DiyLightAnimation
Fun => The Porch => Topic started by: jnealand on January 02, 2010,
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This year I made all my outlet cord ends by taking a 6ft std extension cord, cutting 6" off and using the remaining 5'6". In retrospect after hooking everything up, I'm thinking that is too long. My old LOR units only have about a foot of cord. The shorter cords would seem to provide some benefits such as easier storage and handling as well as being easier to keep the outlet end of the cord off the ground. As I look at my display I don't believe having the cords longer saved me any significant number of extension cords and possibly provided some impetus to the dreaded GFI shorts that I got when it rained. (No snow here. LOL) What are your thoughts on this? Thanks for the input.
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I think my cords turned out being the same length as yours Jim only I got my share of snow this year. No problems here at all. I think the only difference is your experience with LOR. I don't have that. :)
Leon
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This was my first display, I cut mine to 3ft and so far I had a good result.
Now for this year I'm planning on a mega tree with 10ft in the base, so I think I'll make 4 LEs with 6ft just for that.
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I left everything 6' (minus the male end). It is a little bulky for storage but it works perfectly for my small yard.
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I have controllers built with 6 foot, 2 foot and 15 foot cords.
In the yard hmmm not so much one way or the other, it was good and bad for all lengths.
Storage
The 6 foot cords were more convenient as I hang my controllers up on hooks
The 6 foot cords loop once over the top of the box nicely reducing the strain on the connectors.
The 2 foot cords hang down with strain on the connectors.
The 15 foot cords is too long and needs to be dealt with.
In my opinion the 6 foot cords is the way to go. You get some extension cord convenience but then storage is ok too.
all in all it is 6 of one and 2 and 15 of another *LAUGHING*
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I took 6 footers, cut them in half for three foot, three connection, pigtails. I always strain relief them inside the box with tiewraps.
This year, I went completely with spt cord and vampire plugs from the pigtail out to each device that did not reach. This has been the BEST approach by far for me.
-Paul
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I used 6 foot cords and cut off the male end about 1 foot up to get past all the UL labels. I was glad to have the extra length in the yard and as blearning said, they wrap around the controller one time and make a nice tidy package when storing. I will store them in the garage since my attic can get pretty hot and I don't want the socket-ed items coming loose from the board because of shrinking and expanding due to temp changes.
I will be building a Megatree controller box this summer and plan on having five LEs in the box. The cords will be half 6 footers and half 9 footers. The box will be stationed behind the tree instead of in the center, so the extra footage will be needed. I am using white cords so I can label them by writing the channel number on the female ends with a black Sharpie.
I am also working on a theft resistant mounting system that should make it a chore to steal one. I will post the details and photos once I have the first one complete and tested.
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I have 1 foot cords, 2 foot cords, 3 foot cords, 9 foot cords, and 15 foot cords. That's the beauty of making your own. I sized the cords to my display and left a little room for slack. The one foot cords kind of limited my flexibility, so I think the shortest I will run cords in the future is 2 feet. Just my 2 cents.
Steve
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I too like to keep them short.
Here's a picture of my setup.
I found a nice telco box on the curb on night. It has since been repurposed for my blinky needs.
Ricardo
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I think I misunderstood. The power cords for the LE were 6 footers. As far as the cords I ran to the lights,... I tailored to what I needed. This year I used the 1000 ft spool of SPT3 from CDI. I had a GREAT experience with this method and as a result won't be buying extension cords anymore. As a result though I tailored the length to what I needed. So to answer the question properly, admittedly I have a mix of lengths. Might be interesting next year if I change things much but it's a small price to pay for how well it worked out.
PS - The controllers for the arches will not change, they are now dedicated. :)
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Most of my cords are 6 footers with the male end snipped off. I think that length is perfect. I also have about 48 channels worth of 15 footers. Those worked really well with my layout, but for storage, I disconnect them from the LEs. So that adds a couple hours of work in November.
Kyle
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Guess I throw in my 2 cents
I also use 6 ft cords. But I leave about 4" on the male end to use them else where with spt cord. I figure why buy male plugs when I already had them.
Cheers
Rick R.
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Guess I throw in my 2 cents
I also use 6 ft cords. But I leave about 4" on the male end to use them else where with spt cord. I figure why buy male plugs when I already had them.
Cheers
Rick R.
If you need anymore Rick, I have 64 of them I cut off my 6' cords. New. Never used. One owner. Cheap ;D
Brad
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Guess I'm in the minority here thus far. I make all mine to be the length I need them to be from bulk cord wired direct to the output terminals on the controller and terminated at the feature that channel is controlling.
A few are as short as 3 feet, some as long as 65 feet but most are in the 8 to 20 foot range.
Greg
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Last year I used mainly the 6 foot extension cords. That means the LE's I built last year have 6 foot cords. This year I bought a spool of wire and made the cords the length I needed with the vampire plugs on the end. That is now my preferred method, very easy to do. I do not, however, have any 65 feet long. Nice job Greg!
Ron
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My 1st year was using 6 9 and 15' lamp cords. 2nd year switch over to 1000' spools of zip cord and vampire plugs. I plan on staying with the zip cord and vampire plugs.
Bill
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This year, I went completely with spt cord and vampire plugs from the pigtail out to each device that did not reach. This has been the BEST approach by far for me.
-Paul
could you give me a supplier and part number for the vampire plugs? searched on the term and no joy...
Dan
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I believe this is the page you need. Of course there are other vendors.
http://www.creativedisplays.com/siteresources/modules/webstore/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=472
Rick R.
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I have bought wire and plugs from both christmaslightshow.com and actionlighting.com
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I bought plugs and wires from christmaslightshow.com
I saw them on homedepot.com earlier in the year for a good price, but couldn't find them today.