Terminating a C7 or C9 light string

We get calls, quite often actually, about how to end a light string without a plug. There are a few main ways to seal off the end of a light string, Electrical Tape, Liquid Electrical Tape/Insulation, or Heat shrink.

Electrical tape is the most convenient and fastest but sometimes in the weather it can shrink and unravel if not applied properly.

• Always Cut Electrical Tape - Use scissors or a knife to cut your tape, pulling/tearing the tape stretches it and will lead to it shrinking in the weather
• Separate both wires and wrap individually, then together. You don't want to risk a short across the exposed wires.
• Wrap tightly, but again, do not stretch the electrical tape.

Liquid Electrical Tape/Insulation is a great alternative. You can paint, or dip the end of the wires into the can. Be sure to follow all the instructions on the can/container! For better results we recommended doing multiple coats, but be sure to let each coat dry in between applications.

Heat Shrink is a personal favorite of mine. It's safe, long lasting, and looks great. Be sure to use the proper size, in my experience the small the better.

• Separate the wires and heat shrink individually. Leave excess on the end so that the end of the wires do not touch. I leave enough to fold over after first shrink process
• Hit it with a heat gun for a few seconds
  
• Fold the ends of the excess heat shrink down after you shrink it onto the wires
• Slip a larger piece of heat shrink over both wires, making sure you keep the folded heat shrink down
• Hit it with heat gun and you should have a nice looking, well protected tip of your wire.

I hope this gives some insight as to how we make custom light strings and how to properly terminate a C7 or C9 Stringer.
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Zach

Easter Lights

Easter is April 4th this year so for those of us that go all out with the decorations there is just a little under a month left to get your decorations. We carry a selection of yard displays and lights that are perfect for the easter holiday. Our displays feature easter bunnies, eggs, flowers, Happy Easter signs, but we also carry many religious displays that would be perfect for decorating a church or home for this holiday. We have a selection of Crosses that would be perfect for the Easter holiday.

Many of our opaque (painted) C7 and C9 bulbs have a soft glow that's perfect for decorating; the pink, purple, teal bulbs have a very pastel appearance. String these bulbs on white wire for a very festive look. Or use C9 bulbs on a green wire with a large spacing and place them on your lawn to look like hidden easter eggs. The only limit to how one can decorate is ones imagination.

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Zach

Party and Prom lighting!

Spring is on it's way and now isn't really the time were most people think to themselves, "I should put up some Christmas lights!" But if you look around this time of year "Christmas" lights are all around us, we see them at restaurants, bars, at parties, in shops, and for specials events an occasions. High School Proms are a great place for hanging lights, you can light table center pieces, lighting around windows, light trees, hang (or make) swag lights for the ceiling.

Creating a ceiling full of light strings is very popular for Proms, Weddings, and other Special Events. To get an idea of how many light strings you'll need you need to know the Length of the room, the Width of the room, approximately how high the ceilings are, and how far apart you want to space your lights. Typically you want to space your swags 3' to 5' apart, it sounds nice to really keep your strings close but that increases your number of strings and sometimes be too much visually. You'll want to use a bulb spacing of 4"-6", using longer spacings help you get more feet per string and less power sources. Mini lights can typically only do 3 sets end to end, so keep that in mind. We always recommend using our bare 18 gauge wire and quick-connect plugs to create your own custom power strips that you can run along a side wall to provide power for your strings. And remember, going Green with LED lights can let you easily decorate a large space with less power. LED lights use less than 20% of the power of your typical Mini lights, so you can connect more sets together and run less power cords for a cleaner look.

The sky is the limit with decorating for any occasion, never limit yourself to just mini lights. Sphere lights add an extra bit of dimension to your lighting. Twiggy or Rice lights are small lights that are great to hide in greenery. Flicker flames are a great way to simulate a candle, without the fire hazard! The options are endless.

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Zach
American Christmas Co.

Commerical Christmas Trees

2010 is going to be a big year for All American Christmas Co., we are expanding our selection of commercial products starting with Commercial Christmas Trees. Here are some facts about our Large Commercial Christmas Trees:

• Sizes range from 12' to 100'
• Mini Lights, C7 bulbs, or LED bulbs lighting options

Different construction styles:

• Branch
• Panel
  
• Ice Light
• Chain Trees

Click here to view what trees we currently have listed. These high quality trees are perfect for both indoor and outdoor applications. Commercial Trees are used in Shopping Malls, Downtowns of Cities, Churches, Driveway Entrances, Rooftop Displays, Drive-Thru Parks, Business Lobbies, the uses are endless. If you don't see exactly what you're looking for email us, we have access to some of the best tree manufacturers in the country and we can get the tree you need built to your specs. You can pick the style of build, the color of the foliage, the size, and the type of lights. Despite their higher up front cost, we recommend lighting all trees (commercial or otherwise) with LED lights. For Example, a 14' tall tree lit with C7 Bulbs has a total wattage of 3,120 (26.04 total amps) and the same tree only lit with LED bulbs has a total wattage of 599.04 (4.992 total amps). With LED you'll use just 20% of what you would with C7 bulbs, you don't have to use as much power which also helps when getting electricity to these large trees.

If you have any questions please check out the website or send us a email. We hope to add even more trees in early 2010. Thanks for reading.

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Zach

Lighting Glass Blocks (Repost)

It seems like every day we get calls about people looking for lights to go inside Glass blocks, like the one shown above (image from www.homedepot.com). These glass blocks are usually used to make a wall or some sort of divider in a bathroom and can be found at places like The Home Depot. The way people put lights in these is really simple.

1. Get a pack of Glass Blocks
2. Get a Drill bit for drilling glass (1/2 inch is a good size)
3. Get some mini lights or LED lights that DO NOT have a end plug.
   
4. Drill a hole into the block where you would like to insert the lights.
5. Carefully push the lights into the block through the hole.
6. Plug them up to make sure you didn't loosen any bulbs during the install
7. If the lights work, you're done. Unless you want to wrap the block in ribbon , which is also popular.

These have been a very popular craft lately, we get a lot of calls and email asking about it. People use them for center pieces, gifts, and whatever else strikes their fancy. We have expanded our craft light sets to include both short and long lead wires and craft style LED lights that don't have end to end connectors. These LED sets are a perfect alternative to Mini light craft sets, they generate no heat, the bulb life is extraordinary, and bulbs won't come loose inside the blocks!

Click here to see our selection of mini lights and Click here to see our Craft LED Lights

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Zach Broyles
All American Christmas Co.

Valentine's Day!

Our next big holiday coming up is Valentine's Day and we do have a selection of lights and displays to help enhance the day for your business, party, or just for someone special. We have some great heart and cupid displays that are perfect for hanging indoors and out. Click here to check out Valentine displays.

Our Red light white string mini light strings are perfect for decorating, mini lights come in a wide selection of bulb counts and spacings. 20, 35, 50, and 100 bulb count strings have a red bulb on white wire option and all have a clear bulb on white wire. Click here to go to our mini light page.

If you really want to go all out, our rose lights are great for decorating tables or any where that needs a little something to really make it special. They come in White, Red, and a Pink style with 10 bulbs on white or green wire. We really like these sets, they are high quality and don't look cheesy like most other decorative/novelty style light sets, which is really important on a special day like valentines day. Click here to find these sets on the site.

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Zach

Storing Christmas Lights

The season has come and gone, but like many of us great procrastinators out there I'm sure many of you still have up your tree and lights. Here are some simple and easy steps on how to properly store your lights!

1. Take care when removing your lights. Don't just yank them down off the tree or the house. Take the time to do it right, you'll be glad you did next year.
2. Fix faulty strings BEFORE you store them. Taking the time to fix your sets now will save you the time, money, and stress next season! Invest in a tester tool or repair box.
   
3. Unscrew the bulbs. What is a sure fire way to make a knot in your light line and break bulbs? Not removing them before storage. Those little boxes we ship C7 and C9 bulbs in are really handy, don't toss them. Save your boxes and properly store your bulbs and they'll last longer.
4. Wind up your mini lights. Here is a easy tip on storing mini lights and other pre made light strings, take a scrap cardboard piece and cut it into a rectangle, cut a small slit on one side of the board and slip your plug into that slit, start wrapping your lights around the board without overlapping the wires, when you get to the end of the wire cut another slit and put the end plug or bulb into that slit.
   
5. Proper Storage. As with all your holiday decorations it's best keep them in a dry place and in a good container. Manly people use plastic storage boxes and they are a great way to go, get the kind with a lid that snaps or latches on.
6. Labels, labels, labels. Label those boxes! So many times I've misplaced decorations and or gotten out the wrong box when decorating.

Follow these steps and take time when storing your lights and next years decorating off without a hitch!

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Zach