Holiday

[patofl]

We set our 4 year old pre lit tree up last Friday to be sure all the lights were lit. Good , they were all lit. Spent all day Saturday decorating it. Last night half the lights on the middle section went out.At least we still have half the lights. Of course this happened when we had friends over for dinner.I'm praying the remainder of the lights last thru the season, & it looks like a new tree next year. I think 4 years seems to be about all you get from these pre lit trees. Our previous ones lasted about this long as well.

[Susan Louise]

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@patofl wrote:

We set our 4 year old pre lit tree up last Friday to be sure all the lights were lit. Good , they were all lit. Spent all day Saturday decorating it. Last night half the lights on the middle section went out.At least we still have half the lights. Of course this happened when we had friends over for dinner.I'm praying the remainder of the lights last thru the season, & it looks like a new tree next year. I think 4 years seems to be about all you get from these pre lit trees. Our previous ones lasted about this long as well.

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@patofl  I highly suggest buying the Lightkeeper Pro. Just google for it and it's available in a lot of brick & mortor stores if you don't want to have to wait for it to be delivered. Just check your local stores.

We have been using ours for years. The clear 'random twinkle' lights on our new Balsam Hill tree are 18 yrs old

NOTE*** Keep in mind, when you buy replacement bulbs, check the volts on the replacement bulb pkg and make sure it will work for the particular string of lights. The volts are based upon how many lights are in the string or piece of lighted decor. For example, a 12 light tree topper, a 50 light string of lights or a 100 light string of lights will all use a different volt replacement bulb. The info/guides are online.

[stevieb]

@patofl It's happened to me more than once, and twice with a huge, complex tree decorated to within an inch of its life. Rather than have a half lit tree, I painstakingly wove several strings of new lights into the tree, yes, with the ornaments in place. I wasn't going to undecorate the tree and then redecorate it. It's not a treat, but it's not as bad as it sounds. Worth considering.

[1Snickers]

@ Loves roses. I had an older Bethlehem Lights tree and wanted to get a smaller 5' tree this year. 

I ordered the Casa Zeta Jones tree. It arrived with a pole sticking out of the box and it was bent. I hauled it to the post office to exchange it. 

The replacement took forever and was obviously return. It wasn't fastened down. There was no battery in remote as stated or little stocking for it.  After a minute of working one light wouldn't change color then it blinked. I changed the bulb & it did the same thing.When turned off by remote the lights were dimly on. I had UPS pick it up for a refund. It was made by Santa's Best.

I pulled out my old tree with an aching back. ( I'm old also)! Then the bottom part didn't light. I changed the fuses and the whole socked fell out. It was 2 years old.

i immediately ordered a slim Valerie 7' tree , even though it had glitter that I hate. 

I'm glad I did! It's beautifully frosted and glows. It's smaller and lighter!

QVC Gave me free shipping because I had so much trouble with the others and there was free shipping the day before. I saved $31.00!

THEN... I contacted Bethlehem lights and since the socket fell out they sent a replacement slim that I have left in the box for a spare!

There are many good sales now at Big Lots and Target. Or give Valerie's a chance next year. The TV doesn't show the frosted snow on the pinecones or the way it picks up the light. The glitter is no problem. It has been up since right after Halloween since I use  Valerie's beaded fruit. It's good for Autumn and Christmas.

i'm so sorry yours isn't working right. It's discouraging! I don't think lights are covered on most warranties, they are limited. MIne  was a socket problem and fire hazard I'm sure.

[MarkeieMark]

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@stevieb wrote:

@patofl It's happened to me more than once, and twice with a huge, complex tree decorated to within an inch of its life. Rather than have a half lit tree, I painstakingly wove several strings of new lights into the tree, yes, with the ornaments in place. I wasn't going to undecorate the tree and then redecorate it. It's not a treat, but it's not as bad as it sounds. Worth considering.

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yes, with the ornaments in place. I wasn't going to undecorate the tree and then redecorate it. LOL  Dying.

[Nevadablue]

Oh I'm not alone, was watching tv last nite and my 5 year old BL flocked woodland tree, the bottom half went dark and I mean every bulb on the strand is black!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so theres no fixing it and of course BL doesn't give you hardly any replacements I used them up couple years ago. Hubby wants to tear this set of lights off next year and add a new set so we'll see as for this year I'm not dealing with it I have 3 trees up and this is not our main tree so half dark will be the deal this year.

[Susan Louise]

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@Nevadablue wrote:

Oh I'm not alone, was watching tv last nite and my 5 year old BL flocked woodland tree, the bottom half went dark and I mean every bulb on the strand is black!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so theres no fixing it and of course BL doesn't give you hardly any replacements I used them up couple years ago. Hubby wants to tear this set of lights off next year and add a new set so we'll see as for this year I'm not dealing with it I have 3 trees up and this is not our main tree so half dark will be the deal this year.

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@Nevadablue  I don't know if you read my post above or not, but if you use the device I mentioned you can find the bulb causing issues while everything is on the tree/decorated. DH did that a couple of days ago. He used the device, found the bad bulb on the light strand that went out and replaced it. It only took about 5-10 minutes.

After I finish decorating for the holiday season, we keep a small box in the closet by our front door that has various spare bulbs of different volts and the device. It makes fixing any outages easy to fix

[chvall99]

@Susan Louise I also put in a vote for the LightKeeper Pro! I cannot believe how many sets of lights that I threw out over the years before I got this device.  Many times it only takes about 5 minutes to find the problem bulb. If you don't have replacement lights you can contact the manufacturer or just find the bulbs online or in your hardware store.  My husband laughs at me every year because he doesn't have the patience for it but I HATE throwing stuff out when it can be fixed.  Ha ha just a quirk of mine.  Others would say that it is easier and faster to just get a replacement and they are right about that too.  But in this case the Lightkeeper Pro could really save the day especially since the tree is already decorated. Before I got one I also threaded a strand of replacement lights on the tree as an emergency fix for the season. Good luck!

[software]

I've had my pre-lit tree for many years.

Not even worth bothering with the lights now that they only half work, I use a separate strand and add it on.

I got the goody out of the tree, no complaints.    It's a Martha Stewart.

Lights are cheap, I'll just keep adding strands until I get the look I want.

Come to think of it, I believe when we first got the tree, we added lights, wasn't enough for us.

[I am stillkeeper of the]

Weaving the strands in is the way to go.My older hallmarks dont work on led lights,found out the hard way  last year!Put in a few short strands was easier than those huge strings to maneuver around the decorated parts.You may want to get those .Keep an eye out after christmas ,most places wont want to store big trees for the next year,they let them go sometimes75% off!I have 2 really expensive backup trees  stored ,my sweet husband paid less than 100 dollars for with that huge markdown.If you buy on sale this year ,you will be way ahead for next year!Happy holidays ,hope  you can make your fix easily, MaryAnne