When you don't buy new Light Elements, then you have to use what you have or what you have bought secondhand from yard sales, Craiglist or wherever you find them . Buying secondhand usually means it's been used more than you would like. Having bought at least seven yard reindeer from yard sales, it was clear that they also were used more than I would have wanted. But oh well you find what you find where you find it. Hopefully at a decent price. Once you get your treasures home, you start by spending several hours replacing bulbs, straightening wire runs, ziptie-ing parts together, cleaning, repainting and testing. I managed to bring 4 of them back to life and near perfect working order. Shown below is "Prancer", one of the largest reindeer in our herd. A bit of time spent will bring a nice return once the show starts.
Shown below is "Olive". You know, Olive the other reindeer? This is what she looked like when I brought her home. Her previous owner obviously thought the more the better. But sometimes this is just not true. In fact, I was feeling a bit sad about how this poor thing was looking trussed up like a Christmas goose. Putting her on my workbench, I set about correcting her situation.
After about an hour of undoing the proverbial Gordian Knot, shown is what was actually on Olive and yes, those are icicle lights. The green string can be reused elsewhere after some new bulbs are added to it. However, the other 3 white strings will not be reused on Olive because of wire breaks that had been taped up. We might be able to salvage some of them to make other Lighted Elements in the future.
Olive after surgery.
When reusing strings of lights, remember that "SAFETY" is always more important than anything. Wire breaks, broken bulbs, exposed wire, bad plug prongs, wrong, burnt or missing fuses, burnt or melted bulb housings are just some of the things that can go wrong with a light string. Make sure that the strings you are using are in good working order before you install them. Properly maintained lights will insure that shock hazards will be elimanated and not pose a risk to yourself, your family, your home or the viewing public. When in doubt, just pull all the bulbs out and throw away the string.
When in Doubt, Throw it out!!!
