Joining 2 sets of External/Outside Christmas Lights

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In order to get extra length of lights, I'm joining 2 sets of external Christmas lights[2 core cable] together that plug into the mains in my garage- can anyone recommend the type of external connection it's spec and where to buy it, that I should use in order to join the 2 sets of cables together? Thanks
 
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ban-all-sheds, read the post again, see if you change your mind. :idea:

he said he wants to join 2 sets of christmas lights , in short if you do that they wont work, since they are wired in series

Jim_Connolly

you can not do what you are thinking / suggesting, as to add another set of lights to the existing set means there will not be enough current to operate all lights.

Its like you have one orange, you mate comes along, he wants one, but there is only one orange, only fair thing is half each, that is what your lights will do

you have 3 options,

get a new bigger and longer set of lights

get a bigger and lomger set of lights and plug them in as well (as well as your short set)

by loads of lights and plug them all in

either way they will all have to be plugged in, in doors
 
FFS

xmaslights1.jpg
 
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that is not what he asked he said "In order to get extra length of lights"
putting 2 cables into one end of the connector you show is not a good idea since there will be a small gap for water ingress dues to the ill fitting of 4 small cables

sorry :cry:
 
breezer said:
that is not what he asked he said "In order to get extra length of lights"
Well - I just interpreted that as "an extra length of lights". Never in a million years did I imagine that anybody would think that you could just connect a second set in series, sorry. :rolleyes:

putting 2 cables into one end of the connector you show is not a good idea since there will be a small gap for water ingress dues to the ill fitting of 4 small cables
You have a point there.
 
To be honest, christmas lights (providing they are of similar ratings) are better wired in series pairs.

My little daughter loves xmas lights, so we have two sets in her room. I have them wired in series, and because they only see half their rated voltage they never seem to blow bulbs, surprisingly the light output is still ok.

Since finding this out a few years back I've always bought strings of lights in pairs and connected them as such.

Try it, you'll never need to change a bulb again :LOL:
 
Never tried double, but my parents had 2 x 120-lamp sets made from 3 x 80-lamp ones.

Perfectly bright, and as you say, the lamps last forever...
 
Thanks everyone for contributing. I bought an external connector similar to the one suggested by Ban-All-Sheds and handed both sets to an Electrician after the concerns raised by Breezer... the lights aren't low voltage/ don't require a transformer, the Live and Neutral connected and work fine with no loss/reduction in bulb brightness. The only dissapointment in using this excellent forum is finding a degree of sarcasm in certain responses to those far more knowledgable than myself... it doesn't help your fellow members.
 

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