This unexpectedly charming gadget saved my Christmas lights and my sanity

I thought it would hold out until Friday, but as I stared into the dimmed Christmas tree lights, I realized it was too long to wait.

I ordered a set of spare incandescent light bulbs for my Christmas tree from Amazon, but it took a few days for them to arrive, and the problem loomed large. The more I think about it, the more the problem seems to be about more than just one light bulb. Half of the strands in the middle of the lit tree were dark, and the internet seemed to agree that one bulb going out couldn’t bring down the entire string.

I opened Amazon and typed “Christmas tree light voltage checker” into the search bar. As expected, my search turned up a ton of similar-looking products made by companies with alphabet soup names. When I clicked on “Overall Selection” on Amazon, about half of the product pages indicated that they weren’t actually suitable for checking out Christmas lights. nice. I closed my computer and walked to the local hardware store.

While walking through the aisles of McClendon, I considered buying new lights, but a few reasons forced me to keep digging for them. First, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to buy the gadget. Also, my tree is pre-lit so taking the lights off is a real hassle. But to be honest, this challenge was the biggest temptation. The answer felt tantalizingly close, and it was an incredibly dangerous mystery to solve.

Unlike the hundreds of options Amazon offers, my hardware store only had two. LightKeeper Pro for incandescent lights and Keeper Pro for LEDs. I walked home with LightKeeper Pro at 3:30 p.m., just as the street lights came on.

LightKeeper Pro is a product of Ulta-Lit Tree Company, headquartered in the Chicago suburbs, and has a fun rustic feel throughout. At the top of the first page of the instructions, the product is referred to as a “Cool Yule Tool,” a phrase that Ulta-Lit holds as a registered trademark. This great dad energy continues on the LightKeeper Pro website, with links to new products under the heading “Watt’s up?”

What’s even more interesting is the tool’s simple 3-step “quick-fix” method. According to the accompanying literature, most Christmas incandescent string light failures are due to shunt failure. A shunt is a feature that allows electricity to continue flowing even if the bulb burns out. To fix this, simply remove the bulb from the unlit part of the strand, insert the socket into the tool, and pull the trigger. Shoots electricity into a beam of light. This somehow causes the broken shunt to be “discovered” (?) and fixed (!), allowing power to flow to the Christmas lights again.

This didn’t work for me. But still not losing hope, he moved on to his second tool in LightKeeper: voltage detection. The literature that comes with LightKeeper includes his miniature lessons on electricity. This is also great dad energy. Ulta-Lit’s commitment teach, it’s not just a fix, it’s really fascinating. You don’t get that personal touch from Amazon’s product listings. Anyway, I found the offending bulb within minutes using a voltage detector.

The problem turned out to be a loose metal contact on the socket itself. I put everything back together, wrapped it in tape and a prayer, and plugged the light back in. A choir of angels sang as every light bulb in the strand lit up, igniting pure joy in the pitch black afternoon.

Solving my Christmas light mystery was more than just a small act of literally bringing more light into the darkest part of a very dark season.It also feels simple good Fix something instead of throwing it away. Many things only last for one season, such as fashion and toys. One light isn’t much, but the fact that he was able to keep one thing out of the landfill, at least for a while, felt like a small victory. And when the lights go out again next year, I’ll be ready and armed with some cool fun tools.