Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I’m glad I did some research on reviews and questions for this product. I saw rope lights on sale and bought 2 strings (96’) without knowing a thing about mounting them. Based on the reviews and product info, I found it was cheaper to order a kit like this one, instead of buying pieces-parts for the needed components. Secondly, I learned to buy everything in stainless steel since the support cable and hardware will be outside 365 days. The light strings themselves will come down for inside storage for the winter. To make the job of taking down / putting up easier, I bought some Wilbond stainless mini s-hooks (thru Amazon, of course) to use to hang the lights from the support wire. My lights have a small tab with a hole at each bulb. I placed one side of the S thru the tab, and crimped it down. The other side if the S was slightly crimped so as to still fit over the wire but narrow enough to resist minor movements of the lights during wind. Thus, they are easily removable/replaceable with the seasons. Before ordering, sketch out your layout, keeping in mind that where the light string(s) begin should be near your electric supply. Also plan on having some sort of switch to turn the lights on/off. Without a switch, plugging and unplugging will take a toll on the lights’ plug and the electric receptacle. The next couple of paragraphs describe how I laid out and installed the support wire. If you are already comfortable with how to build your plan, you my skip over them. In my plan, I needed to outline a rectangular area. So I began with sturdy screw eyes at each of the four corners. I selected the corner which was least obvious to viewing the power supply cord. On that corner’s screw eye, I attached two turnbuckles. Then i installed the “hump screws” along each side of the rectangle, between the corners, every 7-8 feet. Next the wire was strung around the perimeter, thru the screw eyes and hump screws, with the ends meeting in the corner nearest the power. Lastly, each end of the wire was passed thru the closed screw of the turnbuckle, clamped with a rope clamp, and the turnbuckle’s open screw hooked to the screw eye in that corner. You will need to use your own wits to figure the best way to remove the slack from the support wire as you are installing the turnbuckles. Do this before attaching the turnbuckle to the second end of the wire. A second person is valuable at this stage. I did it by myself by using the leftover rope clamps at each corner. Secure one end of the wire to its turnbuckle, go “upstream” to the next screw eye, pull the wire taught, then fasten a rope clamp to the wire on the “upstream” side of the screw eye. The clamp prevents the wire from going slack, slipping back “downstream”. Repeat at the next two corners. Now attach the turnbuckle to the second end of the wire, taking the slack out of the last section of wire with the turnbuckle. Finally, remove the three rope clamps that you temporarily used at the other corners. Finally, I’d like to point out that your pre-planning for locations of screw eyes, hump screws, turnbuckles, and clamps will dictate which of the many packages of hardware you should select. I did NOT plan in detail. I had a mental plan in mind, and figured that this package would fit the bill. It did not, exactly. I had a turnbuckle, 3 snap hooks, and 10 rope clamps extra, and needed to buy more hump screws. If you found this rating and my construction advice helpful, please tap the “helpful” button below the review. Since I was not paid for this review, my “pay” is knowing that I helped someone make a good choice thru my experience.