seriouslylosingit Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 I feel fortunate that I have the ability to use a jigsaw and have a knack for painting, HOWEVER........ I am trying to determine the best and sturdiest (if that is a word) way to add lighting. Currently, I have either done a ground flood or added simple string lights to each decoration. I am experimenting with a hole saw and staple gun to place receptacles through the back of my wooden décor. This is something of a pain in the butt and since both sides of most of my decorations are painted, this ruins the look of the back side... Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Here is what I am dealing with. (One picture I am unable to upload) I cannot take credit for all of these decorations. I have a Craigslist addiction as well and have acquired some of them by simple luck. Feel free to email me directly if it is easier than posting Thanks in advance for your help,Roberta Roberta.j.rieger@gmail.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrant Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Program white LED floods in front of them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santas Helper Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Back in the day I had yard decor. My dad did when I was a kid (1970s, 80s and so on).We both cut out and painted out decor and we both used regular clear floods.LED floods out now days is a great choice too. Either way, positioning them are important. You don't want the lights shining on the house or create shapows. You don't wan them to point in a direction that would cause glare for the drivers (reflecting of glass doors or windows) and have them in a metal shell fixture so the light doesn't shine back towards the street.I put spare Christmas tree limbs/branches on top each light to cover the fixture from the street view. This helps blend in and hide the light/fixture and not look like a light sitting there in the middle of the yard. Tree lots should have spare branches and limbs to give away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOR Staff Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Very nice. If you don't want the expense of LED floods, CFL floods are a good compromise. A 90W equiv will only go about 20W saving a bunch of money if you have multiples out there. The're a few dollars more than regular floods, but the power savings and longevity will pay for them. The only down side is that in very cold temps, they may have a hard time starting. Be sure you get bulbs that are rated to start at your outdoor temp. Also, they will take a few minutes to warm up to full brightness. Turn them on about 5 minutes before you need them and you'll be fine. Obviously, do not use them in an animated sequence. Blinking them on and off will quickly shorten their life span. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santas Helper Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 CFL floods IMHO aren't even worth the savings or the hassle. Cold weather zaps them and dimming and blinking them, you won't have near the response.Piece of junk in the LOR world.Just my 2 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seriouslylosingit Posted December 1, 2014 Author Share Posted December 1, 2014 Thanks everyone. I also have these "rotating" lights that look like a hologram.. I think I might give them a try on Santa and the reindeer.. I have waaaaay too much stuff in my yard. No need to worry about glare or headlights. I live in the country with maybe 3 cars going past my house on a high traffic day. I just want to entertain my children, God, and the resident wildlife... and myself, of course... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowboy casey Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 you may try LOR 10watt RGB floods, they will do allot for you and you can change the colors as you wish... http://www1.lightorama.com/rgb-controllers/ http://store.lightorama.com/10wrgbfl8pa.html here is a good view of what they will do for you... about the 4th post... http://forums.lightorama.com/index.php?/topic/33752-first-in-norway-my-display/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Anderson Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 I use the CFL flood lights and have not had any problems with cold weather. We get temp in the teens and 20s in my area of Virginia. I am happy with them. Using the CFL floods has saved me from adding more circuits to drive conventional flood lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seriouslylosingit Posted December 2, 2014 Author Share Posted December 2, 2014 Oh how I wish for temps in the teens and 20s...It was -14 when I woke up this morning without the wind chill . Car didn't start because it was outside considering my garage is being used for my "hobby"... We regularly hit the teens and 20s BELOW zero..... which is precisely why I had all of my trees and bushes "lit" in October.. I will try a few different suggestions and let you all know what worked best for me. Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denny Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 I see you are in North Dakota, so don't know if my method will work for you. We have well over 100 cutouts that my wife has painted. To light them, I use 12 volt DC, MR16, LED spots. To mount them, I use metal, electrical conduit and cut into short lengths for the stanchions Take PVC pipe slightly larger than the MR16 spots and cut it into short lengths. Drill a hole through the conduit and PVC and insert a screw. The MR16 fits inside the PVC. I use the LOR DC controllers to control the spots. I used to silicone clear, plastic cups over the ends, but over the years, they have become brittle and break. Don't get much rain here, so for the past several years, I have been leaving the MR16s exposed. No problems yet and it has been 7 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seriouslylosingit Posted December 2, 2014 Author Share Posted December 2, 2014 Denny, any chance you could send me a picture of your set up? I am very visual and having a hard time "picturing" it. I was thinking that I could possibly mount some type of "arm" towards the base of each piece and attach a flood to that... Not sure.. All I know is I need about 5,428 more feet of extension cord....:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denny Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Denny, any chance you could send me a picture of your set up? I am very visual and having a hard time "picturing" it. I was thinking that I could possibly mount some type of "arm" towards the base of each piece and attach a flood to that... Not sure.. All I know is I need about 5,428 more feet of extension cord.... :)No problem, will get a picture tomorrow for you. Very easy. I just pound the conduit into the ground where I want it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portcity_gt Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 I use a incandescent flood on 30%, and i think the shadow is cool (at the right time).This is my static display after the show ends with the grinch song and all the lights blinking off until just him and the roof is left on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denny Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Picture, cheap & dirty. I don't even put the coupling on the front any more, just silicon the MR16 to the pvc. Remember though, I don't get much rain, but this is my seventh year using them this way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seriouslylosingit Posted December 3, 2014 Author Share Posted December 3, 2014 Thanks Denny/ everyone.. I might give that a try.. Need to go up a bit higher to account for snow, but thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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