How do you light up your pumpkins?

12631 Views 24 Replies 19 Participants Last post by librarian, Oct 1, 2020

wristslitter

Discussion Starter · Sep 2, 2009

Ok, I have this thing about what I will put out in the weather if it is powered by electricity, I hate batteries by the way and wont use them. My problem is with those lighted pumpkins that walmart etc sell that have the light with the cord that has that dumb spinny switch on the cord, it says indoor use only, so I wont use them outside. In the past I used a short led lightstring in each one, kinda expensive, and not the best way I am sure. Today when I was in the grocery store, I saw pumpkins without the spinny switch and it said ok for outdoor use, I bought all they had which was 3, they were 5 bucks a piece, I just wanted the lights out of them mainly, but you can never have to many pumpkins. My question is.....What do you brainiacs use to light your pumpkins?

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Firefighter_Barbie

· #2 · Sep 2, 2009

Well I have 4 large plastic pumpkins, a smallish ceramic pumpkin I made, and then however many real pumpkins I buy.

The plastic ones have a lightbulb and a cord with no switch so I use them outside but undercover if it's raining. I usually use candles in the ceramic one and the real ones of course, but last year I bought several packets of those glow-in-the-dark sticks (the ones you can get at a dollar store) and put them in a few of the real pumpkins...it actually worked a lot better than I expected. They stayed illuminated regardless the conditions, weren't going to short out and were as bright if not brghter than a candle.

It's a neat thing to try for a few pumpkins but nothing will ever beat the good old candle

Ghost of Spookie

· #3 · Sep 3, 2009

A few years ago I bought from QVC a set of 3 of the Pumpkin Lights from Howler Brands and loved them. They work really well and certainly you could use these outside in one of your pumpkins. They sell them all over now and I think they are great. I have both the flickering yellow pumpkin lights and the rainbow pumpkin lights (which you can set on one color or let it rotate). I bought the deluxe models that use batteries but also have the ability to take an a/c adapter for situations where I do have an outlet to use and maybe don't have extra batteries around. At one time they were selling a cheaper model with only a battery source. Not sure they make that any more but wanted to mention it in case you see it in a store somewhere. The website sells an adapter for it too which I think is reasonably priced. I don't think I've seen those being stocked in the stores BTW. I think the lights on the website is very reasonably priced also.

Here's Howler's Pumpkin Lights website: Halloween Safety Lights | Pumpkin Lights | Scary Halloween Products | Pumpkin Carving | Pumpkin Paterns

BTW I have also used the Rainbow color changing ones to light up props and they are great because you can assign any color to the light with just a push of a button. Green, blue, red are the basic colors. If you want yellow, you need to buy the regular pumpkin light. They are also pretty thin so can fit in a lot lighting situations. I thought their flicking motion was very nicely done and pretty realistic especially for the yellow lights.

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pdcollins6092

· #4 · Sep 3, 2009

I have always taken an extension cord and cut the female end ( the end that you plug things into) off and put a screwshell (light socket) on it then used a compact florecent lamp. The CFL's dont get real hot but put out alot of light. I also cut out the bottom of my pumpkins that way water can't get down inside of the pumpkin when it is out side. I would bring it inside if it did start raining just incase. There are pics in my profile of some of the pumpkins that I have done and used a CFL to light them if you want to see how well they work.

Spats

· #5 · Sep 3, 2009

I don't have outdoor outlets on this house yet (it was built in the 20's) so I don't have much choice. Outside I use battery-powered pumpkin lights, the kind that have five twinkling white lights.

Indoors, real candles.

Pumpkin Butcher

· #6 · Sep 3, 2009

I have to agree with Firefighter Barbie on this, nothing beats a candle, except maybe a roll of toilet paper soaked in kerosene........

Heat Fire Flame Carving Jack-o'-lantern

Just be sure to keep it away from the TOT's and your house!
PS Plastic pumpkins won't last long with this technique.

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wristslitter

Discussion Starter · #7 · Sep 3, 2009

Using that technique Butcher, its lucky that we have a Firefighter Barbie around, she could be very handy. Thats an awesome pic by the way, did you take it?

Pumpkin Butcher

· #8 · Sep 3, 2009

Actually wristslitter, credit for that has to go to my Bride. I'm usually to busy climbing in and out of my coffin on Halloween to take any pictures........

Firefighter_Barbie

· #9 · Sep 3, 2009

Pumpkin Butcher said:
I have to agree with Firefighter Barbie on this, nothing beats a candle, except maybe a roll of toilet paper soaked in kerosene........
View attachment 5882
Just be sure to keep it away from the TOT's and your house!
PS Plastic pumpkins won't last long with this technique.

Haha that's awesome!! I so gotta try that this year!!!!

Firefighter_Barbie

· #10 · Sep 3, 2009

wristslitter said:
Using that technique Butcher, its lucky that we have a Firefighter Barbie around, she could be very handy. Thats an awesome pic by the way, did you take it?

Awe hehe thanks

FirstSpartan

· #11 · Sep 4, 2009

pdcollins, is there a reason you cut off the end of the extension cord? Is it a safety thing? The reason I'm asking is that I'm going to use CFL's this year and I want to keep it safe so any tips would be helpful

Any others can jump in on using extension cords and CFL's for outdoor props too!
My CFL's will be outside in the elements but will most likely not be able to get wet. Last year we used the low voltage landscape lights which worked great but this year there will be a couple of props that will be away from the main lighting wire.

Krossinc

· #12 · Sep 4, 2009

I do like the flaming pumpkin. I'd like to ask, what is the lifespan of the flame? Both on the fuel source and how quick it eats away at the pumpkin.

foggyfathoms

· #13 · Sep 5, 2009

Ive used the wal mart pumpkins for years and never had a problem with them.they been rained on and everything.i did not use them during the rain,but a few days later they were fine.

pdcollins6092

· #14 · Sep 5, 2009

FirstSpartan said:
pdcollins, is there a reason you cut off the end of the extension cord? Is it a safety thing? The reason I'm asking is that I'm going to use CFL's this year and I want to keep it safe so any tips would be helpful Any others can jump in on using extension cords and CFL's for outdoor props too!
My CFL's will be outside in the elements but will most likely not be able to get wet. Last year we used the low voltage landscape lights which worked great but this year there will be a couple of props that will be away from the main lighting wire.

The screwshells that I use wire dirrectley to the cord, not plug in. I think I have some around somewhere, I will try and find them and get a pic up of it.

tekcor1

· #15 · Sep 6, 2009

Krossinc said:
I do like the flaming pumpkin. I'd like to ask, what is the lifespan of the flame? Both on the fuel source and how quick it eats away at the pumpkin.

We did a kerosene pumpkin last year. It is quite a spectacle! We soaked the roll of tp for several hours to make sure it was totally saturated. After we lit it, it burned for about 45 minutes. The flames were pretty big the whole time too. The pumpkin fared amazingly well. Pumpkins have a ton of water in them, and after the 45 minute burn it was a little charred inside, but not nearly to the extreme I thought it would be.

If you're safe about where you burn it and what/who is around, I highly recommend this fun little project! Although, we didn't burn ours on Halloween night due to safety concerns because of all the TOT's. We burned ours a few nights early for a party we hosted for adults. It was a big hit. When giving directions to my house I just told people to look for the huge flaming pumpkin!

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halloween_sucks_in_the_uk

· #16 · Sep 6, 2009

I use led flickering tea lights, cheap and safe.

Pumpkin Butcher

· #17 · Sep 6, 2009

Krossinc said:
I do like the flaming pumpkin. I'd like to ask, what is the lifespan of the flame? Both on the fuel source and how quick it eats away at the pumpkin.

tekcor1 is right on the money, it lasts about 45 minutes. I usually burn two rolls before the pumpkin burns up and caves in. I do surround it with a few pieces of cemetery fencing and post an adult close by to keep the TOT's away. The web site where I got the idea (extremepumpkins.com) suggests soaking the toilet paper for 24 hours, but I really don't think it's necessary. I did that the first year, but since then I've just let it soak for 30 min. or so and I can't tell any difference.

I've been thinking about hacking the burner out of an old turkey fryer and using "Propane and propane accessories" to torch one this year. Just a thought........

njwilk

· #18 · Sep 7, 2009

Spats said:
I don't have outdoor outlets on this house yet (it was built in the 20's) so I don't have much choice.

Spats - get the outlets! Best investment I ever made in my decorating. My house was also built in the 20's and I started out meeting my outdoor electrical needs by running an extension cord out a window. Of course, finding a three-prong outlet was the first challenge. Now I have four ground-fault protected outlets on three circuits outside and I am a happy haunter!

dariusobells

· #19 · Sep 7, 2009

I still use real candles in my Jack O Lanterns. However we are outside with them for the entire time they are lit. If I was going to have them lit and not attended I would likley use a glow stick. the one exception is Jack, my pumpkin headed guardian. I wired his carved funkin head with UV LED's and he runs for about 2 days straight on a 9 volt (I found that out when I forgot to turn him off)

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jdubbya

· #20 · Sep 7, 2009

Real candles for us. Nothing beats the flicker of real flame inside a jack o lantern. Last year we got some of those small plastic containers of lamp oil sold at Walmart. They have a wick in them and are for jack o lanterns. They also worked well but I guess I'm a traditionalist and use candles. I like carving out a small indent in the botom of the pumpkin, then dripping wax into it to hld the candle in place.

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