Specter Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 Hey guys-I have LOR and want to make 4-5 mini arches in my yard. I'm thinking 4-5' in height. I'll only use white LEDs. Can someone tell me how big/long of PVC I need, how far apart to anchor the ends of each arch, and how many channels of LOR I need?thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texan78 Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 10' of schd 40 PVC is what the norm is. Get two 2' rebar to slide the PVC over to make the arch. Space the rebar out to get the height you want. Channels you need to use depend on how many channels you have to spare. The best arches are done in odd number sections so as less as 5 channels to 7 channels look the best. Reason for the odd number that way you can have a channel dead center on top and have even number on both sides. Seems to animate better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Specter Posted November 1, 2008 Author Share Posted November 1, 2008 Perfect! Thanks for the help! How many strings of lights to use per section/channel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Specter Posted November 1, 2008 Author Share Posted November 1, 2008 Also-Can you give me a ball park of how far each end of the arch is? I'm just trying to do some preliminary measurements of my yard to see how many I can fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cenote Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 Specter wrote: Perfect! Thanks for the help! How many strings of lights to use per section/channel?I use 1 string of 100, comes out to about 18" spacing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cenote Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 Specter wrote: Also-Can you give me a ball park of how far each end of the arch is? I'm just trying to do some preliminary measurements of my yard to see how many I can fit.7 channels with 1 string of 100 per section, comes out for me wit only about 6" on the ends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Hamilton Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 Specter wrote: Also-Can you give me a ball park of how far each end of the arch is? I'm just trying to do some preliminary measurements of my yard to see how many I can fit.If I understand the question correctly, then my rule of thumb is to NOT bend the PVC pipe to a spacing less than 1/2 its length. Example, if you are using a 10' pvc pipe, try to keep the spacing of the ends to 5 feet or more. Bending it harder to make a tigher arch might result in breaking the pipe. I've seen a 10 foot section bent to 4 foot spacing between ends, but the friend came out and found that 2 out of 8 were broken the next morning due to strain. And they were in his garage at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texan78 Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 Richard Hamilton wrote: Bending it harder to make a tigher arch might result in breaking the pipe.Good point, also depending on how tight you wrap the lights you might break and stretch the wire for the lights too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis Cherry Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 Try using the Gray Electrical pipe and not the White stuff. The Gray has flex and bends easier and will not break like the White PVC.Made my first arches from the White , had no breaks but was nervous about bending them, got some Gray and immediately unwrapped the White arches and put the lights on the Gray.Love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texan78 Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 The grey electrical PVC does bend better, but it has been known to sag if you use a lot of channels and sections. Also it has been know to become extremely brittle in colder climates. Might want to keep that in mind. I use the grey electrical PVC for my mega-tree base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javerill Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 I use white and have the same ones for 3 years now. I put them in the gound and space them every 8 feet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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