BulbCollector Forums
BULB DISCUSSION BOARDS => Christmas Lighting => Topic started by: Christmas Lamp on May 02, 2008, 02:39:30 pm
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Lookie what came in the Mail!!!!!! :-D :-D :-D
A bit late but Hey Ho.....
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Never too late for bubble lights. Nice find!
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Thanks Tim :-D
All I did was to send the money to my freind and tell her to go see what Bubblers she could find....
Wish we could get them here in England :cry:
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@ christmas lamp i bought similar way back, link is here http://bulbcollector.com/forum/index.php?topic=923.0 (http://bulbcollector.com/forum/index.php?topic=923.0) they are nice.
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How long do you run them for at a time? I don't for very long as like you I have to go though a Converter...
Thanks
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c.l. i only run them for a few hours a night at xmas, im a little bit afraid with the coverter.
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c.l. i only run them for a few hours a night at xmas, im a little bit afraid with the coverter.
Same Here.... I LOVE having them but it's a Pain in the Butt to have to run them though a Converter...
WISH some were made here in England I'd buy them, some freinds who have seen mine would like to have them as well
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totally agree, i have many friends and relatives that say they would buy them if they were for the u.k. market, they dont like the idea of converters, i wonder why no one has come up with them, i really think they would be a great seller, i even have people pointing to their kids when they are passing my house and the tree is lit in the front window with my 3 sets of bigger modern day bubblers lit. 8-)
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http://bulbcollector.com/forum/index.php?topic=978.0 (http://bulbcollector.com/forum/index.php?topic=978.0) here it is.
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VERY Nice Tree StarMan :-D
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Think I'm Going to Have Them Out and on to Night.... In THAT Mood....
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you are joking its far to early, i couldnt climb up into my loft to get mine out :roll:
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No I Wasn't.....
And Yes I HAVE Got Them Out and On.... :-D
Why Not....
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im superstios i think its unlucky i take them down on the 12th day and dont light them again untill early december
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c.l. i only run them for a few hours a night at xmas, im a little bit afraid with the coverter.
Are these a simple series string of lamps ? of suitable voltage each and number of lamps to suit 120 volt mains.
If so it should be possible to simply connect two sets in series to UK 230/240 volt mains.
The theoretical objection to so doing is that the voltage to earth/ground at one end is 240 volts, and not the 120 volts for which the insulation was designed. In practice though the insulation thickness and general design seems to be the same for 120 volts and for 240.
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certainly you could come up with an adapter cord that has a diode in series with the set, should give you around 120VDC half-wave...I've done this on some of my older sets to dim and extend the life of the bulbs a bit. Not sure how that would work out with 230V/50Hz, you may notice an annoying flicker.
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I would strongly advise against use of a 120 volt string of lights from 230/240 volts by means of a rectifier diode.
Whilst one might expect that this would give a 120 volt equivalent supply, this is not the case in practice.
Any 120 volt lamp, or series string of lamps, will be significantly overun if connected to 240 volts via a diode.
Anyone who doubts this should try a very simple experiment.
Obtain 3 similar 240 volt GLS lamps.
Connect two in series to the mains, and connect the third lamp to the mains via the diode.
The lamp on the diode will not light at full brightness but it WILL be significantly brighter than the ones in series.
The use of 240 volt lamps, or series strings totalling 240 volts, from a diode is fine.
The effective voltage is appreciably less than 240 volts and the lamp life thereby extended.
To use 120 volt strings in the UK the best way is via a 110 volt building site transformer.
This will slightly extend the lamp life as the output is 110 volts rather than USA 120 volt mains.
The fact that these transformers have an earthed center tap gives a useful extra factor of safety, the worst electric shock that you can get to earth is 55 volts, which is not normally dangerous. Still take though, just in case !
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If you're afraid of those converters, get a good center-tapped autotransformer, some gfci's, and a few other parts and make a step-down transformer.
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I Have One Conveter and Only One Set {I Have 2} going at a time and Not for Long or I have Bubbler Night Light going and Again Not for Long....
So for the amount of Usage Mine Gets it Will be OK, Right?
Hope That Makes Sense....
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A properly made converter sold for the purpose of operating 110/120 volt appliances from a 220/240 volt supply should be OK.
My cautionery remarks reffer to the suggestion that a 120 volt string of lights could be worked from a 240 volt supply by means of a diode. This I consider to be most unwise for the reasons already given.