A few years ago, we had bought regular C9 bulbs and cords and we are thinking of switching over to C9 LED bulbs. Would we need to purchase different cords or could we use the ones we bought previously.
Short Answer: Yes
Long Answer: Yes, and here’s more discussion.
If your cords are in good shape and are a traditional E17 (intermediate) base, then our C9 LED retrofit bulbs should work just fine.
That being said, we have seen a few folks with non-standard light strings that had something wonky with the upper edge of their sockets that interfered with properly seating their LED bulbs but that’s rare. Most of the time, this should be a great fit. The engineer in me can’t say “always” without flinching!
Please note: Even though LED bulbs don’t pull much current (they don’t use much electricity) your Christmas light cord has a maximum length rating of it’s own. A traditional 18 AWG light string with sockets and a 10-amp fuse can be run no more than 250 feet in a single series circuit.
Keep that in mind as you plan your installation. If you have any specific electrical questions, be sure to ask a Master Electrician for his advice during installation.
Hope that helps!!
Also, keep in mind that traditional C7 cords with E12 (candelabra size) bases are also great partnered with traditional 18 AWG Christmas light cord as well. The same maximum wire length holds for these light strings as well.
Shopping for retrofit LED bulbs? Find C9 and C7 LED Christmas bulbs online.
Planning to make the change? Share your comments and photos below!
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My incandescent bulbs were all working, but I wanted to use less power. When I went out to swap 1:1, the first three I tried didn’t light up. I thought I had a bad box. Went inside with another string that wasn’t hung yet and tried several other sockets but got 6 of 25 to work. I compared my existing incandescent bulbs that worked in the socket with the known good LED C9 replacement, and noticed that the nub on the end of the LED bulbs was not as pointy/not as long. So with the string unplugged, I got some needle nose pliers, grabbed the copper tab and pulled up gently making them rounded again. All my bulbs work now, had to re-bend 18 sockets, but they all are lit now.
I love my lights.