# Light Strings -- Replacement bulbs



## Spookie (Aug 26, 2008)

I have some spooky trees that I bought a few years ago that have orange bulbs on them (2 light strands per tree with a total of 40 bulbs per tree). This year thought I might replace the orange lights with purple lights for an eerier look. I had hoped to just pull the bulbs from a purple light strand and use them to replace the orange bulbs but no luck since the bulb voltage on the orange strand is 6V and the purple light strand I have uses 2.5V bulbs (on a 100 bulb light strand).

Anyone have a source for replacement halloween bulbs--orange and purple colors? Thanks. 

BTW I realize I could take the orange light strands off the trees but they're all zip tied on and kind of hard to get snips into. May still have to do that but thought pulling the bulbs would be easier.


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## Texan78 (Sep 25, 2008)

If you use a box cutter or a cutter that uses a straight edge razor you can cut those zip ties easily. It would be easier to replace the light strand than to replace the bulbs and probably be more costly to buy replacement bulbs for all the strands. 

May I ask where you got the trees at. I am looking for some to add next year.


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## Spookie (Aug 26, 2008)

Texan78 I bought my spooky trees (made with grapevines and assembled from two sections) on clearance one or two halloweens ago at Joanne Fabrics. Bought 6 of them and just remember they were heavily discounted, so I went for a small forest! I was in Joanne's today and it doesn't look like they carried them this year. Actually like most stores I've been in lately, not much in the way of halloween mdse left.

This year I've seen lit spooky trees in my local Target store, Target online and on Grandinroad.com. All with orange lights on them as I recall. I did some a 5 foot purple tree (very nice shaped) over at Improvements Catalog also.

Thanks for the tip on using a box cutter. It may be the route I go. Unfortunately I'll go from 40 to 100 lights and I'm afraid it might be pretty bright all on one tree even though they're purple. Not as bright as the 600-light purple tree at Improvements Catalog though. I checked a few stores today for smaller light sets in purple but they are hard to find. Lots of orange but few purple.


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## Texan78 (Sep 25, 2008)

I was in Target the other day and saw the orange trees and they are perfect and what I am looking for, but they are orange. You are right they are hard to find and if you do find them they are really expensive. I saw that one on the Improvements Catalog page a while back and it is perfect and even has some that twinkle, but for $99 a pop I don't know if it is worth it. Might just have to dive in a get them if I can't find any others. I would like to have 4 but might just have to settle with 2 at first. 

I think you should be fine going from 40 to 100 lights when using the purple. My experience with using purple lights using them on bushes and stuff. I have found they are not has bright as the orange so that shouldn't be a big of a problem. I would recommend trying to find them in LED not so much for the cost saving which is a bonus, but because they weather better. Over time you will notice the purple glass will start to fade, where the LED use a plastic colored lens or purple colored LED. I have seen some places like Wal-mart and Garden Ridge sell 50 ct. lights so that might be something to look into. One thing I would look at with the ones you have now versus the ones you will replacement with is the light spacing. Just because it is 40 ct the spacing might be more.


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## Texan78 (Sep 25, 2008)

I was in Target the other day and saw the orange trees and they are perfect and what I am looking for, but they are orange. You are right they are hard to find and if you do find them they are really expensive. I saw that one on the Improvements Catalog page a while back and it is perfect and even has some that twinkle, but for $99 a pop I don't know if it is worth it. Might just have to dive in a get them if I can't find any others. I would like to have 4 but might just have to settle with 2 at first. 

I think you should be fine going from 40 to 100 lights when using the purple. My experience with using purple lights using them on bushes and stuff. I have found they are not has bright as the orange so that shouldn't be a big of a problem. I would recommend trying to find them in LED not so much for the cost saving which is a bonus, but because they weather better. Over time you will notice the purple glass will start to fade, where the LED use a plastic colored lens or purple colored LED. I have seen some places like Wal-mart and Garden Ridge sell 50 ct. lights so that might be something to look into. One thing I would look at with the ones you have now versus the ones you will replacement with is the light spacing. Just because it is 40 ct the spacing might be more.


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## Spookie (Aug 26, 2008)

Texan78, if you really like the Improvement Catalog trees, they're on sale now for half off--down to $50 each. http://www.improvementscatalog.com/product/5-foot-spooky-tree-halloween-decoration.do

The Target online trees are also on clearance at $34:
http://www.target.com/Lighted-Tree/...e=UTF8&node=681200011&frombrowse=1&rh=&page=1

At my end I stopped in Walmart today and found a 50-light set in purple for $2, so decided to go with those. I'll go the box cutter route and bite the bullet and switch the light strands out. I decided to buy an extra box of them so I'll have plenty of bulbs to use over the years--cheaper than buying everything over again and given how hard it is to find replacement bulbs in purple I think a smart thing to do. I'll probably return the 100-bulb sets at Target unless I can come up with another idea for them--maybe a big purple and black spider web...

I considered picking up purple LEDs. You are right about the paint coming off on the regular glass bulbs (had this happen with some blue bulbs before and I've heard people have been having the flaking trouble with colored floodlights), but since I only set up 1 night a year, they won't get much use and the cost over all is something like $2 compared to $9 at Target for the LEDs.

BTW we just bought some LED icicles from Costco for that other holiday and I did pick up 2 boxes of Halloween orange mini LEDs there also this past weekend--good deal actually--1 box with 2 100-light LED strands, indoor/outdoor, for $2.97 each!


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