North Pole Lights

Here is how I made my North Pole Lights

Materials List:

  • 2ft section of 3" PVC Pipe
  • 3" Pipe boot
  • 3" Coupler
  • Outdoor socket
  • 15' Extension cord
  • Hot Glue
  • Wire Nuts
  • Popsicle stick
  • 6" Acrylic Globe
  • 25 watt Globe Appliance bulb
  • Single 3 pronged outlet

The first step is to make sure that all your piece's are ready to go.  I purchased pre-cut 2' sections of 3" PVC pipe from Home Depot.  You could also buy a single 10' section and cut it down yourself.

Next I took the coupler and attached a popsicle stick that was cut down to size.  I used hot glue to insure that it was seated in place properly.  There is a ring/lip around the whole inside of the coupler that acts as a shelf to attach it to.

  

Next I took a 15' extension cord and cut off the outlet end of it. 

The next step is to drill a hole about 6" from one of the pipe.  I tried to cut my hole out with a 1 3/8" spade bit, but that was a mistake.  I used a Dremel when I built the rest.  You could probably use a hole saw to do the same thing.

Once the glue set on the stick, I put the socket over the stick so that the wires straddled it.  I then glued everything down with hot glue.  I also attached the wires to the end of the extension cord.  I used wire nuts, and then covered them with electrical tape. **Remember that the ribbed wire on the extension cord is neutral and connects to the white wire.  The smooth wire is the hot and connects to the black.**

To make the installation of the outlet easier, I ran the wire up the PVC pipe first.  Then I cut the wire so that there was enough length from the socket to the outlet.  I then attached both wires, (coming from the plug and from the socket) to the outlet.  Remember that the ribbed wire is the neutral, so be sure to attach it to the right side of the outlet.  It usually is a silver screw. I also took off all four of the round tabs on the outlet.

Next I attached the outlet to the pipe.  I was sure to mark the holes for the screws before I put the outlet in the pipe.  The screws that come attached to the outlet will not hold the outlet into place.  To fix this, I used regular screws went into the holes and pull the outlet tight against the pipe.  I then sealed the outlet with hot glue again to stop any water from entering.

From there, it was just a matter of pushing everything together.  I used no PVC glue, so that things could be taken apart if need be.  I inserted the bulb and placed 3 bolts around the edge to hold the globe in place.  Then I plugged it in and was ready for paint.

 

Before painting you have to either sand off, or use a paint thinner, to remove all the bar codes and writing on the pipe.  You could also paint over them with white paint, but that is an extra step.  I sanded mine, and then taped off the poles, coupler and base so that they could be spray painted.  The finished projects look like these...