Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Around The House). This thread is read-only.
The lights on my ~30 year old pre lit 10’ Christmas tree have been failing over the years, with me unable to restore normal / expected functionality to MOST of the lights, rendering this otherwise beautiful tree unusable.
This year I was DETERMINED to attain 100% functionality on the lights. (Being OCD is VERY handy in a situation like this)
To that end I ordered the LightKeeper Pro tool. This tool is REQUIRED for dinosaurs (like me) that use incandescent (not LED) Christmas lights. It would make restoring 100% functionality on a stretched out light string a quick breeze, using the beeping voltage detector. Unfortunately, on a pre lit Christmas tree, the wiring takes a convoluted path making restoration a MUCH more tedious effort.
My 10’ tall tree has about 25 strings, with only 2 or 3 working when I started. Each string spanned 2 to 5 branches on the bottom two sections. The small top section had four strings.
There were several types of failures on my tree. All were bulb failures. Almost ALL were the tiny bulb wire was broken. The other failures were all VERY low percentage. Those included: broken bulb glass; burnt out bulb / bulb fuse and a very dim bulb;
The method I used was to place a colored wire tie on each branch, at the trunk, when the testing on that branch started. I always followed the same bulb sequence to test each bulb on the branch.
The tool has a bulb puller blade in the nose. Once I extracted the bulb / base assembly I would LIGHTLY rotate the bulb back and forth while holding the base. Then I would use my magnifying glass to visually inspect the two tiny bulb wires to ensure both exist and both were long enough to extend onto the flat contact surface. The bulb would be replaced if either condition didn’t pass. Then the bulb was inserted into the powered bulb tested socket. If the bulb didn’t illuminate, then it was exchanged for a fresh bulb. The fresh bulb was tested then the bulb / base assembly was replaced, fully seating into the socket. The next bulb in my branch sequence was removed to repeat the inspection / testing process.
This process was followed until ALL the lights were restored to functional. This process consumed almost 300 bulbs.
Waaay back when the tree was new, it included spare bulbs already mounted in spare bases. Those spares are LONG gone. I wanted / needed to have matching spare bases. The new ones are different, so I found a used batch being sold on eBay that I purchased for $10 so I won’t be stuck if a bulb base ever goes missing.
It was SOOO nice to have the tree lighting ALL working!
When the Epiphany (Three Kings Day / January 6) arrived, I began breaking down the tree.
In the past I used twine to keep the branches hinged into the storage position. This year I decided to use stretch wrap, both small width (5”) and wide width (16”). Each of the three sections were wrapped up tight. I started w/ the small wrap to get them loosely into the branch up position. Then I used the wide wrap to get them tighter into the up position. Then I continued with the wide wrap to draw the branches in tightly. That last step was done w/ the tree section on the floor, permitting more aggressive handling than possible while vertical. I kept the section plugged in, with the bulbs illuminated, so I could see that all the bulbs remained illuminated during the process.
Unfortunately I dropped the middle section onto the bottom section when removing the middle, breaking the branch holder on the bottom section. (I also killed one light string, requiring replacement of three bulbs for restoration.)
To permit repair I used twine to secure the problem branch up and out of the way. I used cardboard and tin foil to ensure drips wouldn’t damage lower parts of the tree.
The branch holder hub at the trunk was repaired using fiberglass and West System epoxy. I also used 403 adhesive filler. My method is to use a precision scale, tare out the small reusable cup. For teeny batches like this I dip a long screwdriver into the resin, then drizzle that into the cup, until I have enough. I divide the measured mass by 5, multiply by 6, then use the screwdriver method to drizzle hardener into the cup until the required mass is reached. The epoxy is mixed. A short time later the 403 is blended into the epoxy. The epoxy is applied to the damage, fiberglass is pushed into the epoxy, with that process repeated until sufficient coverage is attained.
After the epoxy has setup for a while I start pushing on it, to ensure it is packed tightly with a good shape, bonded onto the broken part. When the epoxy has very little tack left I apply more epoxy and fiberglass, repeating the process.
The next morning everything is rock hard and I use my file to attain the desired exterior shape.
The repair was tested w/ great results, w/ the repaired hub holding the branch properly.
The bottom section was stretch wrapped into a tight sausage shape, like the other two sections.
The attic above the garage is PERFECT for Christmas decorations, so I put all that stuff up there until Thanksgiving.
The only thing I’m expecting to be difficult is rewinding the stretch wrap for reuse when setting up the tree…
Functional 10’ Christmas Tree
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Repairing Broken Tree Hub
Twine Holding Hinged Branch Out of the Way
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Hardened Fiberglass and Epoxy on Branch Holder Hub
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Stretch Wrapping Tree
Loosely Wrapping w/ 5” Stretch Wrap
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Loosely Wrapping w/ 16” Stretch Wrap
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Tree Sections Tightly Wrapped
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Christmas Decorations and Tree Stored in Attic
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Nice job. I have seen that lightkeeper pro and wondered about it. Nice job with the fix and that is a great idea with the wrap for storage.
Just finished breaking down and wrapping the tree for storage, after another Christmas season of usage. I didn’t wait for Three Kings Day to put the decorations away this year. Everything was stored on New Year’s Eve.
What I found this year was that even though ALL the bulbs / strings were working when wrapped last year, there were still strings that were not working this year when unwrapped.
Again used the LightKeeper Pro tool to restore 100% functionality. This tool is essential for dinosaurs like me that still use incandescent bulbs.
This year I learned / discovered how to use the sniffer tool on my tree, where the power takes an in / out path on each branch. On my tree the in / out randomly flops to the right or the left side on any given branch, but the sniffer permits identification of the bad bulb. The sniffer REQUIRES the ability to plug in the AC power on either polarity. I modified one of those three prong to two prong w/ screw tab adapters, changing the wide blade to a narrow blade, to permit plugging in the polarized NEMA 1-15 plug either way.
This year I kept the tree lit 24/7, so I had many bulbs burning out for age purposes. It is VERY handy that the bulbs have an internal fuse to maintain the string illumination when they burn out. I had about 30 burnt out bulbs this year. It is important to replace burnt out bulbs to decrease the stress of increased voltage on the remaining bulbs.
Still had plenty of bulbs failed for the broken fine base wire when initially deployed and several during the season. Weird how a wire breaks on a stationary tree…
Last years West System epoxy / fiberglass repair of the broken branch hub was problem-free. This appears to be a good permanent fix.
Again used the stretch wrap for branch storage. The diameter MUST be small enough to fit through the pull down attic stairs opening.
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Sweet, as always, awesome. I think I am going to buy the Lightkeeper Pro. I was going to buy it last time and forgot, but seems like a cool tool and need to buy it now so I don’t forget about it next year.