In article , Mark Lloyd wrote:
On Sun, 26 Nov 2006 16:24:55 -0600, Jim Redelfs
wrote:

In article ,
"Gary Brown" wrote:

I've had it with series Christmas lights. Are there outdoor trees
with lights not in series?

For clarification, when lights are in series if one goes out they all
go out. I want some where only the burned out bulb goes out.

You are pretty much relegated to C7 or C9 intermediate base lamps - something
that requires ~125VAC to operate.

There is a price to pay for this sort of reliability: Your electric
bill will be the FIRST thing to notice the change. One string of 25
outdoor lights will consume at least 175 watts.

I gave up on miniature (at al) lights YEARS ago, at least in any area
where an entire circuit (outage) would be particularly noticeable and a
PAIN to service, such as a run along the top eave of a two-story home.

I know someone who had that problem with miniature lights a couple of
years ago. He hasn't put them on his roof since.

Some strings of miniature incandescents have bulbs failing short rather
than open due to add-on devices. When failures not responded to by bulb
replacements accumulate to the point of rapid cascade failure, you only
then blow all bulbs or the fuse. If you insist on incandescent
rather than LED, look for strings that have and boast about this feature.

- Don Klipstein )