PeKu Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 I cant believe it just ran a few test sequences in preparation for this weekend and 3 of the 16 strands i just bought from Homedepot stopped working i know its the lights cause i just tested them!!! they worked for all of three miutes! :angry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frozentundra52 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Bring them back and ask to talk to the manager. I'm sure they'll do something about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigecooper Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 check out the 120 M5's ... 2x60 strings at big lots. Picked them up on sale for $10. All worked and work very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeKu Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 Bring them back and ask to talk to the manager. I'm sure they'll do something about.yeah their pretty good over there but its dissapointing cause its my spiral tree and ive spent so much time on it and even bought these ones because they have fuses and replacable bulbs. figured it would be perfect for fixing any outages on the spiral didnt expect to redo three strand..grrrrrrrr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffl Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 I always hookup LED's and run them for a few days in the house before using them outside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeKu Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 I always hookup LED's and run them for a few days in the house before using them outside.great idea Jeff i think ill adopt that rule moving forward Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orville Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Not sure if Home Depot is selling Martha Stewart LED's, 'cause if they were Martha Steward LED's: Those things are JUNK and even a FIRE HAZARD when attempting to DIM them! {According to some posts I've read}.Avoid those at any cost!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santas Helper Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 I've been using LED Icicles from Home Depot for 4 years and haven't had any problems. They are the "Home Accent" brand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LORisAwesome Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Not sure if Home Depot is selling Martha Stewart LED's, 'cause if they were Martha Steward LED's: Those things are JUNK and even a FIRE HAZARD when attempting to DIM them! {According to some posts I've read}.Avoid those at any cost!!!Home Depot is selling the Martha Stewart LED's again this year.Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viennaxmas Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Even the non Martha Stewart brand has issues. They are not rectified and they flicker so much, it drove me crazy. Luckily I tested them in store before buying... An I was only two strands short... Target had some pretty decent Phillips brand strings... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeKu Posted November 29, 2012 Author Share Posted November 29, 2012 The ones i have are the Home Accents. the strands that didnt have the issue seem to work fine fading properly so far...if you get them look in the middle some of them have a double bulb where theyve spliced it this seems to be the issue also the bulbs clip in make sure the little tabs pushed in i had one fall out luckily it was the first bulb and i found it quick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Fischer Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 I've been using LED Icicles from Home Depot for 4 years and haven't had any problems. They are the "Home Accent" brand.I also had to buy some HD icicles last year as an emergency replacement for the Sams Club ones I have (which are horrid quality - visible rust streaks on them the very first time it rained). I was skeptical of the quality when I unboxed them but so far they've held up pretty well. I pulled a few bulbs out this year during setup and not a spec of rust on the leads - and we had a rainy December last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffl Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 I would think "most" LED's purchased now should have "copper" leads unless they are old stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-Paul Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 When I hear that the string uses replaceable bulbs. I run far away from those strings. To the Op, did these strings happen to be outside and it has rained? Pull a few bulbs out and inspect the leads and the socket. Do you see any rust? Seems that many LEDs leads are mild steel with a molecule or two plating of nickel. Seems that the water still gets through and the attacks the steel of the leads. My advice, stay away from socketed lamps if LED. Note what others have found to not work. So, stay away from Martha Stewart and other brands or make. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeKu Posted November 29, 2012 Author Share Posted November 29, 2012 When I hear that the string uses replaceable bulbs. I run far away from those strings. To the Op, did these strings happen to be outside and it has rained? Pull a few bulbs out and inspect the leads and the socket. Do you see any rust? Seems that many LEDs leads are mild steel with a molecule or two plating of nickel. Seems that the water still gets through and the attacks the steel of the leads. My advice, stay away from socketed lamps if LED. Note what others have found to not work. So, stay away from Martha Stewart and other brands or make.these were all new strands and yes it had rained but the issue truly was where they spliced them at the factory..loose wires. your advice to note what others have found is excellent advice and up to that point i have read and followed others successes and failures here. unfortunatly due to some health issues i was forced into shopping close to home... so for now these will do for this year. the manager at HomeDepot agreed to allow a full refund on all 16 strands after the season if i had any further issues and even wrote it on the receipt.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Fischer Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 When I hear that the string uses replaceable bulbs. I run far away from those strings.Me too, but it would cost me about $1000 to replace all my icicles with sealed commercial-grade ones. If I'm putting $1000 toward one element of the display it's going to be something more exciting than icicles lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orville Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 (edited) Me too, but it would cost me about $1000 to replace all my icicles with sealed commercial-grade ones. If I'm putting $1000 toward one element of the display it's going to be something more exciting than icicles lolNot me, I WILL however run away from "sealed strands", the two I got to test and use, failed miserably. Got an Orange SEALED C6 set that now will barely light and was used outside in the rain and weather, when plugged in they will light brightly and then dim down to almost not being on. The second a sealed set of Warm Whites, many of the LED's in the strand have failed and burned out, leaving dark gaps, some areas 2-3 LED's no longer work and since they are sealed, not easily replaced as with replacable LED strands, of which I have been using for 5+ years now and have only had a small amount fail to rust, but that was because I neglected to coat the interior of those sockets with the compound used in automotive lamp sockets to prevent rusting out and seizures. I'll take replacable LED strands any day over sealed, mainly due to my own experience with both types and replacable LED's work just fine for me. My preference and what I will stick with. At least if an LED goes out, I put in a new one and keep my light strand fully lit, and I don't have to worry about huge dark gaps like sealed strands because I can't just pull out a bad LED from a socket and just replace it.So you can keep your sealed strands, I'll stick with what works for me, replacable LED strands. Edited November 30, 2012 by Orville Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeKu Posted November 30, 2012 Author Share Posted November 30, 2012 Not me, I WILL however run away from "sealed strands", the two I got to test and use, failed miserably. Got an Orange SEALED C6 set that now will barely light and was used outside in the rain and weather, when plugged in they will light brightly and then dim down to almost not being on. The second a sealed set of Warm Whites, many of the LED's in the strand have failed and burned out, leaving dark gaps, some areas 2-3 LED's no longer work and since they are sealed, not easily replaced as with replacable LED strands, of which I have been using for 5+ years now and have only had a small amount fail to rust, but that was because I neglected to coat the interior of those sockets with the compound used in automotive lamp sockets to prevent rusting out and seizures. I'll take replacable LED strands any day over sealed, mainly due to my own experience with both types and replacable LED's work just fine for me. My preference and what I will stick with. At least if an LED goes out, I put in a new one and keep my light strand fully lit, and I don't have to worry about huge dark gaps like sealed strands because I can't just pull out a bad LED from a socket and just replace it.So you can keep your sealed strands, I'll stick with what works for me, replacable LED strands.Orville are you refering to dielectric grease? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orville Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Orville are you refering to dielectric grease?I think that's the name of it. Don't have any here at the moment, so I'd have to get to my local automotive store to be 100% sure, but I'm almost certain that's what it is. I just know it's a NON Conductive grease you squirt in the socket and coat the LED Leads with Just know I've used this type non conductive grease on my LED strands and those that got it have never failed. And they've been outside for 9-10 months in the Florida heat and heavy rains and they're still going strong, no problems with them at all, most are 5 years old or even older. Some I think may be closer to 7 or 8 years old now.Stuff works really great if you can take, or have the time to inject it into all your LED replacable light strands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Fischer Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 I do not have the patience to put grease in hundreds of LED sockets. There's no way I will ever do that.If a sealed string fails, it's trivial to splice a new bulb in, and the LEDKeeper will tell you which one.But if you want to sell me all your sealed strings for dirt cheap - PM me lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts