Help me find globe string lights
April 25, 2011 6:42 PM Subscribe
Where to find 150 ft + of Globe String Lights for cheap (like these, only looooong).
My colleagues and I are volunteering at a local community center in San Francisco. We're redesigning an outdoor courtyard/garden space for them, and my job is to source the lighting.
We've decided on string lights (think party lights, not Christmas lights), and calculated that it'll take at least 150ft of string to cover the courtyard. The area is outdoors and unprotected, with only one power outlet, so the lighting needs to be weatherized and daisy-chaining multiple strings together to achieve our 150ft is not ideal.
The least expensive source I've been able to find charges $784.36, which is well out of our price range - we're hoping to find it for closer to $300 if possible. Willing to shop online, or pick up something locally in the SF bay area.
Thanks in advance for your help, and good karma to you!
My colleagues and I are volunteering at a local community center in San Francisco. We're redesigning an outdoor courtyard/garden space for them, and my job is to source the lighting.
We've decided on string lights (think party lights, not Christmas lights), and calculated that it'll take at least 150ft of string to cover the courtyard. The area is outdoors and unprotected, with only one power outlet, so the lighting needs to be weatherized and daisy-chaining multiple strings together to achieve our 150ft is not ideal.
The least expensive source I've been able to find charges $784.36, which is well out of our price range - we're hoping to find it for closer to $300 if possible. Willing to shop online, or pick up something locally in the SF bay area.
Thanks in advance for your help, and good karma to you!
Ikea has a number of solar powered lights, including strings of 8 globe lights at $20 for a 12 foot string of eight globes. Because they're solar powered, you don't need to worry about plug-ins, although each string comes with a solar panel on a stake that you'll want to mount for maximum exposure.
I can vouch for some weatherproofness; I own a set of similar (since discontinued) lights that have survived a couple of Canadian winters. They don't throw a whole lot of light, but I've only got three LEDs, and you'd be somewhere around 100. Probably enough for ambient patio light; not sure you'd want to read to it or play basketball or whatever.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 9:04 PM on April 25, 2011
I can vouch for some weatherproofness; I own a set of similar (since discontinued) lights that have survived a couple of Canadian winters. They don't throw a whole lot of light, but I've only got three LEDs, and you'd be somewhere around 100. Probably enough for ambient patio light; not sure you'd want to read to it or play basketball or whatever.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 9:04 PM on April 25, 2011
Carnival lights with either a medium or candalabra base. I have made mile's of these things over the years. You can space the sockets for your needs and use whatever type of bulb you want.
Buy a 500' roll of #12 stranded wire for about $80. Find a place you can lay this wire out doubled back on itself. Tie off the one end. Tie the other end to a eyebolt and chuck the eyebolt into an electric drill. You now have 2 wires tied to a FIRM anchored object. You are standing 250' away with the other two ends chucked into your drill. Keep tension on the wire and start spinning. The wire will twist more closer to you than to the end, so bounce the drill up and down to help reduce friction on the ground. If the wire breaks at the drill it will tangle up pretty severe. Thats why you use the eyebolt. It's good to have a helper to run up and down the wire keeping it off the ground. Twist beyond what you want because the wire will relax when you release it. Use your drill in reverse to take some of the twist out.
Levitton and Cooper both sell click-on bulb sockets.
Here is a link to Candalabra base sockets and here is a link to Medium base sockets. Mediums cost just under $2 depending on how many you order. I've ordered 3500 before.
If you use candalabra base's switch to #14 wire.
For lighting a party I'll space them about 4 to 5 feet apart and use 25W bulbs. Figure what spacing you want and start clicking the sockets onto the wire
These can be rained on without any effect. I just replaced the 15 year old set in my backyard only because a tree fell on them.
Initially the bulbs will stick out every which way but over time they will point to the ground.
The other thing you have to look at is your electrical service. If you have one outlet is it shared or is it dedicated? It's also better to have several shorter runs than one LOOOOng run.
So if you used 35 sockets and 25W bulbs that brings you just under 1000 Watts. That's half of a 20amp circuit right there.
Be safe and good luck.
posted by Pecantree at 9:06 PM on April 25, 2011 [3 favorites]
Buy a 500' roll of #12 stranded wire for about $80. Find a place you can lay this wire out doubled back on itself. Tie off the one end. Tie the other end to a eyebolt and chuck the eyebolt into an electric drill. You now have 2 wires tied to a FIRM anchored object. You are standing 250' away with the other two ends chucked into your drill. Keep tension on the wire and start spinning. The wire will twist more closer to you than to the end, so bounce the drill up and down to help reduce friction on the ground. If the wire breaks at the drill it will tangle up pretty severe. Thats why you use the eyebolt. It's good to have a helper to run up and down the wire keeping it off the ground. Twist beyond what you want because the wire will relax when you release it. Use your drill in reverse to take some of the twist out.
Levitton and Cooper both sell click-on bulb sockets.
Here is a link to Candalabra base sockets and here is a link to Medium base sockets. Mediums cost just under $2 depending on how many you order. I've ordered 3500 before.
If you use candalabra base's switch to #14 wire.
For lighting a party I'll space them about 4 to 5 feet apart and use 25W bulbs. Figure what spacing you want and start clicking the sockets onto the wire
These can be rained on without any effect. I just replaced the 15 year old set in my backyard only because a tree fell on them.
Initially the bulbs will stick out every which way but over time they will point to the ground.
The other thing you have to look at is your electrical service. If you have one outlet is it shared or is it dedicated? It's also better to have several shorter runs than one LOOOOng run.
So if you used 35 sockets and 25W bulbs that brings you just under 1000 Watts. That's half of a 20amp circuit right there.
Be safe and good luck.
posted by Pecantree at 9:06 PM on April 25, 2011 [3 favorites]
Strength, ease of use and visual. If you want an old-timey look use separate wires.
posted by Pecantree at 7:36 PM on April 26, 2011
posted by Pecantree at 7:36 PM on April 26, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Marky at 7:24 PM on April 25, 2011