How Many Mini lights set can connect?

[barbosaa]

Hi , Friends.



Some body can tell me how many Mini lights set of 100 mini bulbs can connect ?

the box say " do not connect more than 3 mini-lite sets to one outlet"

but some one says me can conect 5 , 7?





Thanks






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[Steven]

The plug on the mini light string has fuses.

The main purpose of a fuse is to protect the wire connected to it.

Without a fuse, or with a fuse with a current value that is too high, it is possible to send enough current through a wire that the wire will get hot enough to melt the insulation, which is a fire hazard.

The wire on a mini light string is very thin, probably 22 gauge. The current limit for 22 gauge wire depends on who you ask, but the fuses are typically 3 amp. A string of 100 lights draws about .4 amps. This says you can put 7 together and still stay under the 3 amp fuse.

But...

Bulbs in mini light sets have shunts that allow the set to remain lit when one bulb burns out. A 100 bulb string is really 2 50 bulb strings in parallel. When a bulb burns out, it is shunted, making that segment 49 bulbs. If we assume the bulbs are resistive (a good approximation), then this will increase the current by 2%. If two bulbs burn out, the current is increased by about 4%. If 5 bulbs burn out, the current is increased by 11%.

So the point is that while you may be able to put 7 together and have it work, you need to monitor the bulbs carefully, because when they start burning out, the current can quickly rise to the point that the fuses will blow.

LEDs are much better in this regard because they use much less current, so you can put many more strings together, and they seldom fail.

[evan.a]

keep in count what you have connected to the lor controller. you need to know how many amps your drawing.

here's a chart to help you understand why you can only connect three sets of lights. read: rule of three.
http://planetchristmas.com/FigurePower.htm

[barbosaa]

Hi Felas

I say how many set in line can connect:

Thank for the interesting replys






Attached files

[JR V]

Three.

If you need to connect more then that I suggest having an extension cord split them up. So this way you can easiely run 6.

If that doesnt work buy commercial grade lights that let you connect 6+ strands together. Note that not all commercial grade lights let you do that thou.

The rule of three is there for your protection and the protection of others.

Simple thing to think about, if a fire were to start because you connected more then three together how are you going to feel then. Its always best to be safe.

[Guest wbottomley]

barbosaa wrote:

Hi Felas

I say how many set in line can connect:

Thank for the interesting replys

Every box or set of lights has a tag or piece of paper located on or in them that tell how many can be connected together.

[Cajun Cheesehead]

Also note that the "rule of three" applies to lights in series. If you stack the male end plugs, you can put more strings together since the current in each light string is only for that set of lights.

This will help if you are covering an area (i.e. bushes) with the lights. If you need the lights as a continuous line (i.e. along a roof line), this won't help.

[Steven]

Cajun Cheesehead wrote:

If you stack the male end plugs, you can put more strings together since the current in each light string is only for that set of lights.

However, the total current for all the strings will flow through the built-in fuse on the first plug. The fuse is usually 3A, so this limits you to about 7 strings of 100 minis. On the other hand, the only risk here is a blown fuse.

Also note that some manufacturers just got in the habit of saying "3 strings maximum" on the labels. I have LED strings that say 3 maximum, but since an LED string draws only 0.02 to 0.05 amps, you could connect 20 or more safely.

[FBW4]

Steven- the sets I have taken apart this year do not run through the fuse if you stack the male plugs.
I did not take any of last years apart but would think they would be the same.

[Steven]

FBW4 wrote:

Steven- the sets I have taken apart this year do not run through the fuse if you stack the male plugs.

I stand corrected.

[Tim]

Let me throw this out there.......Would it be possible to connect 9 sets of minis to one channel using an outlet adapter? You would have 3 sets of 100 minis per side of a 3 sided adapter, with the adapter connected to an extention cord running to the controller (assume the gauge of the extention cord is large enough for the 9 sets of 100 minis). Would this work? Just wondering.



Tim

[Donald Puryear]

Yes!!! Do it all the time