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Best way to anchor 40" blow mold figures?


Speedster

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I got to home depot, and buy  wood stakes.   They are roughly 3' long.   Pop them in the ground, place the blowmold over them,  and never worry about wind.  I always have people ask me how I keep the wind from blowing them over.  I always give the same answer:  It's a trade secret.

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20 minutes ago, Dcroc said:

I got to home depot, and buy  wood stakes.   They are roughly 3' long.   Pop them in the ground, place the blowmold over them,  and never worry about wind.  I always have people ask me how I keep the wind from blowing them over.  I always give the same answer:  It's a trade secret.

Ah, so that means the bottoms of blow molds are cut out?  That definitely helps.  But when the wind blows, wouldn't the bulb possibly get broken by getting pushed against wooden stake?

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40 minutes ago, Speedster said:

Ah, so that means the bottoms of blow molds are cut out?  That definitely helps.  But when the wind blows, wouldn't the bulb possibly get broken by getting pushed against wooden stake?

depends on how snug a fit you have, ours are pretty snug and the incandescent bulb has been replaced with LED's.

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16 minutes ago, caniac said:

depends on how snug a fit you have, ours are pretty snug and the incandescent bulb has been replaced with LED's.

Sounds like I should actually use TWO stakes per blow mold then to minimize movement.  Thanks!

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2 minutes ago, Speedster said:

Sounds like I should actually use TWO stakes per blow mold then to minimize movement.  Thanks!

also doesn't hurt to replace the old glass incandescent bulbs with LED, they now make warm white ones which give that warm incandescent glow.  Also remember, rebar is your friend!! :)   And when that doesn't work 3/4 inch galvanized pipe does.

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3 minutes ago, caniac said:

also doesn't hurt to replace the old glass incandescent bulbs with LED, they now make warm white ones which give that warm incandescent glow.  Also remember, rebar is your friend!! :)   And when that doesn't work 3/4 inch galvanized pipe does.

Thanks for the tips, esp the warm white LED bulbs.  Gonna look for those at Menards since I actually prefer that warm incandescent glow for certain decor.

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1 minute ago, Speedster said:

Thanks for the tips, esp the warm white LED bulbs.  Gonna look for those at Menards since I actually prefer that warm incandescent glow for certain decor.

they should have them in both C7 and C9, got them there last year.

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29 minutes ago, Speedster said:

Depends on the socket in the blow mold, you can actually by C7 and C9 bulbs and make your own strings plus some blow molds and inflatables use C7 and C9 sockets.  Mendards has them in the store in the Christmas section in boxes of 25.

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13 minutes ago, caniac said:

Depends on the socket in the blow mold, you can actually by C7 and C9 bulbs and make your own strings plus some blow molds and inflatables use C7 and C9 sockets.  Mendards has them in the store in the Christmas section in boxes of 25.

I guess I'll have to check the sockets on those blow molds when I go to Menards.  Thanks!

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I use a lot of white 80lb fishing line throughout my display.  It's bigger than normal so you can use it like string, but almost invisible at night time.  Just wrap some around the mold and anchor it in 2-3 spots like you would if it was a blow up.

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I made PVC stands for our candles, these serve two purposes. One is to hold the candles from blowing over and the other is a way to run a strand of LEDs inside them.

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I use the 12" spikes (nails) at Lowes/ About $1 each. We have very high winds here. I have never had any blow away. I use them for the smallest inflatables and my 22' ones as well.

On the small inflatables I use two at the bottom and the large ones I use all straps and ropes.

JR

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Thanks everyone, someone told me that the Santa & snowman blow molds have partially cut-out bottoms, so I'll probably weigh them down by placing landscaping bricks inside of them.  And I'll probably use fishing line to tie the Noel candles to wooden gardening stakes, which will be place behind the candles.

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I have blow mold candles like those in the photo above.  I filled the base with sand.  It is enough weight to keep them from blowing over.

The solution shown above is good, it looks like it will light the candle very nicely.

Jerry

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On ‎11‎/‎27‎/‎2017 at 7:04 AM, LORisAwesome said:

I have blow mold candles like those in the photo above.  I filled the base with sand.  It is enough weight to keep them from blowing over.

The solution shown above is good, it looks like it will light the candle very nicely.

Jerry

Approximately how many inches of sand is enough to keep the candles from blowing over?  I just picked up all the blow molds last night, and the candles and Mrs. Claus have solid bases, so I think the sand method would work great.  Makes them easier to reposition too since they're not tied to a stake.  Santa has a partially cut-out base, so I'll stick a few landscaping bricks in the base.

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There is a hole in back about 6 inches or less from the bottom of the candle, this is where the power cord exits.  I filled mine with sand level with this hole.

For the others, I use a lead weight in the bottom - someone else mentioned a patio block, as long as you can get it through the hole in the bottom.

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12 minutes ago, LORisAwesome said:

There is a hole in back about 6 inches or less from the bottom of the candle, this is where the power cord exits.  I filled mine with sand level with this hole.

For the others, I use a lead weight in the bottom - someone else mentioned a patio block, as long as you can get it through the hole in the bottom.

Does filling it that high (6 inches) make the bottom part of the candle look too dark compared to the rest of the candle when it's lit up?  If it does, I may have to use the wooden stake & fishing line method instead.

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