/2 mile) all on 1 transformer. My house being the oldest in the neighborhood and 3 poles away from the transformer.I was thinking of putting together some kind of petition for all 10 neighbors to sign and send to the power company to try and move things along. Has anybody tried anything like this before?-Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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