Pex Arches

[@stephenwalker1055]

I have been looking at several different designs trying to decide what I wanted. I just built my first one as a trial and this is by far the cheapest and easiest I have seen yet. Thanks for posting this video.

[@bergmannlights5149]

Glad I was able to help

[@davidm8442]

Thanks, been investigating arches as an addition to my Christmas lights and how to do them. This seems to be the easiest and best way I have found so far.

[@bergmannlights5149]

Glad it was helpful!

[@reginewelch8052]

You are my new favorite person, thank you!

[@bergmannlights5149]

Wow, thanks!

[@mewrongwayKOCXF]

I just made 4 of these controlled by a San Devices E682. There awesome!! Thanks

[@bergmannlights5149]

Glad I was able to help!!

[@graphguy]

Perfect! 2022 Christmas was my first foray into esp32 based lights with doing the roofline. This year these will be my next addition, so thank you very much!

[@bergmannlights5149]

Glad to help!

[@localreviewwithhonestperso9920]

Thanks for sharing! Great tutorial!

[@bergmannlights5149]

You are so welcome!

[@oneidalights]

Some matte black spraypaint on the cpvc cross piece will give it a little better look so it blends into the ground.

[@bergmannlights5149]

Great idea

[@Dave-im8xr]

Looks good, sadly its not so easy to get Pex in the UK. Clear nail varnish is great for waterproofing electronics. I use it all the time on solar garden lights

[@bergmannlights5149]

Thanks for the tip.

[@georgephilips3528]

I wish folks would spend more time on HOW the lights are connected and controlled

[@bergmannlights5149]

I will see what I can do. There are several types of controllers out there. I use three different brands, Kulp Lights kulplights.com, Falcon pixelcontroller.com/store/, and Experience lights experiencelights.com. I also use xLights an open source program that is fantastic. Hope this helps

[@georgephilips3528]

Thanks. I'm a bit familiar with some controllers but in this case just want a plug and play chasing controller until I expand to multiple devices. I'm taking it one step at a time.

[@bergmannlights5149]

That is a great way to do it. The simplest way is for one output per arch. You can also daddy chain them but you eventually will need to add power using power injection. I was able to do 3 of these arches on one output without doing power injection using a Falcon controller. Your mileage may vary.

[@canalemersonmendes2023]

Good evening, I'm from Brazil, I made some Christmas LEDs, but your work is fantastic, I would like to set up a project like yours, these effects are incredible, could you make your project available, which LED string is the controller, which programs and codes you used, Thank you

[@bergmannlights5149]

Glad you like the display and thanks for the kind words. I see you have lots of questions. I am using WS2811 pixels in my display. The arches are using led strips that use the same WS2811 chip it is a common standard for pixels/strip. The software I use is xLights, an open source program. There are multiple controllers out there that work with these lights. I currently use Kulp Lights, Experience Lights, and Falcon controllers in my show. Hope this helps you get started. Also checkout the rest of my channel as well as Canispater Christmas on KZbin.

[@zski1]

Do the pex pipes stay bent after the first use? Or do you have to heat them...then bend them to spec.

[@bergmannlights5149]

Yes they do. The base helps keep the shape

[@haroldodahlen6508]

HOW DID YOU GET THE ARCH TO MAINTAIN THE CURVE WHEN THE ARCH WAS NOT CONNECTED TO THE BASE?

[@bergmannlights5149]

This arch has been stored connected to the base for years as a result it stayed in the arch configuration. Newer pex will straighten out to a degree.

[@MatthewSherwood-f4h]

If you have a controller with a standard 120v plug in, does the 3 pin pigtail have to be changed to a standard 120v plug to accommodate the controller?

[@bergmannlights5149]

The lights I use are 12 VDC. In the controller box there is the controller card and a 120 Volt AC to 12 VDC power supply. If you plug 120volts AC into these lights you will ruin them. With that said you could put AC lights inside the PEX tube but you will be limited on colors.

[@RowdyRam2007]

How long is the pex piece used to make the arch?

[@bergmannlights5149]

Each arch uses 8 ft of PEX. If you uses 1 inch pex you can avoid cutting the ends off of the strip and having to re-solder them back together. Here is one source for the strips. You can order 8 ft strips or go a bit bigger. yourpixelstore.com/product/ws2811-pixel-strip-60-led-m-with-xconnect-pigtails/

[@rcbchannel74]

Can the LED lights work with kulp controlers? I thought you can't mix led lights with xconnect light bulps. I would love to have archers like this if I can mix them on my controler.

[@bergmannlights5149]

Yes you can use Kulp controllers with these. I use Kulp, falcon and experience lug lights controllers in my show.

[@LNFBelAir]

How did you het the 3/4 pex to go into the 3/4 pvc?? They will not fit as the pex is just a little bigger?

[@bergmannlights5149]

I used CPVC. It interfaces directly with PEX. It is a bit more expensive, but it does the job

[@jasongarneau6255]

These look great - do you happen to use PEX A, or PEX B for your arches? PEX A is supposedly more flexible, from what I've read.

[@bergmannlights5149]

I am pretty sure I used PEX-B. Hard to tell now since I removed the labeling. Stiffness helps once your arch is set to the proper shape

[@LightsOverFairfield]

I may have missed it, but what does the height end up being at the peak of each arch?

[@bergmannlights5149]

The distance from the ground to the arch peak is ~33 inches. You can easily adjust this by changing the length of the pipe connecting the two sides.

[@cbcalhoun]

What pitch is the LEDs rolls you are using 30 per meter or 60?

[@bergmannlights5149]

On my original arches I used 30 per meter. My new ones use 60 per meter. Both look great.

[@cbcalhoun]

@@bergmannlights5149 thanks kindly for the prompt reply. 5v or 12v on those. Not coming up with 12v RGBW strips with IP65 in 12v. Do you feel that IP65 or IP30 is ok. Looks like your doing IP65 or 67. Hoping to get some of these put together for next season to add to my show.

[@bergmannlights5149]

@@cbcalhoun I am not sure of the IP rating, but they had a silicone cover over the lights. When I cut them in half, I bought 5 meter roll. On the cut ends I used hot glue to seal them back up. You can buy precut strips from Your Pixel Store,Wally’s Lights or Wired Watts. All of these guys are great vendors.

[@bergmannlights5149]

One other item, I use 12vdc RGB strips.

[@cbcalhoun]

@@bergmannlights5149 Thank you!

[@alp7601]

At Home Depot the 3/4 inch pex doesn't fit the 3/4 inch pvc couplings. Do you have a link of what you used?

[@bergmannlights5149]

You need to use CPVC fittings, there size is slightly different.

[@alp7601]

@bergmannlights5149 thanks so much. 1 more question if you don't mind, is the glue necessary? I'd like to break it down easy. Thanks!

[@bergmannlights5149]

The pex pushes the ends out a bit so the long center pipe may need something to hold it together. You could drill a hole in the fitting/pile to keep it held together instead so you can break it down when you are finished for the season.

[@clarkriccobuono3903]

How did you connect each arch together?

[@bergmannlights5149]

I connected the output of the first arch to the input of the next. I was able to power 2 before I needed to inject power. If you are not doing power injection I would only run two off of one controller output.

[@jobo4836]

Anyone know any good Discord Servers out there for this hobby?

[@bergmannlights5149]

I haven’t seen one. Facebook has some great groups