Mega Tree

[vziukas]

Could you share guys infor about mega tree for beginner.
I'm thinking ~10 feet 16 channels tree.
How to build it cheapest - strong way.
Do anybody try kits from here
http://christmaslightshow.com/xcart/...hp?productid=4
or here
http://www.wowlights.com/ProductDeta...20&Product=183
Are they worth money?
any suggestions welcome ;)
Thanks

[mrtinga]

Here is a link to a great tutorial on the mega tree - http://www.landolights.com/main/content/view/80/39/
Hope this helps.

[omzig]

That is a nice tutorial. I like the idea of putting the upside-down screws on the top to keep the birds from perching, so you don't end up with a mega bird potty.

Who's site is that? Is it someone here?

[ben]

My mega tree will be 18 feet tall (give or take a foot)

24 channels with one set of string per channel. It will be 5 colors (gold, white, blue, red and green) and have a 3.5 foot wide star at the top. I am using support wires in the middle of the tree (at the 10 foot joint) and then off of the star at the top. 2" EMT tubing/conduit is the center for my tree. 1/2" plastic conduit will the the base that will be anchored 6" or so off the ground (just to keep the plugs completly off the ground)

Ben

[cobraman44]

Mine is about 12 ft tall. Used 25 ft lights and stringed them up then back down, 3 colors, 48 channels. You can see how mine was made here
http://www.trumbullchristmas.com/construction.aspx
(finally organized the site a little better)
The one thing I will do different this year is get the base off the ground. The only reason is the snow covered more of the base than I thought it would. The only time I ever tripped a GFCI was during an ice storm. I never had any issues with power under the snow.

[MrLights2000]

i have the 14 foot version tree from christmaslightshow.com and the tree is awsome it only took me a couple of hours to build and set it up. its has somewhere around 5200 lights and will be controlled by 19 channels. 16 for the tree and 3 for the 3-d star. i set it up and painted it the day before i put the lights on. the only thing i would suggest if you choose this one is to use krylon paint for plastic because i used the cheap walmart paint and it chipped and when the lights hit it it got all scrapped up and the white pvc showed.

just my 2 cents


danny

[vziukas]

After reading around I decide to build 10 feet tree using PVC pipe. What size of pipe you guys are using? I saw in some pages 2' and 1 1/2' inside ? Will it gives more strength ? What is advantages/disadvantage to use 40 or 80 pipe ? I read that 80 has thicker walls, so maybe it holds better against bending ? What other concerns I should take in mind ?
Thanks

[BuzzKill]

I used 2" black ABS last year and at 12' it was barely standing straight. Out here in California we can still get warm days in December. And what would happen is one side of the ABS pipe would warm in the sun and the top of the mega would warp and start to tip over. I think if I had had a few more strands of lights up there it probably would have toppled or collapsed. PVC is even more flexy than ABS. So I dunno. The 1-1/2 inside the 2" may not be a bad way to go. But I think If I put up the mega this year, it will be 3 or 4" ABS

[XmasInGalt]

Last year I used a 2" x 10' PVC pipe for my mega tree. I connected guy wires to the top and middle of the PVC pipe down to the ground. The middle guy wires seemed to provide stability to keep the pipe from flexing.

[vziukas]

Last year I used a 2" x 10' PVC pipe for my mega tree. I connected guy wires to the top and middle of the PVC pipe down to the ground. The middle guy wires seemed to provide stability to keep the pipe from flexing.

At what height approximately you connect middle guy wires ? 5' ?