Helium balloon and Xmas lights

I have a string of about 8 Xmas lights that run off two C batteries. The string is 4' long, and weighs about 1/4 pound. I plan to launch a tethered (30') balloon before the 25th. I plan to turn on the lights at

6 pm and off at 10 pm. Presently, I would need to pull the balloon down and disengage the power. Maybe there's some simple timer I could use. I'll probably use two AA batteries instead of the C batteries to reduce the weight. Two C batteries weigh about 2/3 pound.

My balloon will probably be a 10-15 gallon garbage bag filled with helium.

Comments?

Reply to
W. eWatson
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string is 4' long, and weighs about 1/4 pound. I plan to launch a tethered (30') balloon before the 25th. I

to pull the balloon down and disengage the power. Maybe there's some simple timer I could use. I'll

Two C batteries weigh about 2/3 pound.

You will need more balloon. A helium filled balloon will lift about one ounce per cubic foot. Your 10 to 15 gallon garbage bag will have a volume of 1.3 to 2 cubic feet.

Reply to
Dan Coby

Thanks. That could simplify matters. Two lights and a single AA battery. I could get to 28 gallons.

Possibly a better idea is to get a 15' wooden pole and drive it into the ground. Drive a 3' pipe into the ground, and put the pole in it. I already have one like that for a bird perch. I can supply the power from an outlet up front on our property. I could still use small balloons to afix the lights to, and the effect would be that the lights move around with the wind. Some things to think about. I can use a timer on the ground.

Reply to
W. eWatson

Hydrogen balloons, arc lamps. :)

Reply to
Kaz Kylheku

Or nix the balloon(s) and affix lights to a long piece of welding rod. (Which does not explore the countryside if it suffers metal fatigue and snaps). :)

--Winston

Reply to
Winston

.

Helium is expensive

George H.

Reply to
George Herold

Why don't you leave the batteries on the ground end?

Reply to
Tom Biasi

Not a bad idea, bit the wire might be too heavy.

Reply to
W. eWatson

Make it a stiff metal rod. :)

Reply to
Kaz Kylheku

You can find some light wire, very thin. Keep in mind the electroststic hazard and possible contact with overhead wires.

Reply to
Tom Biasi

I dunno, you can get some pretty light wires.

eg. A quarter pound of this wire measures 314 feet but it would easily be strong enough tether a balloon (unless the wind is very strong).

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nb. A very thin wire will have some voltage drop due to resistance. For sixty feet of wire (30 up, 30 down) you'll need to boost the voltage to compensate. Add batteries until the voltage at the lights measures in the right range.

(You can also Google for an AWG chart and do the math to get a good idea of the extra voltage needed...)

Reply to
fungus

Use a clear bag and put the lights inside! I use to use dry cleaning bags that were clear. I used natural gas in one bag and it lifted an incandescent lamp and battery just fine. This was about 40 years ago.

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Reply to
BeeJ

Why am I having visions of shooting a flaming arrow at that?

ObBeavisandButthead: "hehehehe... that'd be cool!"

Reply to
JW

Radio controlled spark generator.

--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.
Reply to
Michael A. Terrell

Do you plan to pull it down at 10 PM and put it away? Or leave it up there, just off? You could probably get some lightweight 2-conductor wire that you could string along with the balloon's string, with a switch at the low end.

If I was gonna use the timer idea, I'd probably do one of the standard

4017/watch crystal things.

Have Fun! Rich

Reply to
Rich Grise

That depends where you shop. I work at a fab shop[1], and we have a regular gas guy come around with acetylene, oxygen, argon mixes, and etc., and I mentioned a small helium tank to him, and he said, "Oh, for that I could probably just bring one by and let you borrow it."

My idea is to use a HUGE trash bag (or even a dry cleaning garment bag[2]) for the helium, a static-free bag for some oxyacetylene mix, and some cotton twine; soak the wine in kerosene, light it and let it go free, and see if it breaks any windows. >:->

Have Fun! Rich

[1] welding and machining - one one side of the shop they take big pieces of metal and cut them up to make little pieces of metal, and on the other side of the shop they take little pieces of metal and stick them together to make big pieces of metal. [2] does anybody know if those surplus places still sell those 8' weather balloons?
Reply to
Rich Grise

Hi When you do, would you video it. I've wanted to do that for years.

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Terminal Crazy

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Reply to
Tom Biasi

If the wire is very small guage it will have more resistance. You might need twice as many batteries to compensate for the voltage drop in the wire. A little testing will answer that. It's easy to add more batteries if they're on the ground, and also easy to change them.

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Reply to
Tom Del Rosso

30 ga. wire would be about 6 Ohms. He could even use smaller wire and let fishing line hold the load. Tom
Reply to
Tom Biasi

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