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	Info Section Home
	Information About Lights
	Uncommon Lights
	Christmas Light History
	Power Ratings For lights
	Wiring Diagrams Of LightSets
	Decorating Tips

Types of lights:
Part 1. Miniture:
most miniature lights are wired in series, this why when one bulb is removed, damaged or
defective, the whole set (or a section) goes out. This is mainly done because the little
bulbs can not handle the 120 volt power coming in from the outlet. If each bulb was
independent the set would either have to have a bulky transformer between the plug and
lights, or each bulb would have to have a resistor built in to lower the voltage.
in addition to standard strings of miniature lights you may also see the following:

Some Of Those Light Types Defined:

Chaser lights: lights blink in sequence to give the appearance that they are moving. Some will go in one direction for a while, then change directions.

Multi function lights: lights not only give a moving appearance, but also fade on/off, and a number of diffrent flashing modes

Mesh or Net lights: set is in a grid format instead of a strip

icicle lights: short strands of lights (diffrent length) hanging from a main strand

dripping icicle lights: combination of standard icile lights and chaser lights

Curtan Lights: short strands of lights (same length) hanging from a main strand...icicle lights are often mis-identified as curtan lights

Double Lights: 2 colors per bulb (and sometimes 2 filiments)

Musical Lights: plays christmas music and flashes to it

Rainbow Lights: lights with more than just a few diffrent colors (usually 10 or so)

Twinkle Lights: every other bulb blinks randomly

Sound activated lights: Also called color organ lights flashes to in responce to sound

Stay Lit Lights: Looks like a normal set of miniature lights but bulbs can be removed from their socket and the set will stay lighted.

Cluster Lights: Lights are in small groups along the strand

Cluster/Swag Lights: Entire set is in one big group

Garland Lights: Multiple bulbs spaced close together each on a short wire from the main strand

Grapevine Lights: (see garland lights)

Outline Lights: Lights are spaced close together (usually around 1")

Bulb/Voltage Info
# of bulbs in set	# of circuits	bulb voltage	When replacing bulbs in miniature sets you need to get the correct voltage bulbs for your set. use the following table for determining bulb voltages. to find out how many circuits a set has, turn it on and pull out a bulb, if the whole set goes out, it has one circuit, if only part goes out, it has more than one. to find out how many, just remove a bulb from each lighted part until the whole set is out and then count the bulbs you removed WARNING: these values are for the USA and other Countries that use 120 volt power only
10-12	1	12
15	1	8
20-25	1	6
35	1	3.5
35	2	8
40	1	3.5 or 2.5
50	1	3.5 or 2.5
50	3	8
100	5	6
100	4	6
100	2	3.5 or 2.5
105	3	3.5
150	3	3.5 or 2.5
200	4	3.5 or 2.5
300	4	1.6
450	9	2.5

More Info On Bulb Voltages

Note that older (and some new ones) 35, 50, and 100/2 light sets used a different type of 3.5v (lower wattage) bulb than newer sets, and that these bulbs are somewhat hard to find. I recommend that you keep the different voltages sorted, because there is no good way to tell most of them apart! If your bulbs do get mixed, and you want to sort them, the first thing is to remove all 8v and 12v bulbs (look at the inside, the most 12v and 8v bulbs will have a much longer filament). Next is the hard part - sorting 6v, 3.5v, and 3.5v (low wattage). To do this get a 20 lightset, and remove one of the bulbs, then simply put each bulb in the socket it is not necessary to put it in a base, just make the bulb's wires touch the socket's contacts (be careful not to shock yourself) if the bulb is real dim its a standard 3.5v if the bulb is slightly dim its a low-watt 3.5v if the bulb is normal brightness its a 6v if the bulb is too bright its a 8v 12v, or 2.5v energy-saver Starting in the late 90's a new type of miniature lights has been made - you can REMOVE multiple bulbs or have multiple defective bulbs in the set and it will stay lighted. To do this each socket contains a 'voltage regulating device' (not sure what it is exactly, but it is more than just a simple resistor). These are much more expensive than standard mini lights I got the chance to do some 'tests' with one of these sets, here are my results: * the more bulbs removed from the set, the DIMMER it gets * 12v bulbs glow real dim (in a normal 100 lightset they would blow instantly) * standard and low-watt 3.5v bulbs both light at normal brightness * filling the entire set of flasher bulbs allows each bulb to blink on its own Stay lit sets are ideal for sorting bulbs with, because there is basically no chance of blowing bulbs: - standard 3.5v = normal brightness - low-watt 3.5v = normal brightness - 6v = somewhat dim - 8v = dim - 12v = real dim - standard and low-watt 2.5/3.5v bulbs can then be sorted using a normal 50 lightset

Types of lights:
Part 2. Larger sizes:

Socket/Bulb Sizes

C6 or flashlight size: 6/16 inch socket (the same size as many flashlights) usually 18 volts per bulb and wired like minitures (no longer made)

C7 or medium size: 7/16 inch socket. 120 volts, and usually 5 watts (sometimes 7w) per bulb. Set is wired in parallel so a dead or missing bulb has no effect on the rest.

C9 or large size: 9/16 inch socket. 120 volts, and usually 7 watts (sometimes 9w or even 10w) per bulb. Set is wired in parallel so a dead or missing bulb has no effect on the rest.

1998 UL standards:
for miniture lights this raises the wire thickness from 24 gauge to 22 gauge, also thicker
insulation, and better weather resistance.



This page and the images on it (c) 1999 - 2004 James K