Outside Christmas lights / extension cords

[geno]

Question : does anyone take measures to waterproof the connections between Christmas lights and extension cords when using them outside? Is it needed? If so, I'd imagine just a little electrical tape would do the trick, or does anyone have any other tricks to doing this?

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Don't stores generally sell certain Christmas lights as either indoor or outdoor type? Granted, it might be a scam that could be easily circumvented with the aforementioned electrical tape, but still.

 

[fatpat268]

I usually just wrap the connections in duct tape.


Although, I haven't had rain in two months, so i don't think it mattered much

 

[ebaycj]

Likely not even worth it.

 

[IronWing]

Tape will likely just retain what water does get into the connection.

 

[Exterous]

I always make sure to get the Outdoor use lights/cords and haven't had any issues in 3 years of them being buried in snow

I could swear the lights had little fuses in them but I'm not going outside and dig in the snow to check

 

[GeekDrew]

IronWing is correct -- attempting to waterproof connections frequently helps retain water where you don't want it.

Yes, most strands of lights have fuses in them, but not GFCI devices. Outdoor lights should always be plugged in only to GCFI equipped outlets/circuits.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Don't stores generally sell certain Christmas lights as either indoor or outdoor type? Granted, it might be a scam that could be easily circumvented with the aforementioned electrical tape, but still.

Indoor .... rare

Indoor/outdoor = fused.

EDIT: If my leg wasn't messed up when lights had to go up ....... I would have used some indoor extension cords to go up to the roof. I don't see hwo they are different from outdoor cords. And yes, I have owned outdoor cords in the past that had no ground wire so don't go there. I just don't see what the difference is in "outdoor" cables other than price.

 

[Exterous]

EDIT: If my leg wasn't messed up when lights had to go up ....... I would have used some indoor extension cords to go up to the roof. I don't see hwo they are different from outdoor cords. And yes, I have owned outdoor cords in the past that had no ground wire so don't go there. I just don't see what the difference is in "outdoor" cables other than price.

FWIW the extension cords I see marked as 'Outdoor' seem to be thicker and less bendy so I am assuming they are more durable in outdoor conditions. Don't know that for sure but thats my impression

 

[NL5]

Just an FYI - a fuse will NOT protect you against shock. If you took enough amperage to blow a fuse, you'd be long since dead.

 

[sjwaste]

I don't do anything special for outside lights/extension cords. I buy things that say they're for outdoor use, and plug them into a GFCI outlet. All outdoor outlets are required to be GFCI protected here anyway.

 

[rockyct]

IronWing is correct -- attempting to waterproof connections frequently helps retain water where you don't want it.

Yes, most strands of lights have fuses in them, but not GFCI devices. Outdoor lights should always be plugged in only to GCFI equipped outlets/circuits.

Exactly. I put up a lot of Christmas lights each year and have about 1500' of extension cords in my yard because they are all computerized. You cannot waterproof the connectors unless you dipped them in Silicone or something.

Keep them elevated to allow water to drip off. Don't just lay the ends in the grass. GFCIs are incredibly important and if they are tripping, it means you're doing something wrong.

I use SPT2 wire with UV coating for my extension cords. It's just lamp cord that resists a little better to sunlight. It doesn't even have a ground wire as Christmas lights have no ground wire.

 

[geno]

I forgot about the whole GFCI thing...something which we don't have outside. Maybe I'll have to skip the outside lights until we get one out there.

 

[rockyct]

I forgot about the whole GFCI thing...something which we don't have outside. Maybe I'll have to skip the outside lights until we get one out there.

You can get small, external GFCI boxes that you can plug your lights into. I think they cost about $10-15. For a couple years I had to use an indoor circuit to power my lights so I used them. Since then I got a few more 20 amp circuits put into the garage with GFCIs, but the external boxes work fine.