How Do You Safely Use An Extension Cord With Outdoor Christmas Lights?
October 14, 2009 by Mistress Spank
Filed under Christmas
I’m hanging Christmas lights for the first time and need to connect my house lights to a bush net light set. The only outdoor extension cords I can find are three prong, the Christmas lights are two prong. Every website I found says you have to use a three prong for safety’s sake. How do I work around this safely?
If the lights do not have a ground buying an adapter doesn’t make any difference. Plug the grounded extension cord into then the 2 prong male lights into the 3 prong female cord. Just do as said above and make sure to form a proper seal with electrical tape.
They don’t see Christmas lights with a ground so whether you use a 2 or 3 prong extension cord is not going to matter.
Go to you local hardware store and ask for an adapter…it plugs into a three and allows you to plug in a two prong.
you can cut off the 3rd prong on the extension cord plug in your lights an wrap 2 or 3 layers of black electrical tape and then a layer of duct tape on the connection and everything should be fine keep an eye on it to be safe but its not likely any problems will arise they also make a three prong to two prong adapter but still cover all your extension cord to light cord or light cord to light cord connections with black electrical tape to keep water out
Wrap the connection with electrical tape and you should be OK. Good Luck!!!
GoGreen is right
Ha Ha im like clark griswald on national lampoons christmas vacation i use all kinds of cords when i hang stuff up and never had a problem yet been doing it for years can’t really answer ya buddy
I used a (i don’t know what its called) thing that has a 2 prong male and a 3 prong female. PLugged the xmas lights into one end and the other into the outlet. But I made sure this was inside (i attached it in the garage) and went from there.