# LED christmas tree - pre-lit



## Darell

OK. I'm old. I'm grumpy. I want my life to be easy in December.

But Hey! I like LEDs and Christmas cheer. Especially the cheer of hot, mulled wine.... mmm. but I digress...

My old, fake Christmas tree has served a long and useful life. And now it is time for something new. Something small-ish, and pre-lit with quality LEDs. So... why the heck can't I turn up anything like this today? I mean really? I found a great 4.5' pre-lit tree. Good size. Good looking. Reasonable price.... incandescent lights. What? 

What do you suppose I'm missing? Where is my perfect tree hiding?
4-5' would be ideal. "White" LEDs preferred. Colored if I have to. Quality beats cost. help?


----------



## nightshade

Darell, how ya been? I purchased a 4.5 ft tall, pre-lit, warm-white led, Christmas tree, from Walmart ,for my boat. Made by Vickerman Corp. and it looks very real, especially after the spiked egg nog.
Walmart # 554382340
Hope that helps, and Merry Christmas to you and yours!


----------



## Darell

Why Mr. Nightshade! good to hear from you. 

Great pointer... I'll go have a look. Oddly enough, I don't generally do much - if any - business at WalMart. Yet, it turns out that my aged tree (I should cut through the metal stand and count the rings) that I hope to replace ALSO came from Walmart. Hmmm.

Shopping list: LED tree and eggnog spike.

Cheers!
.....
Now that I've looked at it... (and it looks great! Real Italian LEDs... whatever those are)... Does this have any means of accommodating efficient storage? Or do you toss a sheet over it and find a place to store it "whole?"


----------



## nightshade

Darell, yeah, I'm not a big Wallie fan either. Vickerman is a major maker and sold at many different stores. Check Vickermans website for model # to make searching easier. And yes , the tree can be disassembled and returned to its original box to save space, if needed. I am really pleased with its appearance, before and after the libations and spiced egg nog.


----------



## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond

Personally I like a real tree, but I've seen some really nice fake ones lately.

I was at Lowes a week or so back and saw one that was LED pre-lit, had a rotating base, colored or white (you can change or have it alternate). It was pretty expensive at $300, but maybe all the good ones cost that much. I think I was impressed because the quality of the LEDs was really nice - no AC rectifier flicker and clean color and a nice neutral white.


----------



## Darell

Oh, I LOVE me a real tree as well. I also love napping, huge piles of cash and endless cold beer.

Sometimes we have to make compromises. And since I won't give up the piles of cash and beer, I'm stuck with a fake tree and having to occasionally work.  No, I have no idea why that means I have a fake tree... Oh... I was on about the compromising, and then gave a poor example. Never mind.

Great that they're making these with higher quality drivers and emitters. The RGB idea is one of the wonderful advantages of LED, right? Just about any sort of color/white combination you could ever want. Everybody made happy in one package.

Any idea what size this tree was? A challenge for me is that size I'm after, and the Vickerman seems to fit the bill REALLY well. And white makes me happy.


----------



## Kestrel

Darell said:


> [...] Just about any sort of color/white combination you could ever want. Everybody made happy in one package.


This is CPF we're talking about - with lots of choices, that makes everybody *un*happy.
I long for the good old days when everything here came in black - a lot fewer complaints back then.


----------



## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond

Darell said:


> Any idea what size this tree was? A challenge for me is that size I'm after, and the Vickerman seems to fit the bill REALLY well. And white makes me happy.



Sorry - I wish I could help. I had a look on Lowes website and I can't find something that matches the description. I see what you mean though about limited options in the 5' range.


----------



## nightshade

Darell said:


> Oh, I LOVE me a real tree as well. I also love napping, huge piles of cash and endless cold beer.



Now that's what I call keeping one's priorities straight :santa:


----------



## markr6

I looked into LED trees as well. Just like the outdoor lights, they make me nauseous. The super fast PWM flickering; I don't know if it's technically that or not. But either way I can't stand it. If you look around quickly, chew something crunchy (potato chips) or blink quickly, it really becomes obvious. Is it just me? It's also funny to record them on an iPhone in slow motion - you watch the slow strobe effect.


----------



## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond

It has to do with cheap setups that only use half-wave rectifiers rather than full-wave rectifiers with decent filtering capacitors. It took me a while to find LED christmas tree light strings that didn't have a really bad flicker to them.


----------



## Darell

markr6 said:


> I looked into LED trees as well. Just like the outdoor lights, they make me nauseous. The super fast PWM flickering



It's the same with many LED tail lights on the road as well. My wife doesn't notice it at all. It drives ME nuts. They aren't all like that. As mr. Shiny Diamond says, it's all about the cheap rectifiers. When we base our shopping choices on cost alone, this is the crap we ask for, and the crap we get. :sigh:


----------



## Darell

nightshade said:


> Now that's what I call keeping one's priorities straight :santa:



I may have ordered them wrong, but I think it gets the idea across.


----------



## Darell

Hey look! I can help. I found the "best one in the known universe."
http://www.hammacher.com/Product/Default.aspx?sku=86592

The lifetime satisfaction warranty is impressive. Commensurate with the price, I guess. This guy has a LOT more tips, and 50 fewer lights.

And so I don't keep losing it... and so others can vote for what I ultimately purchase, here's the Vickerman unit, model A110346LED, Wal Mart #554382340
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Vickerman...Christmas-Tree-LED-Warm-White-Lights/46300248


----------



## Darell

Kestrel said:


> I long for the good old days when everything here came in black - a lot fewer complaints back then.



Ahh... like a black, cold cloud on an otherwise, bright, sunny day.


----------



## nightshade

Darell said:


> Hey look! I can help. I found the "best one in the known universe."
> http://www.hammacher.com/Product/Default.aspx?sku=86592
> 
> The lifetime satisfaction warranty is impressive. Commensurate with the price, I guess. This guy has a LOT more tips, and 50 fewer lights.
> 
> And so I don't keep losing it... and so others can vote for what I ultimately purchase, here's the Vickerman unit, model A110346LED, Wal Mart #554382340
> http://www.walmart.com/ip/Vickerman...Christmas-Tree-LED-Warm-White-Lights/46300248




I vote for the Hammacher Schlemmer, because of :

#1. That's a great looking tree and fantastic warranty.

#2. The sheer entertainment of friends trying to pronounce the manufacturers name after several cups of spiked eggnog.


----------



## Beamhead

Hmmmmmmmm................. the Darell I knew would have designed, engineered and meticulously assembled a pre-lit LED tree that all would envy.  


Happy Holidays to you and yours.

BTW my Luxeon dome light is still going strong.


----------



## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond

I have seen that some trees use a fiber optic system rather than being decked out with multiple LEDs. Does anyone have any information as to which is better?


----------



## Darell

Beamhead said:


> Hmmmmmmmm................. the Darell I knew would have designed, engineered and meticulously assembled a pre-lit LED tree that all would envy.


Hey! Look who's here.
Man! I hate to disappoint like this... but Darell 2.0 is old and lazy. 



> Happy Holidays to you and yours.


And to you as well! Are you still in the area?



> BTW my Luxeon dome light is still going strong.


Awesome. Countless units have been deployed, and I've only had one warranty claim. Just last week, in fact. Module still working, but somehow the little mount tabs were BOTH busted off. No idea how that can happen, but there you go. Five minutes later it was good as new, and back off to the customer for another ten years of service.


----------



## Darell

ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond said:


> I have seen that some trees use a fiber optic system rather than being decked out with multiple LEDs. Does anyone have any information as to which is better?



Yeah... the ones I've seen don't make me very happy. The little pin-points of light are... well... pinpoints of light. Normally, I've seen them with one 50W halogen at the base of the tree, and a spinning color disk so they all wave through the various colors on the wheel. I'm sure they can do it all with RGB LEDs as the source now, though I haven't seen one. Dunno. Just not my thing.


----------



## Darell

nightshade said:


> I vote for the Hammacher Schlemmer, because of :
> 
> #1. That's a great looking tree and fantastic warranty.
> 
> #2. The sheer entertainment of friends trying to pronounce the manufacturers name after several cups of spiked eggnog.



Your vote has been recorded, and counts twice. 
That they MOLD the 11,000 tips is crazy! I'm gonna guess that these are not made in the USA. Shipping is $30, so this definitely becomes a bit of an investment, closing in on $300.


----------



## nightshade

Darell said:


> Your vote has been recorded, and counts twice.
> That they MOLD the 11,000 tips is crazy! I'm gonna guess that these are not made in the USA. Shipping is $30, so this definitely becomes a bit of an investment, closing in on $300.



Ouch! I'm harbored in a tiny coastal town, collecting redfish. The local Wally is the be all, end all here. But I recognized the brand and having several, years old, Wally gift certificates made the Vickerman purchase easy. For what it is, I don't regret the purchase.


----------



## Darell

You are NOT making this easier. grrr.

Any other votes?


----------



## Kestrel

Darell said:


> [...] Any other votes?


Bernie Sanders. Oops, wait; wrong thread ...


----------



## nightshade

Darell said:


> You are NOT making this easier. grrr.



I tarry, I'll crawl back under my rock now. :wave:


----------



## Darell

Kestrel said:


> Bernie Sanders. Oops, wait; wrong thread ...



Hey! This is a religion thread, NOT a political thread!


----------



## Beamhead

Darell said:


> Hey! Look who's here.
> Man! I hate to disappoint like this... but Darell 2.0 is old and lazy.



I don't buy it for a minute, where is the _real_ Darell............you pod person.




Darell said:


> And to you as well! Are you still in the area?.



Thank you and yes.




Darell said:


> You are NOT making this easier. grrr.
> 
> Any other votes?



I thought my first reply was my vote, but since you insist, the hammock spittoon thinga ma jig. :santa:


----------



## Darell

OK! Thanks all for voting. The polls are now closed.

If I'd taken my typical advice, I'd have purchased both. But because "reduction of inventory" is the whole point here, I just bought the one. Not surprisingly, I bought the expensive one. I decided on that one for the following reasons:

1. Noble Fir (fir I am nobility)
2. More tips than I can shake a stick at.
3. Lifetime satisfaction warranty.
4. I made them pay for the shipping.
5. Not from Walmart
and a bonus
6. fewer LEDs. (wait, what?!. Yup. I figured 200 was more than enough, and the 250 on the other one was likely a bit too much for a 4.5' tree, ya know?)

Thank you everybody for playing. I'll be sure and let you all know how it goes... and how many mods I perform before I'm happy with it.

Cheers,


----------



## Beamhead

We demands pics.


----------



## Darell

Your demand is my command. Or something.

Here's how it looks so far:

Item : 86592 WHI
Name : The World's Best Prelit Noble Fir (4.5' Full LED).
Price : $249.95
Quantity : 1
Item Subtotal : $249.95
Gift Wrap : No


----------



## StarHalo

$250 for a 4.5' tree? Does it make cheeseburgers? The ~6' ones at Target are ~$180..



Darell said:


> eggnog spike.



Already covered that.


----------



## Darell

StarHalo said:


> $250 for a 4.5' tree? Does it make cheeseburgers? The ~6' ones at Target are ~$180..



Hey. Voting is closed!

Yes, cheaper trees are certainly cheaper. More expensive ones, not so much.

I have no interest in a 6' tree.

Yay for the spike link!


----------



## nbp

I have nothing to add aside from the observation that you crack me up Darell.  It's a shame that like 17,800 of your 18,000 posts came before I got here. You are getting old! Lol.


----------



## Darell

My earlier posts were WAY the hell better than this. If I were still an admin, I'd be forced to ban myself for banality.

But! I appreciate your kind comments. And your service here! Thank you!


----------



## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond

So did you get the HS one? 

I just clicked the link as I haven't been following the updates to this thread much. I think it's a great looking tree. Very full and not "stickly" like many of the other fakes are. The Vickerman one looks weird with all these extra branches sticking out further than others.


----------



## Darell

You've managed to find something more interesting to do besides follow the blow-by-blow excitement of this thread?! I find that hard to believe. You aren't going to find more thrills anywhere on the 'net. At least not until they figure out how to stream moving pictures or something.

Yes, I purchased the HS unit. A smoldering bargain when you consider that per tip, the price is just 2.2c.
And if I assume the tips are free, it's still just 80c per LED!

When push comes to shove, I really couldn't afford NOT to buy it.


----------



## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond

Sorry, had to go to Jones Family Farm in Shelton, CT to cut down a real tree.........


----------



## Darell

OK... well... finding thrills OFF of the 'net is a whole different story. As I'm afraid of the real world, I'll have to live vicariously through intrepid folks like you.

Tree-killer!


----------



## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond

I didn't kill it - I just started the natural process of turning it into back yard mulch.


----------



## Darell

Is there anything better than the smell of freshly-cut pine? 

I sure hope my new plastic tree comes with a can of that smell! :sigh:


----------



## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond

Darell said:


> Is there anything better than the smell of freshly-cut pine?
> I sure hope my new plastic tree comes with a can of that smell! :sigh:



A very OT answer - but yes, the beef brisket that's been in the slow cooker for the past 10 hours today.


----------



## Darell

If we're slipping into the cooked animal flesh smell category, I'm simply going to have to go with bacon. But if brisket floats your boat, I'm in full support of your olfactory party.


----------



## Darell

Well, now we're on the other side of Christmas... and as promised, I'm back to tell you how things went.

Not so great.

The HS tree will be enjoying an all-expenses paid trip back across the country. I left a detailed review on their site about my dissatisfaction - and I see that my review isn't on the site, and that the tree is no longer available. Here's a brief run-down:

Light string is just wound around the tree, and is totally visible. I was expecting *integrated* LED lights, not just a string of cheap LED lights set on the branches.
The molded tips have the plastic "flash" left on the ends. Not quite so "real looking."
Hinges are uber-cheap and loose. Branches all wiggle when you touch them.
Had to bend the lower branches significantly to get them up to at least level.
Lower section is open and airy (as I'd expect from a Noble Fir). Upper section is dense... and where the two sectoins transition is painfully obvious.
The box it comes in (that I'd use for storage) is "one size fits all" - meaning it's the same box in which they ship the 7.5' tree. The box is HUGE, and of no use to me.
Stand is terribly welded, not flat, and already rusting.

Really, really not impressed. Especially for this price. QA is non-existent, and it's just another low-quality product farmed out to china. China is capable of FAR superior product... and this isn't it. If I'm gonna buy "cheap" I'd rather not spend a bunch of money, if you know what I mean.

Grrr. I didn't let it ruin Christmas of course. But I'm also not thrilled that I now have to pay to ship this back, and go through the process again!

Nightshade - if you're still with me here, I have one more question: In your fancy Italian-lit tree... are the lights "integrated" into the branches? I've seen some great ones where the wire is just wrapped into each branch, and the bulbs poke out every now and again. THAT's what I'm looking for. And HS definitely didn't deliver.


----------



## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond

Well that's a total bummer. Sorry to hear it didn't work out.

As I was going to the Christmas departments of some local stores up here in the NorthEast I stopped to take at some of the trees. I was blown away that some of the 6-7' trees were up around $600-700. For the price I would've expected something amazing but was disappointed to find flimsy branches and some of the same marks on the molded branches and leaves that I think you are talking about.


----------



## Darell

Crazy, right? I'm finding the same thing. Here I am, poking around AFTER Christmas, and there are none on sale it seems. What the heck is going on? It wasn't long ago when I thought $250 seemed a bit "expensive" for a plastic tree. Regardless of price, where are the super-high quality ones... like the one I *thought* I was buying originally?

I still want to see in person the unit that Nightshade likes and pointed to originally.


----------



## StarHalo

Incandescent, but 7.5', $140 at Target, nice brushy needles, wires buried deep. Throw in a $15 box of Target ball ornaments and an angel topper from Rite-Aid; one complete Christmas tree in ~30 minutes. No complaints..


----------



## Darell

Pretty!

Of course my family has enough ornaments for about six trees, so THAT isn't a problem. And if I could bring myself to buy another product with incandescent lights, this would be somewhat easy. And then there's the nagging issue about size. BUT! Thrilled to see how great that turned out for you. Second option is to find just the right UNLIT tree, and integrate my lights into it myself. That's a bit more my style anyway, as several here will agree.


----------



## StarHalo

It comes down to the time investment for me; I'd definitely rather have a quality LED tree, but how long is it going to take to find one (let alone make one?) I'll live with 19th century bulbs blowing from time to time if I can just pick up the tree on the way home and have it resolved in a half hour..


----------



## Darell

I totally get it. 

It isn't so easy being me.


----------



## Kestrel

Darell said:


> [...] It isn't so easy being me.


It's certainly no picnic for the rest of us to be you though.


----------



## Darell

I feel your pain. 

As does my wife. 

And, well, pretty much the rest of the world.


----------



## Beamhead

Beamhead said:


> Hmmmmmmmm................. the Darell I knew would have designed, engineered and meticulously assembled a pre-lit LED tree that all would envy.





Beamhead said:


> I don't buy it for a minute, where is the _real_ Darell............you pod person.





Darell said:


> Second option is to find just the right UNLIT tree, and integrate my lights into it myself. That's a bit more my style anyway, as several here will agree.


There is the _Darell_ I know.




Beamhead said:


> We demands pics.


This thread is useless without pics of your Charlie Brown tree.......................... 


EDIT: Can someone please fix this site?


----------



## Darell

Beamhead said:


> This thread is useless without pics of your Charlie Brown tree..........................



Yeah... because I was a wee bit grumpy about the situation, it got all boxed up before photos could be taken. Just look at the picture in the sales link, and reconfigure it in your mind to look somewhat crappier - and you've got a good idea of what I was dealing with.

I'm stumped about the fact that they have a reviews section... but won't post my review on the site. Hmmm.


----------

