# Powering up 1 christmas light?



## JohnnyL (Aug 17, 2006)

Hey everyone, we all know those small Christmas light bulbs that come in huge strands. I'm curious about powering up 1-3 on a single plug, any thoughts? Could I just cut off all but 3 and solder the wire at the end? Looking to have them plug in, not battery run.


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## slimy (Jul 12, 2006)

I'll will state that I am an undisputed idiot, but I did that and the light bulbs actually burst sending glass everywhere. Rather than check my connections and make sure everything was wired right, I simply threw the whole thing out and vowed never to do this again. 

It made sense in theory.


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## turtle2778 (Jul 9, 2006)

Slimy you kill me man.


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## edwood saucer (Aug 21, 2006)

Could a 9 volt power it?


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## gmacted (Jan 18, 2006)

Christmas lights are basically small 2.5 V incandescent bulbs wired in series. 50 x 2.5 approximately equals 120V. Since they are wired in series, "when one goes out they all go out". That's also why you'll see strands sold in multiples of 50's (100, 150, 200, 250). They basically wire a bunch of 50 strands in parallel. If you only have three, the bulbs will blow instantaneously as Slimy can attest to. You can, however use a 9V battery to power up to 3 bulbs in series. The more you add the less bright they become. Home AC is dangerous. Don't modify anything unless you know what your doing and if you know what your doing think about it twice. Those are words to live by, literally.


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## TwistedDementia (May 2, 2007)

gmacted said:


> Home AC is dangerous. Don't modify anything unless you know what your doing and if you know what your doing think about it twice.


And click both heels!


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## Hellspawn (Oct 13, 2006)

If you only need one light, check your thrift store starting now, they have those fake christmas candles with the bad flicker bulb in it, it will accept a c9? bulb, I yank out the important stuff and use that when I need a single light.

Also, biglots sells them in thier christmas section well before Halloween for close to the same price as a thrift store (sometimes less)

Im personally getting 100% away from the old standard light bulbs this year and going 100% leds, they stay cool (perfect for stuffing into a mask or foam head) and are cheap and once you figure out how to wire them, simple to put together and you dont need to have wires if you use batteries.

enough rant from me.


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## Sickie Ickie (Jun 20, 2006)

Don't forget you can always hook up the project to the wheel the mouse runs in.


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## JohnnyL (Aug 17, 2006)

I'd rather use the small bulbs instead of the c9's. My goal is to fire up 2-3, one or two would be flicker bulbs, and the other steady.


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## meltdown211 (Aug 2, 2007)

*Here are a few tutorials..*

I actually made a few "pairs of eyes" last year. They are SOOOOOO simple to make. Basically a 9v battery...som LEDs (3.00 Radio shack 8 in a pack) a batter snap and a resistor. You can make them in about 10 minutes.

Here are a couple of tutorials to possibly make what you want...

BEST and EASIEST (Its the one I used) 
http://wolfstone.halloweenhost.com/HalloweenTech/anemak_MakingLEDEyes.html#BasicStaticLEDEyes

Other options
http://members.aol.com/Smessin983/Halloween/Eyes.html


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## wolfen manor (Feb 26, 2006)

I used a single large size christmas bulb in my lamppost last year...no problems.


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## Bone Dancer (Oct 7, 2005)

Thanks for the info and the links. I wanted to get some fading leds for my wolf.


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## jrzmac (Aug 22, 2006)

if you have an a.c. moore by you, they seel those single bulb sockets that you put in those plastic blow mold pumpkins. just saw them the other day. unless your talking about mini christmas lights? then i dont know what to tell ya...


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## JohnnyL (Aug 17, 2006)

Basically the idea is to use the smaller type Christmas lights and clump them together in groups of 3. A few out of each group would be the flickering type. These, then, would just plug directly into the chandelier wiring, or socket.


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## gmacted (Jan 18, 2006)

JohnnyL said:


> Basically the idea is to use the smaller type Christmas lights and clump them together in groups of 3. A few out of each group would be the flickering type. These, then, would just plug directly into the chandelier wiring, or socket.


You can wire them in series with a 9V battery and your good to go.


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