Christmas Lights on a Redwood Tree

Bow and arrow . . . like used for fishing . . . shoot an arrow over the tree . . . use the fishing line as a leader and pull the string of lights over the top of the tree . . . I have done this many times when setting up my remote ham rig out in the woods. If you don't like the first pull, then pull the whole shooting match back down and shoot a new arrow.

Hello Origo, Have you though about a man lift/cherry picker ? It all depend on the size of your door to get one through. Even one that did not reach all the way up to the top, but with using something like a pool pole (some are more than 20ft long when extended). Or like the other poster using an bow & arrow. Your aim and placement would be better than on the ground.

Good luck Charles

Practical & Inexpensive I'd try the Bow and Arrow method.

I have worked out of Manlifts up into the 30 and 40 foot ranges, but don't think it is something to do for fun. Some will get high as hell, but issues of spread and reach, and ground level may make even reaching from as close as you can get with the arm, may mean diagonal reach would reduce height from ground, plus have it fall over.

You might try a boom truck with a jib arm and get it with a swiveling shiv and pull lines, but this is not going to be what I would call inexpensive.

Climbing the tree is out for decorating it even if it is a strong assed tree.

You are simply too much in the wrong place. I've fought up in the smaller trees wrapping them with lights but still had to get outside it to up down do a wrap from a series of A frame ladders.

I think the sets of lights I used ran 5 amps a string, so then only three strings are really reliably safe to run on one feed.

Your desire for a "right?cone" may need to be abandoned as even vertical strings will be hard to pull up and over, unless there is something about this tree different from trees I have fought to light.

How I came to have spent some of my working life putting lights into trees illustrates why it has been said, "God isn't a second class novelist."

On a nice day you might tether a hot air balloon over the tree through the use of a drop line, and tag lines and pulleys and whatever tackle needed to control all.

I have been up in tethered balloon once a long time ago. I'd have to consult with a balloonist to see if they would know how much they might have to burn and what variances of AGL would be expected.

That method would not likely be less than just hiring a large crane since your talking 5 guys at least, plus rigging.

Scaffolding is also possible, but would be very labor intensive.

Strictures I understand so far are 80 tree, no space to get a manlift into, and a set of horizontal cone lights around the first 20 feet of the top of the tree?

Somehow this project is likely to be expensive, regardless of the least inexpensive method or design, vertical or horizontal.

I'd nearly recommend just building on the ground a fake tree, and standing it up.

Hello Transcendian, I agree the man lifts are harry especially the taller ones.

Another idea would be to find an arborist/tree cutter that would be willing to do the job. They would have the knowledge of the trees and equipment to do the job to get into the top. It would just then be a matter of pulling the strings of lights up and the arborist guiding with a pole or two to place. Just an idea.

Charles

Just thinking of the problems causing the dillema that could be more easily overcome if the situation were modified slightly.

Firstly I would ensure that the lead for the lighting was as lightweight for the application as possible, 80 feet of extension chord is pretty heavy.

The geometry of the situation may also pose some hassles, if you cannot see the top of the tree from your backyard this could become quite difficult. How high is your house, how close is it to the tree, what are your boundaries, perhaps a sketch may be in order.

Perhaps some simple trickery could be in order to "confuse" your neighbours. A large number of laser lights slightly out of focus could be used to pretend that the tree has lights on top of it, and to add the final confusing touch, a series of unconnected power leads up the tree until they are out of sight.

Goodluck!

Tethered helium balloons are ok, but expensive to lift that weight. If there are no power lines in your area, you might be able to use a box kite. Have two tethers or three, think about it, and hang a string of lites a good ways below the kite. When the bottom of the string of lites is high enough, start wrapping the lites just like you do on a regular Christmas tree. When you get the string to the top, do a wrap and pull the kite down. You will need it still attached to the top of the string of lites to take them down.

PS you are totally whacked.

Hi Origo

I know of crop dusters and animal herders that use small choppers. They could fly circles around that tree and carry a bit too. Make sure you have the cameras switched on and put it on U tube. Your neighbor would not even have to leave his house to view the tree or the debacle. If there are no higher trees in the vicinity it should be a walk in the park. Fair weather would be required. I'm sure one of these blokes would like that one on their resume so you could agree on a fair price. I would not mention it to my insurance but it could be done here in Queensland.

These dare devils here would do it for a slab or a bottle of rum, just for the heck of it. Good luck and send us a shot if you ever get those lights up there, Ky.

To confuse/surprise your neighbours: either bow and arrow, as suggested, or one of Del's crossbows.

Cheers

Vince

The bow and arrow may not lift the wires but a potato cannon will

Trebuchet?

Sir:

Your solution is the best that I have received. Thank You

Origo

Andy

sounds good to me,

thinking outside the box!

GA to you.

Sleepy

I thank you kind Sir!

Many years ago I might have thought about how to get to the top of that tree to place the lights. At my age I think I would get a few lasers and illuminate apprpriate branches. If you were really clever about it, you could do it with a single laser and a programmable mirror.

Make sure you get LEDs connected in parallel each with its own series resistor. You don't want the whole string to go out because of one duff light.

Randall,

Yes, very important otherwise the first one to go will take out all.

Have given you a GA.

It may be slightly better to provide a constant current source for all (how many?) LEDS,

this would avoid a lot of power loss and hot resistors and burnt hands, the thing to remeber is that LEDs are constant current devices ( they are diodes, after all).

Good thinking

Sleepy

Unfortunately: the only way to provide a constant current source for all LEDs is to put them in series:-

If you try to provide enough current for all LEDs and put them in parallel: the LEDs with the smaller forward voltage drops will "hog" the current:-

So the only sensible way to do it (if you don't want a single failure to kill the whole string) is to have a constant voltage source and a series resistor with each LED in parallel:-

Clearly you want the voltage source to be just enough bigger than the forward voltage drop of the LEDs so that the differences in voltage drop don't cause too large differences in forward current. Assuming that the LEDs have a forward voltage drop of 3.5V then a 4.5V power supply (one of those switchable ones) seems reasonable, and, 62Ω resistors will give you about 16 mA per LED which will give a very good life expectancy for typical 20 mA LEDs. (adjust the resistor value for different voltage drops for different coloured LEDs)

Of course if you make the installation easily accessible as Andy has suggested then several fixed current "strings" is the way to go.

It's worth thinking about making custom lights with very high brightness LEDs for this application because the off the shelf ones will seem very dim when they're at the top of that tree.

Hi Randall

Say, would those technicalities work on a REDNUNWOD tree as well?

Alternative to the bow and arrow is fishing line with a heavy sinker on the end, and a slingshot

Bill

Origo - You said you want to PERMANENTLY mount these lights? Be aware that the tree will grow above them at the top and you will soon have an unlit apex above the lights. Also, the branch tips will grow beyond the lights, so the lights will begin to have an "embedded" look to them - that will be kinda cool.

google metasequoia then rethink

OK, I googled it. I learned that metasequoia can reach 200 feet, grows fast, and is deciduous. I don't understand what sort of "rethinking" you have in mind...

meta-sequoia is a fast-growing tree to 40m tall (100' in 60 years) and can reach 200' but at about 9"-12" per year adjustments can be made.

I consider a fast growing tree to grow 8' - 12' per year.

If the top grows at 9" to 12" per year then after ~4 years the lights will be "embedded" in the envelope by a foot.

Redwoods which we have in the Pacific Northwest are definitely NOT deciduous. They have needles rather than leaves and are green all year long. They definitely are fast growers though.

Bill