paralegalnc Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 anyone know where i can find the male and female plugs locally? HD has the males but not females. I think I will need more. I can order them online but I could use them tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paralegalnc Posted October 21, 2012 Author Share Posted October 21, 2012 Do you want SPT 1 or 2?I have spt1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paralegalnc Posted October 21, 2012 Author Share Posted October 21, 2012 I'm in NC.... Didn't know if Lowes might have them. didn't get a chance to look there today. Or if I should check with like Ace Hardware or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wbottomley Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 I'm in NC.... Didn't know if Lowes might have them. didn't get a chance to look there today. Or if I should check with like Ace Hardware or something.I doubt you'll find them in any store. They're mostly online. How many do you need? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C. Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 (edited) I ordered both male and female (spt-1 100each) online last week from HD. $45.98+ taxes w/free shipping. I went to my local HD (Eastvale CA) and they didn't have them in stock.http://m.homedepot.com/s/vampire%20plugs/ Edited October 21, 2012 by Mike C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paralegalnc Posted October 21, 2012 Author Share Posted October 21, 2012 well I'll check with Ace today. if not, I guess I will be placing an order tomorrow for my needs. Which will be ok. Starting the set up process today so I will know exactly what my needs are. This way I won't get tooo many cuz then I'll lose them by next year and I'll get what I need and won't be short. I guess I should have ordered more but the week I ordered the wire and plugs.... I was over on my budget...got what I could afford that week ya know. I have my plan all laid out where the lights go but didn't want to make the cords just in case when it got all up I changed it. I'm sure people understand that. Plus I have a little OCD so I have to make sure it looks right... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loutampa Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Hi ThereI was in the same situation and looked around Ebay and found a great deal.These people sell plugs and female sockets for $1 each inc shipping.Here is their Ebay listing for plugs.http://www.ebay.com/itm/40-MALE-electrical-plugs-15-amp-wholesale-electric-125V-3-prong-new-wholesale-/350506485811?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item519bd08833Now I only used plugs, no sockets as they can be plugged in at the end of the light string, then seal up the plug for waterproofing.I also purchased Thermostat wire from Home Depot Website. $100 for 250ft. Cheapest around.I needed quite a few circuits so I purchased 8 conductor 18 gauge and ran all the wires from the controller and fitted plugseither end.Works great.Hope this helps.Lou Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wbottomley Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Hi ThereI was in the same situation and looked around Ebay and found a great deal.These people sell plugs and female sockets for $1 each inc shipping.Here is their Ebay listing for plugs.http://www.ebay.com/...=item519bd08833Now I only used plugs, no sockets as they can be plugged in at the end of the light string, then seal up the plug for waterproofing.I also purchased Thermostat wire from Home Depot Website. $100 for 250ft. Cheapest around.I needed quite a few circuits so I purchased 8 conductor 18 gauge and ran all the wires from the controller and fitted plugseither end.Works great.Hope this helps.Lou$1 each! What a ripoff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loutampa Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 Well, I probably did get ripped as I could not find the plugs cheaper anywhere.So I thought Ebay at $1 each was good.There are nice plugs though, nice and Yellow...Oh well... can I ask where you got the 38 & 40 cent prices from ?By the way, I forgot to mention that if you use THERMOSTAT WIRE,Better make sure you only use this for very light load circuits.Like LED lights or such...TaLou Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reitan_family Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 $5.93 a 12 pack. Action is only two days ups from me...http://www.actionlighting.com/spt-1-spt-2-vampire-zip-cord-receptacle-green-pack-12-plugs-100sptplug/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wbottomley Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 (edited) Well, I probably did get ripped as I could not find the plugs cheaper anywhere.So I thought Ebay at $1 each was good.There are nice plugs though, nice and Yellow...Oh well... can I ask where you got the 38 & 40 cent prices from ?By the way, I forgot to mention that if you use THERMOSTAT WIRE,Better make sure you only use this for very light load circuits.Like LED lights or such...TaLouSearch for those threads with places to buy cheap plugs. Many have been posted recently. 2) thermostat wire might not be rated for 120VAC. You better check the wire rating before using it. I see a deadly situation being set up in that scenario. Edited November 1, 2012 by wbottomley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avsphan Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 Stat wire is generally not insulated well enough for 120...have to agree, possible bad situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubado Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 Stat wire is generally not insulated well enough for 120...have to agree, possible bad situation.I also strongly agree, the insulation is not thick enough or strong enough. Could also create bizaar behavior with your controller, maybe not at first... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shfr26 Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 I agree also, bad idea using thermostat wire. If you use it make sure you know the number for the local fire department or 911. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCas4380 Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 Hi ThereI was in the same situation and looked around Ebay and found a great deal.These people sell plugs and female sockets for $1 each inc shipping.Here is their Ebay listing for plugs.http://www.ebay.com/...=item519bd08833Now I only used plugs, no sockets as they can be plugged in at the end of the light string, then seal up the plug for waterproofing.I also purchased Thermostat wire from Home Depot Website. $100 for 250ft. Cheapest around.I needed quite a few circuits so I purchased 8 conductor 18 gauge and ran all the wires from the controller and fitted plugseither end.Works great.Hope this helps.LouLast time I Check you can pick up 250' of SPT1 or Lamp cord at Menards for around $33 it think it would work better for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KStatefan Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 Search for those threads with places to buy cheap plugs. Many have been posted recently. 2) thermostat wire might not be rated for 120VAC. You better check the wire rating before using it. I see a deadly situation being set up in that scenario.It might be rated for the voltage but it is only rated for a class 2 power supply which if i remember is 100 watts max. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loutampa Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 Hey GuysThanx for concerns on using Thermostat wire.I know it sounds a little dangerous to use but I'm OK with it.Here is a snippet from the NEC Code on clasification of Stat wire.Temperature Rating -20OC to 60OCOperating Voltage 150V Voltage Rating Per National Electric Code Article 725I am using it only on the leaping arches and have 50 x LED on each pair of wires.the rating on that is so low that there will be no power, in fact a 50 light LED setdraws 4.8watts and only 0.04amps.So, no problem with voltage, no problem with heat, no problem with load.I think it will be OK, but I promise to let you know if it isn't,hopefully to have another bit of advice on here.Again, seriously, thanx for the concerns...Lou Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paralegalnc Posted November 2, 2012 Author Share Posted November 2, 2012 I don't know much about wire so I listen to my buddy wbottomley up there. He's a veteran and hasn't led me astray (yet) just got my second round of wire in (www.christmaslightshow.com) and it's half gone. that's 1500 feet so far. But I think we will have enough. Just have to set up the spots, a couple trees, a sign and figure out the pathway edging thing and then we are done! then tweaking. Got the newspaper people coming on Monday so... I can't believe its November already. Sure did seem like i had alot of time when I started back in June. Thought for sure I'd be done and just sitting around waiting. wrong! This stupid job thing I have to go to every day sure does take up alot of my christmas light time!! lol. My boss is actually making me work too. Doesn't he know I have lights to get done. Up to 17,389 so far. gunna be more after this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Boyd Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 This stupid job thing I have to go to every day sure does take up alot of my christmas light time!! lol. My boss is actually making me work too. Doesn't he know I have lights to get done. Up to 17,389 so far. gunna be more after this weekend.Yeah, get this, we started a building ventilation outage and it lasts until the 21st. Go figure. Now everything has to happen in the evenings after dark and then after church o Sundays. It'll get done though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-Paul Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 loutampa,Is the jacket of that cable UV rated? Will the jacket for the cable and the individual wires going to crack in the cold? Ok, in your case it might not get that cold. But I am going to leave this question in here for those of us who live a wee bit further up north. There are just so many things that need to be looked at. Gage is big enough for the current needs. Jacket voltage rating. If it is going to be used outside, will it be able to survive the elements such as sun, rain and cold. Nothing like cracking jacket on the individual wires.Just remember, we have a lot of people come on here that have never done any electrical wiring and or planning out the load on a branch circuit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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