Interested in getting thought on warm white LED C9 Christmas lights, as opposed to incandescent. My main reasons for switching over from incandescent to LED is to be able to run more strands on single runs and cost efficiency. Has anyone found warm white LED C9 Christmas lights which are bright, reliable, installation friendly, and not overly expensive?

Brightness: From what I have notice, LED C9 lights have historically been dimmer their incandescent counterparts. Perhaps this has been improved with certain brands.

Installation friendly: The incandescent light strands are easy to cut and splice as needed. I've heard the LED wires are usually not conducive to cutting and splicing. I'm assuming this is associated with the LED strands that have fixed bulbs that can not be unscrewed and replaced.

Cost: Looks like the pro sets I've come across basically use the old two-wire line sets and screw-in LED bulbs. Most of these options are pricy. I don't mind making the investment if this is the best route.

TIA

I would only recommend options which use the traditional two-wire strings and individual sockets, as these can be cut and/or repaired as needed. There are also LED versions of these bulbs which are much brighter which are available online and often at independent hardware stores (Ace, Elliott's if you're in the DFW area, etc.). Also, pay attention to what bulb spacing you want.

The rest of the lower end options on the market are generally not worth your time, as the bulbs are not replaceable and the light strings are not rugged enough for multi-year use.

I bought a bunch of the HD house brand (home accents) stuff several years ago after the holidays to make my lights.

500' roll with sockets
vampire plugs
10 boxes clear c9 bulbs

The next year I just measured all of the runs I wanted, cut to length, installed plugs to make the runs manageable, and then put it all up. I think my original set has lasted 4 years now? Maybe 5? I've only had to swap out a few bulbs and I bought an extra box or two with the original purchase. I do take out all of the bulbs from the sockets each year and wipe out the sockets to remove any gunk/moisture before storing.

Best part is I'm only in to this for like $100.

Aggietaco said:

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I bought a bunch of the HD house brand (home accents) stuff several years ago after the holidays to make my lights.

500' roll with sockets
vampire plugs
10 boxes clear c9 bulbs

The next year I just measured all of the runs I wanted, cut to length, installed plugs to make the runs manageable, and then put it all up. I think my original set has lasted 4 years now? Maybe 5? I've only had to swap out a few bulbs and I bought an extra box or two with the original purchase. I do take out all of the bulbs from the sockets each year and wipe out the sockets to remove any gunk/moisture before storing.

Best part is I'm only in to this for like $100.

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100% this. I did the same thing. I also bought a roll of green lamp wire to create my own connections.
Also a good glue gun is helpful if you want to outline windows etc.

Amazon has some decent C9 LED as well as vampire plugs and replacement sockets if you need to replace just one or two out of an existing strand.

I've tried to replace my c9 incandescents, but none of the LEDs have matched brightness or color. They've gotten better but still not the same. All I've tried are still dimmer and brighter white than traditional.

I switched to these this year and cannot tell the difference.

I might give those a try.

Aggie71013 said:

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I've tried to replace my c9 incandescents, but none of the LEDs have matched brightness or color. They've gotten better but still not the same. All I've tried are still dimmer and brighter white than traditional.

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These are as extremely close to old incandescent. I have 30 strings of the colored.

White frosted:
https://www.menards.com/main/holiday-decorations/christmas/christmas-lights/enchanted-forest-reg-led-vintage-25-light-warm-white-c9-christmas-string-light-set/m24-1340/p-1642874314301021-c-12284.htm?exp=false

Color frosted:
https://www.menards.com/main/holiday-decorations/christmas/christmas-lights/enchanted-forest-reg-led-vintage-25-light-multicolor-c9-christmas-string-light-set/m24-1335/p-1642874314290933-c-12284.htm

Aggie71013 said:

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I've tried to replace my c9 incandescents, but none of the LEDs have matched brightness or color. They've gotten better but still not the same. All I've tried are still dimmer and brighter white than traditional.

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I've also run into this problem. It's really noticeable comparing my LEDs to the neighbors on how dim they are. I purchased warm white C9s from 1000bulbs to line my roof 2 years ago. These are brighter than the ones I purchased from Home Depot a few years ago, but still pail in comparison to some of the other ones in my neighborhood that appear to be incandescent. I still haven't gotten the look I am going for.

I am all in on these from Amazon. Been very pleased with them. I bought a lot of Christmas light products from this Amazon store.

Holiday lighting outlet

What are all the "pros" using? The guy that put the lights up on our new house this year uses the stuff (strand of sockets) that comes on a roll. They basically custom fit the light strands to fit our house. It uses C9 LED bulbs. I live in a large house and everything plugs into one outlet it's awesome, they splice branches onto the main line with no problem. I think they sell this stuff at Ace.

I just found this comparison on reddit looking up the same thing, this guy does a solid comparison of options.

Reddit - Christmas Light Comparison

take a look at ace hardware. the one by me has a full aisle of DIY - strands, bulbs, timers, etc.

I bought a bunch from Christmas lights etc online a few years ago. Went the spool and bulb separately route. Was much beater deal than big box stores and the quality is really good.

Got the C9 120V Dimmable Warm White OptiCore LED as well as red and they are nice and bright and look great.

Absolute said:

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I bought a bunch from Christmas lights etc online a few years ago. Went the spool and bulb separately route. Was much beater deal than big box stores and the quality is really good.

Got the C9 120V Dimmable Warm White OptiCore LED as well as red and they are nice and bright and look great.

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I also recommend Christmas lights etc. They alsways have sales and you can get the strands in the length that you want and pick out the bulbs in whatever color you want. The opticores are what I've had on my house the past couple years. Much better than the LED bulbs you get at lowes or Home Depot that aren't very bright.

Even if you are not real electrical savvy cutting and splicing the wires is easy. They have little fittings that work for different things that are pretty foolproof.