Good riddance to mini incans

[FarrOut]

I doubt there will be many that shed a tear over their last string of incans going in the waste.

I am about 40% LED this year and hope to have a higher percentage next year.

 

I never knew there were so many different styles of bulb socket until I started trying to repair

old strings.

They are extremely fragile.  

If you get 4 years out of a string, you are using them at the risk of having dark spots in your

display the following year.

Feel free to add to the list.

[rjmcmasters]

I am trying also to wean off incandescent lights. I still repair them and also have the same socket issue you mentioned. One thing I did, was to keep the socket, but remove the bulb and insert a new working bulb into the old socket.  Works well. 

[MikeA]

I have great luck with my Phillips incans from Target.  I will continue to buy them 1/2 priced after Christmas until the government out laws them.

 

I also have LED's on my Mega tree and other structures that are hard to attach lights too but I have many arches, robin wheel, fire sticks...ect that use the sleeve method that I will continue to use incans.

[lowepg]

After struggling with the power consumption on my mini trees this year (4 100-strings of red, white and green on each), I figured Id look at converting them to LED next year.

 

That is, until I started doing the math on (12) 100-bulb strings x 15 trees!

 

Until the prices come down dramatically, the economics is still wildly favoring incans (at least for me)

[atver]

I started planning for next year, took advantage of the LED pre-sales and replacing 80% of my incandescent lights that are over 6 years old to reduce the electric bill.

[Ron Boyd]

After struggling with the power consumption on my mini trees this year (4 100-strings of red, white and green on each), I figured Id look at converting them to LED next year.

 

That is, until I started doing the math on (12) 100-bulb strings x 15 trees!

 

Until the prices come down dramatically, the economics is still wildly favoring incans (at least for me)

You will find, that you will not need as many LEDs as incans. My first year I had 2, 200 ct. incan strings on each mini. The following year, I pit 2, 70 ct. strings of LEDs on my minis. 140 M6 LEDs was just as bright, if not brighter than 400 incans. The only drawback was they didn't look as full.

[JeffF]

After struggling with the power consumption on my mini trees this year (4 100-strings of red, white and green on each), I figured Id look at converting them to LED next year.

 

That is, until I started doing the math on (12) 100-bulb strings x 15 trees!

 

Until the prices come down dramatically, the economics is still wildly favoring incans (at least for me)

This is still where I am at too. Our mega tree, mini mega tree, and three 10' trees will cost ~$1800 before shipping via pre-order sales this year. Whereas the 192 strands of incans via Lowes 5 to 7 years ago cost me $200-$300 at the most and we're still using 90% of those strands, with regular maintenance of course.

I really want to pull the trigger... but... but... but... I'm cheap!

[Don]

After struggling with the power consumption on my mini trees this year (4 100-strings of red, white and green on each), I figured Id look at converting them to LED next year.

 

That is, until I started doing the math on (12) 100-bulb strings x 15 trees!

 

Until the prices come down dramatically, the economics is still wildly favoring incans (at least for me)

 

Took me 4 years to get my display (mostly) converted to LEDs. It wasn't something that was going to happen the first year. If you do want to go LED, start small, and build from there. 

[lowepg]

I'm torn on my mini trees...

 

I know I could get away with less then 1200 incans lights on them if i switched to LED, but I also like the fullness of the 12 strings of lights....

 

straight-up swap to LED:

12 strings per tree, times 15 trees = 12*15*$13 = ~$2400 ($150 per tree!)

 

Also, since I like having them in 3 colors, Im actually thinking more along the lines of RBG mini trees rather than just replicating the existing design with LEDS.

I'm thinking I could do something for a lot less than $150/tree....

[jeffl]

Hate the work.  Love the consistent look.  I left my 96 strings of LED's in a tub this year just so everything would look consistent.  I have so many incans that it would cost me over 8K to switch.  I would love not having to fix the incans, runs less cords, worry less about the buzzing and the list goes on.

 

It's a love hate relationship.

[caffeine]

I had tens of thousands of incandescents this last year I only had a couple on some reindeers.

This year I started on rgb and next year is looking like full rgb so this week be the second transition/complete replacement in about eight years

[George Simmons]

We're up to about 90% LEDs.  I haven't bought a set of incans since 2008.  Couldn't be happier - pulling the lights out each year knowing the blues will still be as blue as the day they were new.

[dougd]

This season was my first year with no incandescent minis. I don't miss them at all. I have totes full of them still that I don't know what to with.

[MikeERWNC]

I have been using LEDs since I moved here.

My first sets of Blue icicles are getting tired and require a lot of attention, now at seven years old.

I have been slowly replacing my older stuff.

The windstorms here on the mountain top don't help with the light banging the side of the house.

 

The LEDs are prettier in my opinion.

[lleibeck]

We switched the house from incans to LED and gave the incans to the neighbors.  Looking at the houses side by side I have to admit, I miss the incans.  The LED's color pop and are bright but you do not get the warm glow of incans.  I held an informal survey of people who came by the house and majority like the house outlines in incans.  Now the mini mega trees and light towers are in LED's and they look great.  Thinking of switching the house back.

[bschwotzer]

This is my first year. I found an auction in May that was selling Christmas item and lights by the crate. I bought a standard crate 4'x4'x4'. They were "unsaleable items" some were broken and some were just fine never opened. There was some trash in the crate as well I just threw out. Spent a good part of the year going through light strands. All of them were GE lights. But I have about 5000 leds in my Christmas display and I spent $350. I still have a lot of light strands to go through. The only problem with this approach is that you can not control color or size, but there was enough for me to get what I wanted/ live with. The only incans I have are from my static display days that I like candy canes and blow molds. Check out auctions but remember "where is as is" at least in the state I live in