craigecooper Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 first year for me. wondering what precautions everyone takes to keep plugs / control boxes / etc.. dry. My box is waterproof but the vampire plugs look a little susceptible to moisture. My box is attached to the house and I was thinking about a shield of some type to "umbrella" the box and cords hanging beneath, at a minimum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wbottomley Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Your box is not waterproof. It's weatherproof. Big difference between the two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigecooper Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 good point. all the more reason to put a hood over it I guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wbottomley Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 good point. all the more reason to put a hood over it I guessI never have and never will. 8th year and going strong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evan.a Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Like alot of us, you wont like to run a show when it rain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lkcubsrule Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 My controllers sit on the ground, hundreds of connections get wet -- and you just roll with it. Water usually won't affect connections unless the water is sitting -- and if that's the case, you should have GFCI outlets or cancel your show. I personally wouldn't spend the time waterproofing connections.. it ends up holding water in and causing a larger problem. Like William said, your controllers are weatherproof, so they're perfectly fine in rain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-klb- Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Make an effort to keep your connections off the ground, and things will be better. I don't make any other efforts at water proofing other than 3 controllers with very high water load off a second floor eve, that is only 1 or 2 inches of setback..On those 3, I run a strip of duct tape across the top.. The other 60 are just mounted upright, and closed. Though this year, for the first time many will be lying down on the job.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surfing4Dough Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 ... but the vampire plugs look a little susceptible to moisture. Have you looked at the plugs on the outdoor Christmas lights we use? They don't look much less "susceptible" than vampire plugs, but seem to do just fine. Water in and of itself isn't the problem, but rather the tiny debris that it may carry (dirt, fertilizer, etc). Therefore keep connections off the ground where the water can puddle and "pick up" such debris and carry it into your connections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph D Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 everyone is right here there is no perfect way to keep everything dry. water always finds a way to get into anything you can design. Keeping your connections off a wet or snowy ground is the best thing you can do. I take ground stakes and mount my connections to the side or top of the steak. In the past I've taken small Ziploc bags and put them over the open plugs. For me I must admit that has helped in past years. I don't tie the bag off again I hang it from a ground steak and make sure the opening of the bag is of course pointing down I don't tape it shut, if you type any kind of a bag shut around a electrical wire or anything for that matter and leave it outside you're going to get condensation inside the bag anyway. So like I said, I found for me in particular I can't speak for anybody else, I personally like to stake my connections 4 too 6 inches above the ground, and then slide over a Ziploc bag so the opening of the bag is pointing towards the ground. Again everybody has their own methods and reasoning. Does this fix it all no. You have to find out what works best for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Hans Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 My show runs rain, snow, windy, clear and can't remember the last time I had a GFCI blow. My controllers are all outside just in the plastic cases they came in. I never have a plug laying on the ground, always lift it up off the ground using a stake etc. I also always try to keep the female end of plugs pointing down so water drains. As others have said, tape and plastic will just keep water in! Do all that, plug the stuff in and let the lights flash..... don't worry about the weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dknahoolewa Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 My show runs rain, snow, windy, clear and can't remember the last time I had a GFCI blow. My controllers are all outside just in the plastic cases they came in. I never have a plug laying on the ground, always lift it up off the ground using a stake etc. I also always try to keep the female end of plugs pointing down so water drains. As others have said, tape and plastic will just keep water in! Do all that, plug the stuff in and let the lights flash..... don't worry about the weather.Lucky for us. Texas doesn't see much more than ice and rain which never stay very long. Mine too runs no matter what. The wind has tried to blow my 28' suspended mega tree down but does nothing more than twist a few strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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