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Electronic device with wires and connectors
STM soil testing device and tools

FAQs

How Do I Find a Bad or Loose Bulb?

Sometimes, this is more frustrating than it is worth. Most of the time, you are much better off spending your time and money on replacing the entire string.

However, if you have the patience and time, first push on and physically touch each and every bulb to see if it starts the string working. If so, then you have found the source of the problem. If you have multiple lights out, this technique will probably not work. The very best and quickest way is to invest in the tester pictured on the right. This tester comes with instructions and can easily find bad bulbs. Remember, always replace the bulbs with the same voltage bulb. Refer to the light string tag for voltage identification.

LED vs. Incandescent Lights

  • LEDs are 80-99% more efficient than incandescent Christmas lights.
  • LED light bulbs are made of durable epoxy plastic, not glass, so they are very tough.
  • LEDs don't have a fragile filament that can break or burn out.
  • LED string lights will last 10 times as long as comparable incandescent light sets.
  • LED Christmas lights produce truer, crisper colors because the colored light is produced directly by the LED, not by passing white light through a colored bulb that will fade over time.
  • LED Christmas lights create very little heat, so they are not a fire hazard like hot incandescent bulbs.
  • LED light sets are safer because they draw so little power that there is less risk of overloading circuits.
  • You can connect at least 30 times more LED light sets end-to-end on one standard household circuit.

Problems With LED Lights?

The first thing to understand with LED lights is that LED lights are not bulbs. What looks like a bulb is a diode. Seldom does an LED diode give trouble. 99% of the time, if lights go out on an LED string, the string itself is the problem. Many times, only half of the string will go out. If this happens, the only fix is to replace the string. Please call The Holiday Light Store for a replacement string. Often, a picture of the item emailed to us is very helpful in sending you the correct string.

How Do I Animate My Outdoor Decorations?

There are lots of ways to animate electronically. Most ways can be very expensive.

For the average homeowner, we recommend a channel controller. The controllers we sell are inexpensive. Although our controllers are waterproof, they should never be lying on the ground. Always tie-strap your controllers to the back of your display. Each controller is easily plugged into separate strings of lights that give you the animation you are trying to achieve. Each controller is rated at 2.5A. Adding more amperage draw will burn out the controller prematurely.