Festoon Lights

BennyC

BennyC

BennyC

Soldato
Joined
25 Sep 2006
Posts
14,432
Morning All,

In the search for Festoon Lights the Mrs found these.

Though I'm slightly put off by the bulbs not being replaceable (rather a short 4m section) and the wattage being quite low.

Whilst the area across the garden doesn't need lighting I can't help but think that less than 0.5w per bulb is going to be quite dim.

Buying a premade harness here (and a 2 pin industrial adapter) we'd have the freedom to pick & replace bulbs. Googling around for the componentry and self assembling I don't think would be any cheaper.

The latter is roughly twice the price but I'd rather not be unhappy with the result.

Has anyone here bought something they would recommend or made these themselves?

Thanks.
 
I was thinking of getting some but not at that price. Please keep the thread updated, I’m very interested in the outcome.
 
I wish I could remember the company I have used in the past for purchasing them for outdoor events but sadly can't. It may be something as simple as festoon.co.uk. But there are companies out there that sell them in fixed lengths and spacing and also ones that will make to order.
 
I had some of the connect able multi colour festoon lights from lights4fun but they are very dim and washed out so wont reccomend them.
 
Delivery:

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In all likelihood I will run this in to a junction box as I'll need to extend the run in based on where I intend to bring the cable in to the house.

I have an outdoor garden socket but want to be able to switch them on / off from indoors.

Plug swapped. (Need to find the missing screw)

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Right now we're considering for 2W "Very Warm White" in the 'Very on trend :p' filament bulbs. Frosted/solid white are cheaper but Mrs & i feel that clear will look nicer.

Should add these are £1.80 each x 140 = :eek: Integral produce the same bulb 40p cheaper which is around a £55 saving. Neither of these have impact resistance, ultimately just regular bulbs so I think for peace of mind I may install some safety/guide wires.

Considering other options still so recommendations welcome. I think 1W might be plenty. Really I need to trial the 18-28w halogens I have around the house outdoors.

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Quick test with some 28w halogens.

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I'll get to how I plan to fix these up in due course.
 
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I wanted some to run around the edge of the garden, that would mean hooking them up along the fence for half and a brick wall. My only worry is then bulbs rubbing agains them Which might damage the bulbs. My idea to resolve that was to use a bracket, like you would for hanging baskets so they could hang from them slightly away from touching anything.
 
Rodneypooleg said:
I wanted some to run around the edge of the garden, that would mean hooking them up along the fence for half and a brick wall. My only worry is then bulbs rubbing agains them Which might damage the bulbs. My idea to resolve that was to use a bracket, like you would for hanging baskets so they could hang from them slightly away from touching anything.
Click to expand...

10cm Vine-eyes might give you the clearance you need. They will bend under a decent amount of weight though but should be fine.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/easyfix-zinc-plated-vine-eyes-4-3mm-x-100mm-10-pack/17685

That or use plastic bulbs too.
 
BennyC said:
In all likelihood I will run this in to a junction box as I'll need to extend the run in based on where I intend to bring the cable in to the house.

I have an outdoor garden socket but want to be able to switch them on / off from indoors.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what i'm looking at doing.

We have an external wall light we don't use with an internal switch. I plan to replace the light with a junction box, then connect the festoon to it.

Currently thinking of these: https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/DT642.html and chopping the plug off and wiring straight in.
 
Yaayuh! said:
This is exactly what i'm looking at doing.

We have an external wall light we don't use with an internal switch. I plan to replace the light with a junction box, then connect the festoon to it.

Currently thinking of these: https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/DT642.html and chopping the plug off and wiring straight in.
Click to expand...

I should update this!

The 140 holder harness is actually being returned and I've opted for a pre-made, against my initial instinct/judgement.

The pre-made not having replaceable bulbs put me off initially and whilst it would have cost more in the long run to assemble one, I would not be happy with the end result. It was also quite heavy too by comparison.

33cm spacing and 1/2w equivalent bulbs is just too many lumens and too bright if you're looking for more of an ambience effect rather than to light an area up like a football pitch.

For example a pre-made 100 festoon (50m) harness is just 64w (25-35 lumens per bulb) of LED’s, 0.64w each and spread out at 50cm intervals where as a 2w LED BC22 bulb is around 200+ lumens.

Drop me a trust if you like and I'll show you the difference.
 
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@BennyC How you get on Benny, are yours all up now? Got any photos?

Whilst I had a tape measure out yesterday I decided to find out what lengths I required, that lead to me looking online at festoon lights again and I ended up ordering some.

I upgraded a hard drive for a mate recently who’s an electrician so got him lined up to install an external socket for me soon. will pop by screw fix later for some vine eyes.
 
Rodneypooleg said:
@BennyC How you get on Benny, are yours all up now? Got any photos?

Whilst I had a tape measure out yesterday I decided to find out what lengths I required, that lead to me looking online at festoon lights again and I ended up ordering some.

I upgraded a hard drive for a mate recently who’s an electrician so got him lined up to install an external socket for me soon. will pop by screw fix later for some vine eyes.
Click to expand...

Yep, got them up several weeks ago. Do need to run some catenary wire through/around them though so even up the tension and give me a little extra piece of mind.

I used wall staples, screwed in to brick work and carabiner clips with one or two passes around to secure in to place.

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So I went with these. The reviews are pretty good including the photos people have shared. Within my budget also and the support is supposed to be good. They can supposedly be left up all year round too. Have just ordered one set for now, can add link up to 5 sets. They will go around the edge of our garden.

Have tried them in box and all work. Will remove bulbs to installed once I picked up the vine eyes.

Spacing is 12in and length is 29ft.
 
Rodneypooleg said:
So I went with these. The reviews are pretty good including the photos people have shared. Within my budget also and the support is supposed to be good. They can supposedly be left up all year round too. Have just ordered one set for now, can add link up to 5 sets. They will go around the edge of our garden.

Have tried them in box and all work. Will remove bulbs to installed once I picked up the vine eyes.

Spacing is 12in and length is 29ft.
Click to expand...

Link is dud :p
 
Managed to get my lights up at the weekend. Still need to wire them in properly. Will show more photos when garden is all finished.

(No idea why its sideways)

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