These common eBay strings of lights are delightfully trashy. They seem a complete bargain at just £3.50 shipped (twice that or more at Christmas time). But the low price comes at the cost of safety. They are made down to a price, and that means they run directly at mains voltage with the incoming supply being converted from AC to DC and then used to run long strings of LEDs in series with a smattering of undersized resistors soldered to the first few LEDs.
In some instances these LED strings do have applications, but only indoors out of reach of humans and pets. And only used in static mode if the resistors in the first few LEDs of the string don't rapidly start going brown!
If used outdoors around handrails or foliage there is a risk of current flow if water wicks into the LED sleeves and bridges to conductive material. Worse still, that current leakage will be DC, which can defeat some older RCDs/GFCIs and even desensitise them to other leakage faults elsewhere.
The fake 13A plug to make them look UK compliant is just scraping the barrel. Especially the matching fake fuse that isn't even connected in circuit.
If you want safe Christmas lights then choose the ones with the plug in low-voltage power supplies. Kids and pets are attracted to strings of fairy lights, so it makes sense to pay a bit extra for safe ones that won't give an electric shock when played with or chewed.
The really annoying thing is that these strings of lights are so close to being safer. Better wire, double sleeving, more resistors and preferably just a rectifier and no flashing patterns to get rid of that nasty control box. It could make for quite useable lights.
Note that any heat shrink sleeved LED lighting strings will wick in water and corrode when used outdoors. If you have a project you want to last more than one or two seasons in a wet environment, then choose the much more expensive rubber cable municipal lights with the LEDs and their resistors potted individually in resin filled caps.
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:-
http://www.bigclive.com/coffee.htm
This also keeps the channel independent of YouTube's advertising algorithms allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty.
In some instances these LED strings do have applications, but only indoors out of reach of humans and pets. And only used in static mode if the resistors in the first few LEDs of the string don't rapidly start going brown!
If used outdoors around handrails or foliage there is a risk of current flow if water wicks into the LED sleeves and bridges to conductive material. Worse still, that current leakage will be DC, which can defeat some older RCDs/GFCIs and even desensitise them to other leakage faults elsewhere.
The fake 13A plug to make them look UK compliant is just scraping the barrel. Especially the matching fake fuse that isn't even connected in circuit.
If you want safe Christmas lights then choose the ones with the plug in low-voltage power supplies. Kids and pets are attracted to strings of fairy lights, so it makes sense to pay a bit extra for safe ones that won't give an electric shock when played with or chewed.
The really annoying thing is that these strings of lights are so close to being safer. Better wire, double sleeving, more resistors and preferably just a rectifier and no flashing patterns to get rid of that nasty control box. It could make for quite useable lights.
Note that any heat shrink sleeved LED lighting strings will wick in water and corrode when used outdoors. If you have a project you want to last more than one or two seasons in a wet environment, then choose the much more expensive rubber cable municipal lights with the LEDs and their resistors potted individually in resin filled caps.
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:-
http://www.bigclive.com/coffee.htm
This also keeps the channel independent of YouTube's advertising algorithms allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty.
A ( discarded , busted ? ) set like this is a valuable ( free ! ) source of LONG lengths of clear hook up wire … the green sets more so , as the ( dark , garden green ) is not a colour usually available as ( 7 / 0.2 ) equipment wire …. handy to re-wire that special garden lamp that you do not wish to discard , or for other low voltage garden wiring projects ( ? ) ….. DAVE™ ………..
Good on ya Clive, I'm sure you've save a life this Christmas and I don't mean that lightly 😉
How many strands of lights can you safely connect to that transformer? Or can you buy a separate transformer to handle multiple strands of lights. Thank you.
Absolutely incredible! Not just one problem, but a whole shed load in a single product. Sooner or later some poor unsuspecting sole is going to get killed, if that hasn't happened already. The biggest mystery to me is how eBay sellers get away with selling such things in what is supposed to be a properly regulated country.
I have a set of these and one row of leds doesnt work But the First few leds of that row Light up just a bit do you know what the problem could be
I want to put lights like these on a metal fence, but I really need it to be safe to touch. What should I look for?
"Bypassing the standards of your country" Ebays new tag line right there
Iv had this wrapped around my bed frame for the past 5 or so years but with the American plug the big problem I have had with em is after 2 months the little button box no longer changes the light setting meaning if it is strobe lightning then I need to unplug it and hope for a different setting
probably cca wire too.
Usually things from china dont have an earth, are not isolated and can give wondering fingers a nasty shock, but this really is taking the p*ss!
I'd love to know how you knew the Fuse was fake before you had tested it, or had Mark already told you?
Good explanation of house fires around Christmas time, just add dried pine and pets.
Ive never seen a plug like that here in america. I'd be genuinely confused by it
I feel like you shouldn’t say go ahead and use them.
Made in China