| Electronics > Projects, Designs, and Technical Stuff |
| It's that time of year again... Christmas tree lights |
| << < (6/8) > >> |
| Gyro:
--- Quote from: tooki on December 21, 2019, 03:35:40 pm ---FYI, to the other shocked Americans: 1. A properly hydrated Christmas tree will not go up in flames if a single candle flame licks a branch for a second. (Ideally you should cut a fresh edge onto the trunk so that it can absorb water better.) 2. One NEVER lights candles except when the tree will be actively supervised. So that means the tree is lit only a handful of times the whole season. 3. It’s nonetheless a wise precaution to keep a fire extinguisher at hand, just in case. Xmas tree fires do happen every year to people who have violated the prior requirements, especially the one about keeping the tree hydrated, since dry evergreen needles do indeed burn exceedingly fast. --- End quote --- That used to be a totally anal form of torture in our household, before we finally gave up and went for an artificial one! First stand outside in the freezing cold with the tree balanced on the garden bench after dragging it off the car. Then saw a couple of inches off the bottom with a hand saw while SWMBO slowly poured freezing water over the saw, cut and fingers to avoid airlocks and wash away spilt blood. Then split the bottom of the trunk in at least three directions with a chisel and drill a few holes for good measure (while continuing the water torture) to maximise absorbing area. Then plunge into a bucket of water, (breaking the ice if necessary!) and leave outside for a week. Dry saw, drill bits, chisel etc and oil as necessary, sweep needles off car. Finally attend to chilblains! After week, bring inside, originally in the bucket (remove slugs), wedged with bricks and much swearing to get the trunk perfectly vertical, more latterly in a cast iron stand with water reservoir. Then cut the top off the optimistically chosen tree to make room for the fairy between the top and the ceiling. We never had needle drop though. The final change came when we found that one of the DIY stores had a realistic looking artificial one on offer, cheaper than we could buy a dying one. That was about 10 years ago. Filament bulbs which had lasted since we were married in 1984 and still working, finally replaced with LED a couple of years ago. Christmas is so much easier these days. :D |
| ebastler:
--- Quote from: Gyro on December 22, 2019, 08:47:59 pm ---Christmas is so much easier these days. :D --- End quote --- I recommend this inflatable tree with interior lights. :P |
| james_s:
--- Quote from: Gyro on December 22, 2019, 08:47:59 pm ---First stand outside in the freezing cold with the tree balanced on the garden bench after dragging it off the car. Then saw a couple of inches off the bottom with a hand saw while SWMBO slowly poured freezing water over the saw, cut and fingers to avoid airlocks and wash away spilt blood. Then split the bottom of the trunk in at least three directions with a chisel and drill a few holes for good measure (while continuing the water torture) to maximise absorbing area. Then plunge into a bucket of water, (breaking the ice if necessary!) and leave outside for a week. Dry saw, drill bits, chisel etc and oil as necessary, sweep needles off car. Finally attend to chilblains! --- End quote --- That sounds drastically more involved than what I do. Unload the tree and lay it in the driveway, buzz an inch off the bottom with my cordless reciprocating saw, slap the base of my adjustable stand on and crank down the screws. Then carry it inside, set it up in the stand, adjust it to level and fill the stand with water. Cut the bundling net off and let it settle for a bit and then decorate. The actual setup takes about 20 minutes, most of the work is decorating it. Yeah an artificial tree would be marginally easier as I wouldn't have to drive anywhere to get it but the real ones make the house smell nice. |
| Syntax Error:
Maybe Jehovah's Witnesses have the right idea? They do not celebrate xmas and easter as they believe these are pagan festivals and not true Christian events. So that's no lights, no trees, no cards, no wrapping paper, no waiting in line to meet some grumpy shopping mal Santa, no 'amusing' office Secret Santa gifts, no sexual harassment claims after the office party, no Rudolph jumpers or stupid Pixie hats, no festive shopping muzak, no keeping the receipts (she will hate it), no under/over cooked Turkey, and absolutely no hoovering of random glitter particles off the furniture. Oh what joy to the world! Anyway, as a pagan I say to the EEVBlog community, happy Winter/Summer Solstice < depending on your hemisphere. |
| Gyro:
--- Quote from: james_s on December 22, 2019, 09:07:10 pm --- --- Quote from: Gyro on December 22, 2019, 08:47:59 pm ---First stand outside in the freezing cold with the tree balanced on the garden bench after dragging it off the car. Then saw a couple of inches off the bottom with a hand saw while SWMBO slowly poured freezing water over the saw, cut and fingers to avoid airlocks and wash away spilt blood. Then split the bottom of the trunk in at least three directions with a chisel and drill a few holes for good measure (while continuing the water torture) to maximise absorbing area. Then plunge into a bucket of water, (breaking the ice if necessary!) and leave outside for a week. Dry saw, drill bits, chisel etc and oil as necessary, sweep needles off car. Finally attend to chilblains! --- End quote --- That sounds drastically more involved than what I do. Unload the tree and lay it in the driveway, buzz an inch off the bottom with my cordless reciprocating saw, slap the base of my adjustable stand on and crank down the screws. Then carry it inside, set it up in the stand, adjust it to level and fill the stand with water. Cut the bundling net off and let it settle for a bit and then decorate. The actual setup takes about 20 minutes, most of the work is decorating it. Yeah an artificial tree would be marginally easier as I wouldn't have to drive anywhere to get it but the real ones make the house smell nice. --- End quote --- Yeah, I did say I got pretty anal about it! :D I do agree about missing the smell though. P.S. Why, in all those years, did I never think of cutting the net off after it was in the house? :palm: It always used to come off the week before, outside, to settle and collect crud! |
| Navigation |
| Message Index |
| Next page |
| Previous page |