Selecting the Right Incandescent Mini Lights

Incandescent mini lights have been on the market for a long time. Although incandescent Christmas lights are quickly losing favor and market share to the more energy-efficient LED Christmas lights, incandescent mini lights are still widely used. As with most products, incandescent holiday lights are not all created equal. Some brands or varieties are low-quality and intended for single use (essentially disposable.) Other varieties are higher-quality, will last longer, and are even more energy-efficient than the cheap mini lights. Miniature incandescent Christmas lights are also available in a commercial grade which are manufactured and intended for use in commercial applications which demand a more durable product. If you have decided to purchase incandescent Christmas lights here are some things you should consider before you make your selection.

Bulb and Socket Construction

One of the most common causes of failure in incandescent mini Christmas lights results from corrosion or shorts from moisture infiltration. Moisture most commonly enters the mini light bulb unit through the seam where the bulb and the socket meet. Poor quality incandescent mini lights are simply friction fit (meaning that the only thing that holds the bulb and socket together and keeps the moisture out is the friction between the inside of the socket and the outside of the bulb.) Because friction fit bulb/socket assemblies are very rarely perfectly tight and uniform, it is easy for water to seep into the socket causing corrosion and bulb failure.

If you are planning to use your mini lights in a location that may be exposed to tampering or vandalism, a friction fit bulb assembly is also a poor choice. This is because a friction fit bulb/socket assembly can easily be twisting. The twisting or tampering of the bulb/socket assembly can break the electrical connection between the bulb and the socket rendering it useless.

Higher quality incandescent Christmas mini lights use a bulb assembly that reduces or eliminates moisture infiltration. This is accomplished by using a compression fitted tongue and grove type assembly.

Top quality commercial grade incandescent mini lights also utilize some sort of twist-resistant technology which prevents vandals from twisting the bulb in the socket and breaking the electrical connection.

Bulb Quality

The quality of an incandescent mini light's bulb and bulb components greatly impact its brightness and longevity. Low quality mini lights generally use a 150-170 mA bulb that is not as bright as the 200 mA bulbs used in commercial grade incandescent mini light sets.

Bargain grade mini lights also typically use very low quality tungsten or other materials for their filaments which burn away quickly and or more fragile. A good quality commercial grade incandescent mini light will use a high quality Japanese tungsten filament that should last 3000 hours or more.

Wire Gauge and Quality

Because the copper wire used in Christmas lights is the single most expensive component used in the manufacture of Christmas lights, many discount manufacturers use light grade and low quality copper wire. A standard grade quality incandescent mini light will use a high quality 22 gauge copper wire that has been manually twisted. Look for light sets whose wire appears firm and tightly twisted. Poorly twisted cheap sets are a real headache to deal with.

Commercial grade mini lights use a 20 gauge wire that is also manually twisted to minimize issues of tangling. The 20 gauge wire sets have the advantage of increased connectability. The user can connect up to 6 sets of 100 light mini lights which use 20 gauge wire. The standard grade 22 gauge wire sets can only be connected up to 3 sets.

Spacing and Overall Quality

Low cost Christmas mini lights are inexpensive for a reason--the manufactures cut corners wherever they can to save on raw material and production costs. Budget grade mini lights sets often simple look "cheap" and exhibit a lack of uniformity in bulb spacing.

What to Buy

What type or grade of incandescent mini lights is right for you depends on a lot of things, but the most important factor to consider is the intended application. If you simply want to light up your Christmas tree for the holiday season and don't care if the lights last for more than one season maybe the budget grade lights are good for you. However, if you are using the lights outside where they will be exposed to the elements and human tampering it might make sense to consider a higher quality light set.