Query re fairy lights

[Sue]

Does anybody know if there's any way of telling (without the original packaging etc) whether a string of fairy lights is suitable for use outside?

I know some of mine are and some aren't, but sadly I don't know which ones :( They've been shunted around in the past eg used for gigs, and got all mixed up :(

Also, I have an outside socket which I haven't used yet - can this be used in the rain? It has a cover on which obviously would have to be lifted when lights were plugged into it .....

I've only ever used solar lights outside before, but the wires got chewed up by foxes - ah. Just seen a flaw in my plan to have electric lights outside ..... don't want to be responsible for killing a fox .....

[ed_pete]

I guess it depends on how much you value the lights. If you use them outside and they blow then the worst that could happen is that the circuit breaker that your outside socket is connected to will trip.

Having said that if you have one of those outside sockets that had a lid that has to remain open when something is plugged in then I think that you would need to replace this anyway as obviously it wouldn't be safe if it rained. If you did change it then you could put in an external socket that can be closed with a plug in it and incorporates an RCD so that only the socket would trip rather than the whole ring.

[Jeremy]

Plug them in. Turn them on. Pick up string of lights. Walk into shower.

[Salsaboy]

Jeremy, that's shocking.

Jeremy Wrote:

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> Plug them in. Turn them on. Pick up string of

> lights. Walk into shower.

[Sue]

ed_pete Wrote:

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> I guess it depends on how much you value the

> lights. If you use them outside and they blow

> then the worst that could happen is that the

> circuit breaker that your outside socket is

> connected to will trip.

> Having said that if you have one of those outside

> sockets that had a lid that has to remain open

> when something is plugged in then I think that you

> would need to replace this anyway as obviously it

> wouldn't be safe if it rained. If you did change

> it then you could put in an external socket that

> can be closed with a plug in it and incorporates

> an RCD so that only the socket would trip rather

> than the whole ring.

Thanks, the socket was only installed in March this year but I haven't closely examined it, maybe I should have a better look to see exactly how it works :(

[Seabag]

Be safe, buy appropiate lights

Or end up with a 100 volt Don King hair do

[Loz]

240v, Seabag. We're not in the US.

[Blah Blah]

Sue, I'm pretty sure that led lights are safe outdoors. We used to have outdoor icicle lights, and they were just strings of little led lights. They tend to be completely rubber sealed to the wiring so no water ever can get in. Ours we just ran through the window as the wiring was so thin that it could fit under the frame.

[Sue]

Thanks Blah Blah but some lights do specifically say they are for indoor use only, so I'd have thought there must be a reason for that?

[Blah Blah]

Have a look at where the bulbs are on the lights. If water can get in and short the bulb then I would guess they are for indoors? Or maybe post some pics. I'm sure someone will be able to say one way or the other at a glance?

[red devil]

Blah Blah Wrote:

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> Sue, I'm pretty sure that led lights are safe

> outdoors.

LED lights aren't safe for outdoor use unless they are classified as such. LEDs are just a different type of bulb, that's all.

Sue, unless you're prepared to buy new outdoor lights, you should get a qualified electrician to check your existing ones out, (s)he can also confirm whether your outdoor socket is safe to use in the rain etc...

[Sue]

Thanks all, I think it's safest just to buy new ones. And I have to get the electrician back anyway for something else so will deffo ask about the socket.

Never occurred to me at the time :(

Thanks for all the advice (apart from Jeremy's :)) )

[Jeremy]

Some more serious advice - not worth the risk. You can't just look at a light and assume it is watertight.

[Sue]

No, I didn't think I could look at the light itself and tell.

I thought there might be some info on the label round the wire or on the transformer which might be relevant.

[*Bob*]

They're probably only 12v Jeremy, not liable to fry your brain anytime soon.

[numbers]

That's very reassuring of you *Bob*.

[*Bob*]

Jeremy must have licked a few 9v batteries in his time. Admittedly numerous other factors may come into play - other than voltage - in this Fairy Light Death Scenario.

So, perhaps taking into account the unchecked outdoor socket combined with the unknown IP rating of the lights themselves, the best thing would not be not to plug them in.

[Jeremy]

12V LEDs... plugged into a 240V transformer... which it sounded like Sue was proposing to plug into an outside socket... what could go wrong.

[????]

It's all going a bit Midsommers Murders on here....

[*Bob*]

Bit late for bonfire night. Try them next year.

[red devil]

???? Wrote:

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> It's all going a bit Midsommers Murders on

> here....

Maybe some threads would benefit from some accompanying music*.

Try it, volume up, lights down low.

The jovial bit in the middle is when *Bob* posted, although needs a better finale than his last post...

*Any thread featuring uncleglen would have to have the Benny Hill tune...

[ruffers]

Apparently you're not the only one struggling to find a solution to Christmas Light issues Sue - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/christmas/11978318/Tesco-is-hiring-a-Christmas-light-detangler.html

[Sue]

:)) :)) :))

Yes, I have spent many (un)happy hours before gigs attempting to untangle the fairy lights.

However carefully they're taken down and put away, they're always in a bloody mess when you come to put them up again.

At least The Ivy House now have their own lovely lights permanently up ......

[Seabag]

Loz Wrote:

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> 240v, Seabag. We're not in the US.

*sigh*

[Blah Blah]

This is why my wife doesn't let me anywhere near the Christmas decorations. I probably would set fire to the house, inside and outside (yes I'm one of those useless blokes). If there's a tag on the wiring and a serial number, maybe a google search might find the answer?