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Tractor Talk Discussion Forum

12 volt Christmas Lights

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Santa

08-30-2006 08:11:37




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The brother-in-law volunteered my tractor and wagon for some upcoming Christmas season parades.

I thought it would look good to string Christmas lights on the tractor and wagon.

Anyone know of a source for 12 volt Christmas lights?

Appreciate any information.

Santa




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Wi Craig

08-30-2006 15:33:17




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 Re: 12 volt Christmas Lights in reply to Santa , 08-30-2006 08:11:37  
My son owns a landscape company and does holiday lighting during the winter. Good money!! They do sell 12V lighting by the bulk, you just have to string the stuff yourselve, easy and cheap. Look to the internet for holiday lighting supplies. Craig



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Steven@AZ

08-30-2006 11:21:10




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 Re: 12 volt Christmas Lights in reply to Santa , 08-30-2006 08:11:37  
Check local truck stops closer to Christmas time... I've seen several different brands/sets of 12v lights at truck stops.



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BBx

08-30-2006 11:08:47




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 Re: 12 volt Christmas Lights in reply to Santa , 08-30-2006 08:11:37  
Another idea that may work would be to buy a set of 120 VAC lights and do a little cutting and splicing. The bulbs in those strings vary from about 1.5 volts up to 3 volts or more rating depending on the particular set. How do they do that? By wiring the bulbs in series. 1 hundred bulbs wired in series and connected to 120 volts = 1.2 volts across each bulb. If the bulbs were 1.2 volt bulbs, you could cut and splice until you had several strings of 10 bulbs each in series. Then connect to a 12 volt battery and you would have 1.2 volts across each bulb just as before.
Those sets are pretty cheap. The 12 volt ones are not. I think they generally tell you on the package what the bulb voltage is.

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Buzzman72

08-30-2006 10:45:36




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 Re: 12 volt Christmas Lights in reply to Santa , 08-30-2006 08:11:37  
If you're not opposed to making up your own string of lights, you can splice together a bunch of side marker light sockets and use #194 bulbs, as they come in various colors.

Strings of LED's would have less current draw, but they'd be a bit expensive to make up from scratch.

OK, maybe these aren't the most practical ideas...but they're a bit more creative than just going out and buying something pre-made.

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BBx

08-30-2006 10:04:52




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 Re: 12 volt Christmas Lights in reply to Santa , 08-30-2006 08:11:37  
If you are planning on having people ride in the wagon, I would be hesitant to use 120 VAC lights. Too much of a shock hazard, particularly if there should be any rain or snow.
Do a google search for 12 volt christmas lights. You will get a lot of hits.



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BBx

08-30-2006 10:23:16




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 Re: 12 volt Christmas Lights in reply to BBx, 08-30-2006 10:04:52  
Check this one out.



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jeffcat

08-30-2006 21:29:51




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 Re: 12 volt Christmas Lights in reply to BBx, 08-30-2006 10:23:16  
Next time you go to the movie theater look down at your feet and you will see this kind of lighting used as a "guide." They use clear but it is all low voltage stuff.



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Bob M

08-30-2006 08:32:44




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 Re: 12 volt Christmas Lights in reply to Santa , 08-30-2006 08:11:37  
I couldn't locate 12 volt Christmas lights at reasonable cost. So instead I purchased a small (140 watt) 12 volt DC to 120 volt AC inverter at Sam's Club for about $25. I then wired an auxiliary cigarette lighter socket onto the tractor to plug the inverter into. The inverter easily powers several standard (cheap!) 120 volt, 100 bulb incandescent strings hung on the wagon.

Incidentally if you substitute 120 volt LED lights strings for the incandescents you could probably power 50+ strings with a single 140 watt inverter.

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T_Bone

08-30-2006 17:03:49




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 Re: 12 volt Christmas Lights in reply to Bob M, 08-30-2006 08:32:44  
Hi Santa,

I'm with Bob, hard to beat a small inverter and battery and use regular x-mass lites.

Total lite wattage / 12v = inverter amp draw from the battery

T_Bone



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frankie8030

08-30-2006 08:29:40




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 Re: 12 volt Christmas Lights in reply to Santa , 08-30-2006 08:11:37  
Dear Santa,

Many stores carry battery operated christmas, I bought these when I too got conned into pulling a wagon with my tractor. The ones I had were powered by two D size batteries.



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Leon R

08-30-2006 08:42:22




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 Re: 12 volt Christmas Lights in reply to frankie8030, 08-30-2006 08:29:40  
One of the small quiet honda generators strapped to the tractor will work and you probably won't hear it over the sound of the tractor. you could probably borrow one if you don't have one yourself.



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UncleTom

08-30-2006 09:32:14




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 Re: 12 volt Christmas Lights in reply to Leon R, 08-30-2006 08:42:22  
Inverters work great.



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