Connect Christmas Lights Sets End To End - Only 2?

[Mike Hockisbigg]

On Mon, 22 Nov 2010 12:25:20 -0800, David Nebenzahl shat:

And of course during these years with fuses we have *no* fires resulting from Xmas-tree lights...

[David Nebenzahl]

On 11/22/2010 12:28 PM Mike Hockisbigg spake thus:

We can safely assume that because of the cases where the fuses did their job by blowing, there have been fewer fires post-fuses. (My earlier statement was, admittedly, a little hyperbolic; it's called "getting your attention".)

[Mike Hockisbigg]

On Mon, 22 Nov 2010 12:36:45 -0800, David Nebenzahl shat:

Oh ok. Sorry I'm not used to posts made in the name of attention getting.

[Mark Lloyd]

[snip]

A little typing error there, that's .02A

[snip]

[DerbyDad03]

re: "But as someone else pointed out here, we're talking about an electrical device (actually lots of them, with lots of wire) strung on a highly combustible conifer."

umm...no we're not.

Although not specifically stated in my OP that these are outdoor lights, I did mention that in my second post.

However, in my OP I did mention that they were icicle lights. I'm not sure I've ever seen a highly combustible conifer strung with icicle lights.

Note: None of this means that I plan to wrap tin foil around the fuse. That's just not gonna happen.

[Mark Lloyd]

[snip]

Before getting the Kill-A-Watt I use now, I used a multimeter with a homemade adapter for measuring current. It was safe as long as it was connected to the meter first. Anyway, I never used it outside or anywhere near water.

[David Nebenzahl]

On 11/22/2010 8:09 PM Mark Lloyd spake thus:

So basically just a shunt resistor. Like, say, 1-2 ohms, 10-20 watts. Plus a plug-and-socket arrangement. I should try that sometime. The poor man's Kill A Watt.

[Evan]

Umm... Outdoor plants, shrubs and trees are still flammable...

So are vinyl and wood siding, eaves and fascia boards...

Vented roof ? Nice, a fire that starts on lights mounted on your eaves can be sucked right in the vents there and start your roof on fire from the underside...

If you like holiday lighting you need to have the proper power supply plan -- whether this involves hardwired outlets located on the exterior of your home for the purpose OR the proper use of the correct size extension cords and properly chaining the light sets you are using...

~~ Evan

[DerbyDad03]

re: "Umm... Outdoor plants, shrubs and trees are still flammable...

Sure...if they're dead/dry and exposed to a heat source hot enough to actually ignite them. Even if the lights in question were being used on my outdoor plants, shrubs and trees - which are all alive and healthy - I don't think I'd be losing a lot of sleep worrying about the foliage bursting into flames.

re: "So are vinyl and wood siding, eaves and fascia boards..."

Umm...but not metal gutters or downspouts. All nearby trim is covered in aluminum.

In any case, I was able to string 6 sets in such a manner that I have no more than 2 strings end-to-end, so I am within the specs of the product.

I have not defeated the fuses.

I have used outdoor rated extension cords.

I have used 3-way plug adaptors so the light set plugs are not piggy backed.

Everything is plugged into GFCI outlets.

The only rule from the box that I don't plan to follow is this one:

"Never leave light sets unattended when lit."

[jamesgangnc]

For the record, wrapping a little foil around a fuse doesn't defate it. The foil acts just like a fuse on a dead short. It does raise the current limit to an inknown amount and it becomes up to you to not string together so many as to exceed the wire rating.

I run a lot of lights outside myself. A bunch of C9's and minis. I hate those tiny bulbs mostly because they are in series. I have one of thsoe systems that controls your lights in coordination with music.

Because of all the c9's I had to extend it's capability with some triacs. That also let me run the lights off different house circuits so I wasn't putting all the load on one outlet.

[jamesgangnc]

Mnay do have an amp meter but it is often limited to smaller current amounts. You need some pretty good leads and internals if you are going to measure stuff over a few amps. For more than a couple amps the clamp ons are the fastest way to go.

[DerbyDad03]

e:

re: "For the record, wrapping a little foil around a fuse doesn't defate it. The foil acts just like a fuse on a dead short. It does raise the current limit to an inknown amount..."

What's the purpose of a fuse? Is it to open only in dead short conditions or is it to open when the current rating of the weakest link in the device is exceeded?

Based on the most common definition of a fuse - an overcurrent protection device - wrapping foil around it such that the circuit may be subjected to more current than the fuse is rated for does indeed defeat it.

[DerbyDad03]

Actually, you even need to spend 99 cents to get that function...

[Mark Lloyd]

I didn't add a shunt resistor, the meter already had one. Before selecting that meter, I looked for one with a 10A range for measuring the current consumption of devices.

[Mark Lloyd]

[snip]

On many meters (at least a few years ago), the current function was limited to 300mA or so. I chose one with a 10A range.

The adapter I used was a switch on a cord (both male and female ends at one end, switch at the other). I removed the switch and added banana plugs.

BTW, you could also use a clamp ammeter and a split extension cord.

[David Nebenzahl]

On 11/23/2010 6:13 PM Mark Lloyd spake thus:

So you're saying the 10A range is for AC as well as DC? I thought all the current ranges on DMMs were DC only, but could be wrong.

[Mark Lloyd]

[snip]

IIRC, on analog meters the current ranges were DC-only. Not so with this digital meter (a Scope DVM-632 that's about 32 years old).