Outdoor Christmas Lights

[Drew Dawg]

Since you all helped so much with the garbage disposal, I figured
I'd run one more question by you and shorten my honey-do list.

I have several strings of Outdoor/Indoor holiday lights. They say
they are safe to plug in outdoors, but I'm concerned about the rain.

I was thinking of wrapping each of the power connectors in duct tape, to
help seal out moisture. Is this a good idea or totally uneccessary? By
connectors I mean where two strings of lights meet, not where they meet
the wall.

Thanks,
Drew

 

[Roger]

I'm not an electrician, but duct tape is not waterproof, and I doubt if any
taping is necessary. Further, that kind of tape is the devil to get off. If
you use anything at all, you might try a single wrap of taut plastic
electrical tape, which removes easier, and is waterproof, if stretched
tightly.

 

[Steve Smith]

Since you all helped so much with the garbage disposal, I figured
I'd run one more question by you and shorten my honey-do list.

I have several strings of Outdoor/Indoor holiday lights. They say
they are safe to plug in outdoors, but I'm concerned about the rain.

I was thinking of wrapping each of the power connectors in duct tape, to
help seal out moisture. Is this a good idea or totally uneccessary? By
connectors I mean where two strings of lights meet, not where they meet
the wall.

I and many others have put christmas lights out year after year and
never had any problems. They're rated and certified for outdoor use, and
you could bet the farm that rain entry would be considered in those tests.
The problem I have had on occassion is the wind pulling the connections
apart in the trees. These connections I electrical tape to keep them
together, and I keep the strings as loosely hung as possible.

If you look carefully at the bulbs (expecially the big ones) you'll see
that there is a gap between the plastic socket and the bulb, water does get
in here but never seems to cause enough of a short to cause problems.

Always ensure christmas lights are on a GFCI outlet however, especially
if you're attaching them to a metal downspout or other metal item.

-- Steve

 

[Phisherman]

Since you all helped so much with the garbage disposal, I figured
I'd run one more question by you and shorten my honey-do list.

I have several strings of Outdoor/Indoor holiday lights. They say
they are safe to plug in outdoors, but I'm concerned about the rain.

I was thinking of wrapping each of the power connectors in duct tape, to
help seal out moisture. Is this a good idea or totally uneccessary? By
connectors I mean where two strings of lights meet, not where they meet
the wall.

Thanks,
Drew

Yesterday I used storage bags and two twist ties spaced 2" apart.
Then fastened the bag to a shrub branch twig, bag opening points down.
I've done it that way for over 40 years with no problems. Keeping
connections dry is important to prevent corrosion and shorts.

 

[Drew Dawg]

Thanks for the info. As far as the GFCI outlets, those
are the outlets with the reset buttons, right? My outdoor
outlets don't have 'em, I only have that type in my bathroom
and kitchen. Do you think the normal outlets are safe or unsafe
to use?

Drew

 

[C G]

Thanks for the info. As far as the GFCI outlets, those
are the outlets with the reset buttons, right? My outdoor
outlets don't have 'em, I only have that type in my bathroom
and kitchen. Do you think the normal outlets are safe or unsafe
to use?

The whole point to using GFCI outlets outside, in the garage, and in wet
areas like bathrooms and kitchens is safety. At the slightest hint of a
problem, they will trip. If you find you really do not have them
outside, you might want to consider installing them, but read on
first...

How old is your house? They've been using them outdoors for the last 15
to 20 years. Perhaps they are protected somewhere else? Since the GFCI
outlets are expensive, compared to a regular outlet, electricians will
usually install one GFCI outlet and then several regular outlets
downstream. Most of the time they put a little GFCI protected label on
the downstream ones, but over time those can be lost. Two places to
check are the garage and you breaker panel. If you find a GFCI outlet
in the garage, trip it and see if it kills power to your outside
outlets. You might also find that one of your breakers is GFCI
protected, perhaps controlling outside outlets and more.

One more note, if your house is older you might also have those flat
covers over your outside outlets which only protect the outlet when
nothing is plugged in. If this is the case, you might also consider
replacing these with a weatherproof cover, which protect them even when
you have something plugged in, it's cheap protection.

 

[Art Todesco]

Here's my take on GFCI outlets for Christmas lights. If you
have lots of mini lights outside and you get rain, not "dry"
snow, they will trip. The small leakage to ground, tree trunks,
etc. of each light will all add up and cause enough leakage to
cause the GFCI to trip. I have had this happen many times.
There is no specific problem. You just have to unplug some of
the lights .... any of the lights. So, you might consider
dividing the light strings over several different GFCIs.

 

[Drew Dawg]

Hmmmm, maybe I should check and see if mine are the same way!

Drew
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