LED C-9 Christmas Lights

[Snagglefoot]

I just put up my Incandescent C-9 Christmas lights. I like them because the are large and bright and look great on my deck railing of my house which is a long way from the street. I had a string of LED lights from over 10 years ago but was not satisfied with how bright they were. Have LED C-9’s gotten any brighter?

 

[mrsilv04]

For pulling 7 watts each, they'd better be large and bright...

 

[ctechbob]

If I had the coin and still did a lot of decorating I would spend it on these:

https://tru-tone.com/

I'm a big sucker for Christmas 'the way it used to be'.


Technology Connections did a video on them. They look fantastic.

If we ever get to where we can have a tree inside again (IE the cats all die) I'm picking up the C7 version to go with my bubble lights.

 

[daves87rs]

The set I have is brighter…..

 

[Snagglefoot]

For pulling 7 watts each, they'd better be large and bright...

I think I have 120 bulbs. ( I’ll count tomorrow) .
120 x 7 = 840 watts. They are on from 5 to 10:00 PM or 5 hours every day. 840 x 5 = 4200 watt hours or 4.2 kwhrs. X 10 cents per kwhr = 42 cents per day. They’ll be on from Nov 10 to Jan 10 or 61 days. Total cost is .42 x 61 = $25.62 CDN or $17.93 Americano. Here’s a 20. Keep the change.

 

[Gyro Gearloose]

That is going to be a definite maybe. Menards has some LED C9 strings that are every bit as bright as incandescents but I don't think the colors are very rich or true. The red is closer to orange red, orange is more dark yellow and white is light yellow. Green and blue are also washed out. The C9 strings I bought a couple years ago have very rich colors, but the brightness is rather low voltage. Still, with an entire string of LED's consuming less power than a single c9 bulb, concessions can be made.

 

[ctechbob]

That is going to be a definite maybe. Menards has some LED C9 strings that are every bit as bright as incandescents but I don't think the colors are very rich or true. The red is closer to orange red, orange is more dark yellow and white is light yellow. Green and blue are also washed out. The C9 strings I bought a couple years ago have very rich colors, but the brightness is rather low voltage. Still, with an entire string of LED's consuming less power than a single c9 bulb, concessions can be made.

I used to like the 'power engineering' of putting up the maximum amount of lights possible on a circuit.

Now it is almost boring that you can put a million strands end to end on a single run.

 

[Rand]

Depends cheap strings are still terrible. Some expensive ones are good.

 

[Geekhead]

Depends cheap strings are still terrible. Some expensive ones are good.

The crap quality means they burn out fast and thus no real savings as you are always replacing them, what a rip off we are stuck with. Also the soy based plastics now mean the squirrel's now chew them up. I had to find an old set of oil base plastic ones to use this year.

 

[Rand]

The crap quality means they burn out fast and thus no real savings as you are always replacing them, what a rip off we are stuck with. Also the soy based plastics now mean the squirrel's now chew them up. I had to find an old set of oil base plastic ones to use this year.

I was talking more of the c-9s that are 50 string and use 5 watts.
when you replace 350(7x50) watts with 5(.1w per bulb) watts... even with led efficiency
they are going to be dim and terrible.

 

[Snagglefoot]

I think I have 120 bulbs. ( I’ll count tomorrow) .
120 x 7 = 840 watts. They are on from 5 to 10:00 PM or 5 hours every day. 840 x 5 = 4200 watt hours or 4.2 kwhrs. X 10 cents per kwhr = 42 cents per day. They’ll be on from Nov 10 to Jan 10 or 61 days. Total cost is .42 x 61 = $25.62 CDN or $17.93 Americano. Here’s a 20. Keep the change.

Turns out I have 100 bulbs, not 120. Just a bit cheaper. Less than $20 for the holiday lightening is fine by me, seeing my bulbs are bright and not anemic. The house is 50 yards from the street which makes it even more important.

 

[Opelman]

Turns out I have 100 bulbs, not 120. Just a bit cheaper. Less than $20 for the holiday lightening is fine by me, see my bulbs are bright and not anemic. The house is 50 yards from the street which makes it even more important.

I have a few strings of C9 incandescent blinky bulbs which will be going up this year. Maybe save a few cents since each bulb is off half the time.

 

[Snagglefoot]

A few bucks for electricity for Christmas lights is worth it.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Here are some NOMA brand LED “ C9” bulbs. I think they are brighter than 10 years ago. The picture probably doesn’t do it justice.

 

[alarmguy]

LEDS are ok, we have some sets of C-9s that we would drape around a large entry of our last house. They do use electricity but didnt matter to me, it was the look. ... There is something nostalgic and unique seeing them at night. That was the entry way, 10 feet or so high... other lights were LED. LED's do not get that traditional look. On our new downsized home I dont really have a place for them but holding on to them in case I come up with an idea.

 

[97prizm]

I just put up my Incandescent C-9 Christmas lights. I like them because the are large and bright and look great on my deck railing of my house which is a long way from the street. I had a string of LED lights from over 10 years ago but was not satisfied with how bright they were. Have LED C-9’s gotten any brighter?

Check out a couple of the Technology Connection channel videos. He has some good recommendations and explains why early led lights weren't very good.
Full spectrum LED Christmas lights
LED lights that don't hurt the eyes

 

[Saturnguy]

Super Bright Led’s

C9
https://www.superbrightleds.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=c9

C7
https://www.superbrightleds.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=c7