shivna2001 Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 I am thinking about upgrading from rope light to some RGB ribbons within the next year or 2. Has anyone attached these to your house and just left them up year round? I wouldn't have them plugged into a controller year round, it's just that my house has some awkward angles and if we can put them up and leave them up, it'd make it so much easier. What sort of mounting would you recommend? I use PVC piping for my rope lights and while it works pretty good, I'd rather do something that's not too noticable if i am going to leave them up all year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Simmons Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 (edited) I've got some CCR ribbons that have been outdoors continuously since 2010, mostly in the sun, and they're still just fine. No discoloring, no stiffening or cracking, and no moisture issues. The key is keeping them immobile - don't be flexing them or banging them around - and they'll be okay for a long while. And there's no reason, except for preference maybe, that you need to disconnect the ribbons from their controllers during the off-season. *My experience is with LOR ribbons. Your experience may be quite different with generic ribbons. Edited October 13, 2015 by George Simmons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shivna2001 Posted October 13, 2015 Author Share Posted October 13, 2015 Thanks very much I'm hoping to get them all up permanently along the outline and eves of my house. Using the 16 channel controller, i've got it split into 3 channels, with the RGB I should be able to split it up more, but i dont plan on doing anything too fancy. Its just too stressful trying to get the lights up on a 2 story house where you have to be on a ladder on the porch roof every year, and i dont really care for the way the rope lights look. We literally just got the lights up this past Sunday for Halloween because of weather and lack of help. I see you can use glazing tape to put them up. Are there any strips you can mount to the house where the ribbon would fit into it? Maybe even something with a clear cover for extra protection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Simmons Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 I agree rope light sucks. I used a j-channel for one of my CCR applications. Not sure if it would be applicable for your needs. I'll try to remember to take a pic tomorrow since that one is one of the always-up ones. You could also use clear plastic tubing or opaque PEX and slide the ribbons inside. Which 16-channel controller are you referring to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shivna2001 Posted October 13, 2015 Author Share Posted October 13, 2015 CTB16PC i believe. the residental LOR controller. so far i've seen the glaze tape, the J-channels and clear tubing. I'm leaning towards the glaze tape or J or L channels. something that's not very noticable and i can tape or screw into the house. I might even get some of that tape test it over the winter on the house to see how well it will hold up. I'm open to any ideas as i'm in the planning stage at this point. I just want to be prepare when i purchase the kit. Thanks again for your input Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Simmons Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 The controller you describe cannot be used for CCRs or any kind of RGB. It can only be used for conventional kinds of lights that operate on 120V AC current. You need a DC controller, such as the CMB24D, for most RGB devices. CCRs come with their own controller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrant Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 To add to what George already told you, rope light wouldn't be a problem for an AC controller but certainly not for dumb or smart LED pixel nodes, strips and etc.. Something he commented on too about CCR's not yellowing, I own one CCR and it does not yellow. I do own a bunch of 5050 dumb strips from China and they all yellowed in the sun. Now they are not CCR's but whatever the covering of CCR's is, that's the desirable product. Possible that whatever dumb strips from LOR are made with the same covering...I don't know. Dumb strips are controlled with a CMB24D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indi Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 I used the dumb rgb strips from LOR and used the alum. channels from Holiday coro that also has a translucent snap on cover. They are about 3'long and can screw to the surface of the house. Slide in the strips and snap on the cover. They work great. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryk5 Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 I have some of the Holiday Coro tracks indi mentioned and if you want it permanent they are a good choice. The only problem is if you use LOR CCRs they won't fit in them, so I think LORs protection maybe better than the non LOR ribbons. But the non LOR strips do fit! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shivna2001 Posted October 13, 2015 Author Share Posted October 13, 2015 The controller you describe cannot be used for CCRs or any kind of RGB. It can only be used for conventional kinds of lights that operate on 120V AC current.You need a DC controller, such as the CMB24D, for most RGB devices. CCRs come with their own controller.Yea I know, I'm planning on getting 2 of the CMB24D controller kits with 8 strips of lights each Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 I have a number of strips permanently installed in my front yard. They are "glued" in place with GE Silicon II. You can see details starting about half way down this page:http://newburghlights.org/Landscaping.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sticks4legs Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 I too used j channel for my pixel strips and then binder clips to the sofits. Have been up since October 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_b Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 (edited) Here's how I did mine. I use them year round for each of the holidays. www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5i2F72IyBY at around 7:08 Edited October 14, 2015 by Little_b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shivna2001 Posted October 14, 2015 Author Share Posted October 14, 2015 Thanks for all of the ideas everyone. I've got a pretty good idea of how i'm going to try to put them up next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sax Posted October 17, 2015 Share Posted October 17, 2015 Glazing tape.Snow, rain, wind, hail, sun. No problem. 3 years.They interesting thing is, I can peel the ccr off the tape. But I don't. And it stays put.The glazing tape can not be peeled off the house easily. I don't know if it can at all now....but I haven't looked or tried for 3 years now.Good luck,Sax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 Glazing tape.Could I use this glazing tape to attach a ribbon to Velcro? I have Velcro on my windows, but when I upgraded my strips to the silicon tube ones, the Velcro wouldn't stick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sax Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 The ribbon peels off the tape. So if you were to try to unvelcro the tape would peel instead of the Velcro. Someone in these forums did a test with various solvents and glues to find out which one would stick for this very purpose....to glue Velcro to the ribbon. It was a couple years back. He found some loctite substance that worked but it was pricey. He posted a video and everything....maybe you can find that post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sax Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 Here is the post. It was 3m and not loctite. http://forums.lightorama.com/index.php?/topic/31431-attaching-velcro-to-ccr-help/?hl=%2Bglazing+%2Btape Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Here is the post. It was 3m and not loctite.I read the post, and found the product, which is now called AC79, made by 3M. Unfortunately, it only sells in cases of 10 bottles, at about $11/bottle. I'm thinking of buying a case, and then sending individual bottles to anyone interested in buying one. Any takers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 AC79 works! This discussion is further continued in the CCR forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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