European light strings. how have you hung them?

northGAcock

Just purchased some commercial European lights to hang across my back patio. They have a loop over each light designed for stringing them along a guy wire (sold separately). My question is this.....I have a couple of pulls that are roughly 22 feet in length. Has anyone hung similar lights with good results without the guy wire? Not sure if it is a code thing in some areas or a legitimate support need. As always, thanks for reading and sharing the wisdom. 

jknudsen11

I hung them on my back patio, about 15 feet across and did 5 runs to light up the entire deck. You can do it without the wires but they won't look very nice for long.  I used the wire and some turnbuckles to get them tight.  At 22 feet, you will never get them tight without turnbuckles and some way of handling the tension. I wanted mine tight because they are only 10 ft off the ground, if they will be higher you may be able to get away with some sag that I couldn't have. 

I attached the lights to the wire with zip ties and cut off the excess. The wire and turnbuckles add up but they are the only way to do if if you don't won't the lights to sag a lot, no way to keep enough tension in the light string.  As the weather changes, the wires also expand and contract so it's good to have the turnbuckles to tighten them up.  I'd also shy away from the boxed sets from Target or WalMart and just buy the Christmas light string and bulbs, it's cheaper and you can cut them to exact lengths so you don't have to loop them across, you can make perfectly sized strings and attach them separately. I connected mine with a remote control switch and love them, they light up my egg for me. 

Toxarch

If you can't do wire, then how about clothes line? It's inexpensive at Lowes and should hold up to the tension and weather.

northGAcock

jknudsen11 said:

I hung them on my back patio, about 15 feet across and did 5 runs to light up the entire deck. You can do it without the wires but they won't look very nice for long.  I used the wire and some turnbuckles to get them tight.  At 22 feet, you will never get them tight without turnbuckles and some way of handling the tension. I wanted mine tight because they are only 10 ft off the ground, if they will be higher you may be able to get away with some sag that I couldn't have. 

I attached the lights to the wire with zip ties and cut off the excess. The wire and turnbuckles add up but they are the only way to do if if you don't won't the lights to sag a lot, no way to keep enough tension in the light string.  As the weather changes, the wires also expand and contract so it's good to have the turnbuckles to tighten them up.  I'd also shy away from the boxed sets from Target or WalMart and just buy the Christmas light string and bulbs, it's cheaper and you can cut them to exact lengths so you don't have to loop them across, you can make perfectly sized strings and attach them separately. I connected mine with a remote control switch and love them, they light up my egg for me. 

@jknudsen11Thanks ...... exactly the info I was seeking. You were most helpful. I have already purchased the lights...and they are a commercial grade with heavy grade wire. I agree with your wire assessment and will actually be hanging them from an eve to a higher eve. This is not a money issue, just looking to understand if there was a cause / effect I should consider. Again thanks for your wisdom.

northGAcock

Toxarch said:

If you can't do wire, then how about clothes line? It's inexpensive at Lowes and should hold up to the tension and weather.

I can do the wire....was really trying to understand what the true benefit / risk was. I'm convinced. Appreciate your response.

northGAcock

jknudsen11 said:

 I hung my lights today and it worked out great. Thanks again for the input.

Smokinpig

I do 100 foot runs of C9 bulbs with my neighbor at the holidays. We started a few years back with no guy wire but the weight and sag would damage the lights. We switched a few years ago to a guy wire setup and have been issue free. A little different scenario but it might help.