Building a RGB megatree with EMT conduit

[BobinFL]

Building a 4 meter tall RGB tree this year that will have 16 strands of flex RGB’s on ½ inch EMT conduit.  I was wondering how to paint the tubing, but I knew painting galvanized metal was a real problem. (chipping etc.)  The current issue of Planet Christmas magazine arrived and I read the article by Scott Farkus on building a RGB tree.  He used 3/4” shrink tubing.  Great idea, but when I priced it out it was running $1.00+/foot!  Contacted Chuck Smith and he provided me with link to an EBay source:  http://www.ebay.com/itm/170779739455?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Much more reasonable..$33.00/100 feet.

Now a trick I learned…the shrink tubing is flat and a pretty snug fit over the EMT and trying to slide 10 ft. of tubing was going to be impossible.   What I did was cut the shrink tubing into 5 ft. lengths and then pinch one end open, and with a small funnel, shake some baby powder into the tubing.  Then holding the tubing vertical, pinch and slide your fingers down the tubing to distribute the baby powder along the inside of the tubing.

Using the baby powder as a lubricant worked wonders. 

 

Bob

 

[Dave H1]

Bob,

 

Don't stop with the shrink tube, give us more info on your build,  Start the photo documentation.  Sounds like it's going to be a "180" tree

[Ralph A]

Not happy with PVC, rope or wood.  I too built my 13 foot Mega tree out of 1/2 inch EMT this last year. A CCB tree with six units, 12 CCB strings up and back down. I ended up using black electrical tape to secure the CCB's to the EMT.  I wanted all the bulbs to be in  exact alinement with each other  around the circumference of the tree. (Or as close as I could get it).  After I made the first pole I used it as a pattern for the rest of the EMT poles.  It did take some time.  The hardest part, believe it or not, was the spacing of the bulbs in not exact from bulb to bulb. So along the way I had to make small adjustments.  Now, setting up the tree from here on out will be very fast. As long as the tape holds up anyway.  

[etherealone]

I built one using 30 RGB ribbons last year using the Monkhouse "packing/straping strips" method.  I also used their JUMPole design with an EMT base along which the ribbons are anchored...this allows for dynamic leveling even on uneven ground and easy crank up and down installation...

 

For picts of us building the pole, mounting the ribbons, even programming as well as picts and vids, you can check out our FB page: https://www.facebook.com/doddfamilyholidays.  

 

For a snippet of how it looks in action, this was taken by a visitor just using their phone:  (love the last 10 secs...I used those "shooting star effects a ton throughout my show)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRHrpy2dwtw

 

 

P.S.  I gotta warn everyone though...these RGB mega trees are crowd favs but they can overwhelm and radically change the look and feel of your display...I actually had moments where I missed the "less over powering" and subtle aspects of my display from previous years...but then another crowd would come by and cheer the fireworks, actual videos I played on it or just the sheer brightness of the damn thing and it kinda made me forget any misgivings!  ;-)

Edited April 23, 2014 by etherealone

[Jeff Messer]

My pixel tree is a total of 24 feet tall and string are 20 foot long. I used EMT (2 sections) and for some unknown reason I went with 84 modes on each string. They are 12v and power supplied at the bottom of each string. I use only nodes and no strips in my show. Just easier for me to work on them and not worried about sealing anything. If you have any questions or want to see any pictures I am sure I posted them on the forum.

 

This year I am doing 5 - 10 foot pixel trees using GECE and that's a total of 80 sticks of EMT.. LOL

 

 

Jeff