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How I hang Christmas lights without a ladder

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Re: How I hang Christmas lights without a ladder

#11

Post by ProblemFactory »

mindslight wrote: post #8
senthil_rajasek wrote: post #4

"The carefully split the wire part" in many places has me concerned about electric shock. Is this wiring upto code in the U.S? Also, the comment at the end to use "hooks" beats the whole point of using magnets.

Haha, code. IIRC, Christmas lights have their own exception in the NEC, as the things are wildly unsafe by general NEC standards. For example, nothing stops you from plugging a space heater into the outlet at the end of a string. But relax, it's Christmas! Having said that, OP's lights are built a bit more solid because they look like the 120V parallel-wired style, rather than the series wired tiny lights. I'd be com…

Despite the electrical risks, it's crazy how much Christmas safety has improved.

I remember https://i.imgur.com/vKbfzEs.jpg from my childhood. Small metal clips to attach real candles to the Christmas tree. 20-50 open flame candles on a dried out Spruce, one of the best fire starters possible.

Re: How I hang Christmas lights without a ladder

#15

Post by martyvis »

senthil_rajasek wrote: post #4

"The carefully split the wire part" in many places has me concerned about electric shock. Is this wiring upto code in the U.S? Also, the comment at the end to use "hooks" beats the whole point of using magnets.

Surely that cable is single insulated, so low voltage application (less than 32V)?

Re: How I hang Christmas lights without a ladder

#17

Post by Xylakant »

ProblemFactory wrote: post #11
mindslight wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Haha, code. IIRC, Christmas lights have their own exception in the NEC, as the things are wildly unsafe by general NEC standards. For example, nothing stops you from plugging a space heater into the outlet at the end of a string. But relax, it's Christmas! Having said that, OP's lights are built a bit more solid because they look like the 120V parallel-wired style, rather than the series wired tiny lights. I'd be com…

Despite the electrical risks, it's crazy how much Christmas safety has improved. I remember https://i.imgur.com/vKbfzEs.jpg from my childhood. Small metal clips to attach real candles to the Christmas tree. 20-50 open flame candles on a dried out Spruce, one of the best fire starters possible.

I still use those.

Re: How I hang Christmas lights without a ladder

#18

Post by Scoundreller »

ProblemFactory wrote: post #11
mindslight wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Haha, code. IIRC, Christmas lights have their own exception in the NEC, as the things are wildly unsafe by general NEC standards. For example, nothing stops you from plugging a space heater into the outlet at the end of a string. But relax, it's Christmas! Having said that, OP's lights are built a bit more solid because they look like the 120V parallel-wired style, rather than the series wired tiny lights. I'd be com…

Despite the electrical risks, it's crazy how much Christmas safety has improved. I remember https://i.imgur.com/vKbfzEs.jpg from my childhood. Small metal clips to attach real candles to the Christmas tree. 20-50 open flame candles on a dried out Spruce, one of the best fire starters possible.

Pro-tip to keep your tree longer: spray water on the tree itself!

Re: How I hang Christmas lights without a ladder

#19

Post by PragmaticPulp »

brudgers wrote: post #13

Magnet attaches to the roof edge flashing which is metal. In the US, there is a substantial probability the flashing is non-magnetic aluminum. So test first.

Most places in the world with metal flashing, metal gutters, or other metal on an exterior will have aluminum.

It’s old houses that might have steel.

If you have a new house, I guarantee this won’t work. If you have an old house it’s worth checking, though.

Re: How I hang Christmas lights without a ladder

#20

Post by c22 »

mindslight wrote: post #8
senthil_rajasek wrote: post #4

"The carefully split the wire part" in many places has me concerned about electric shock. Is this wiring upto code in the U.S? Also, the comment at the end to use "hooks" beats the whole point of using magnets.

Haha, code. IIRC, Christmas lights have their own exception in the NEC, as the things are wildly unsafe by general NEC standards. For example, nothing stops you from plugging a space heater into the outlet at the end of a string. But relax, it's Christmas! Having said that, OP's lights are built a bit more solid because they look like the 120V parallel-wired style, rather than the series wired tiny lights. I'd be com…

> nothing stops you from plugging a space heater into the outlet at the end of a string.

I think a lot of christmas lights come with unpolarized plugs to make this more challenging. Also the tiny (3amp?) built-in fuses give you an extra level of protection beyond what you'd get with a simple extension cord of similar specs.

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