DLH lites Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 WEll After last year , and all the rain that shut my show down for like eight days I have been looking for help with plugs that got soaked. I tired lots of things ,some helped,some nada. . I just found a product that may help . Rain Block Extension Gaskets, seem to be designed for Christmas lites, got my first sample today . Soft silicone material,slightly tacky , works with two and three pin plugs. I will do a test and then post results. They are like 1/8 thick and squishy. Last year we had more rain here in Fort Lauderdale in December than in the summer. This year will be a much bigger display than last year , lets hope these thangs work. Go to www.rainblock.net David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibblejr Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 4 hours ago, DLH lites said: WEll After last year , and all the rain that shut my show down for like eight days I have been looking for help with plugs that got soaked. I tired lots of things ,some helped,some nada. . I just found a product that may help . Rain Block Extension Gaskets, seem to be designed for Christmas lites, got my first sample today . Soft silicone material,slightly tacky , works with two and three pin plugs. I will do a test and then post results. They are like 1/8 thick and squishy. Last year we had more rain here in Fort Lauderdale in December than in the summer. This year will be a much bigger display than last year , lets hope these thangs work. Go to www.rainblock.net David I just use the 12" spikes, rebar drive them in the ground and anywhere there is a connection it gets looped and ziptied to the top. The connection point is always the high point with the loop at the bottom. I also place buckets over the top of the spikes in some areas. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLH lites Posted July 11, 2020 Author Share Posted July 11, 2020 JR, I also do dip loops on steaks ,which seem to work. The problem, I have two big hedges one is 30 feet long 8 feet high , I put 40 sets of net lites on it and the connections are off the ground and in the middle of the 8 foot height, Those are the ones that get all the water ,they are all plugged end to end . The other is around the drive way. It is 4 feet tall It gets 32 sets and again with the connection in the middle of the top of the hedge ,those seem to be my problems. The nets are one set of blue mated to one set of multicolor so there are lots of end to end connects. I will do a test this weekend with the gasket product and post results As always any suggestions from you guys are great . Thanks,best regards and stay safe David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orville Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 (edited) I use the green Christmas light stakes and drip loops as well. I also use those electrical outlet child proof covers at every single open pass through and end female connection on any strand that has them. I always point the female ends downward. When I used net-lights I used these same outlet cover protectors on those that were in trees or bushes. Never had an issue at all. Haven't for a very long time and I've been using these since mid 2010 when I started experimenting with them during some of our summer rain storms in Florida. I've even had a few of those connections end up under water because they fell off the stake {i now zip tie them as well} and into some standing water, but still no trip and the lights stayed on. Those gaskets do sound like a great idea for where two cords mate together, but I've never had any issues with the cord to cord {male to female} connections as long as they were tight and close together. But if the pass through {female end} and the female ends on strands were not closed off with the child protector caps, then they'd trip the GFCI every single time it rained, didn't matter how light or hard the rain was, no outlet cover over those areas and the show would be shut down as soon as just a bit of water trickled into one of them. I also painted all mine flat back on the back side, the prong side that goes into the female outlet was left unpainted. As these are usually a white plastic and will be very noticeable when light hits them. Just helps them to blend in better, especially after dark. Edited July 11, 2020 by Orville Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLH lites Posted July 12, 2020 Author Share Posted July 12, 2020 Yesterday, Was test day for the new rainblock gaskets. Rain was predicted ,so I put out a set of C9's with a grounded ext cord into a GFI out let , I threw them into some bushes and the connections on the ground. It poured, buckets, it was a real Toad Strangler. The ext cord connections were in the grass soaked. I left them there all night during more down pours, this morning at 6 am they were still lit. Well so far so good. I did plug up the end female of the lite string with one of the gaskets and the child proof plug inserts ,seems to be a good thang !!!! They are a little expensive ,but if it keeps me from pulling what little hair I have left out that will be great. I am going to leave them out there and will keep all posted. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLH lites Posted July 15, 2020 Author Share Posted July 15, 2020 Seems the rain block gaskets work, the lites have been out side for days , we have had several big rain storms ,down pours , and I even ran the sprinklers and they are all still lit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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