Longacre Belt Drive Heavy Duty Rubber Festoon 100 Metre Catenary System

The heavy rubber festoon used on building sites and film sets, rated for permanent outdoor installation rather than a summer on a patio. The cable is 1mm two core rubber and the lampholders are moulded on rather than screwed together, so there is no joint for water to find.

Sold as a system rather than a reel, because the reel is the part that fails last and the fixings are the part that fail first. The kit includes stainless catenary wire, turnbuckles, eye bolts, wire rope grips and enough clips to support the run every 500mm. It is connectable, so two kits join end to end up to the stated maximum run, and it is dimmable on a trailing edge dimmer if you want the option. Every lamp is replaceable individually, which matters over ten years far more than any headline specification.

Specification

• Dimensions: 100m of festoon, lamps at 1 metre centres
• Materials: black rubber cable, polycarbonate or glass lamps, stainless catenary and fixings
• Finish: black cable as standard, white to order
• Light source: 100 x 1W LED lamps, individually replaceable
• Light output: 80 lumens per lamp, about 8000 lumens total
• Colour temperature: 2700K very warm white
• Beam angle: 360 degrees, omnidirectional
• Power: 230V mains via a moulded IP67 plug and lead
• Ingress protection: IP65, jet proof, suitable for open garden use
• Cable: 3m mains lead with a moulded plug, 106m catenary wire
• Warranty: 3 years
• Maximum connected run: 200m from one supply
• Dimmable on a trailing edge dimmer
• Lamp life: 25,000 hours, replaceable individually
• Spare lamps: 10 supplied
• Weight: approximately 20.5 kilograms

In the box

• 100m of heavy duty rubber festoon festoon with 100 lamps fitted
• 10 spare lamps
• 106m of 3mm stainless catenary wire
• 204 x stainless wire clips at 500mm centres
• 4 x M8 stainless eye bolts and 2 x turnbuckles
• 6 x wire rope grips and a thimble set
• An IP67 end cap and a connector for joining a second run

Installation

Festoon is heavier than it looks and the mistake everyone makes is hanging it off the cable itself. Run a stainless catenary wire between your fixing points, tension it with a turnbuckle until it is firm rather than tight, then clip the festoon to the wire every 500mm so the weight is carried by the wire and not by the cable cores. Allow a gentle sag of about 5 per cent of the span, both because it looks right and because it gives the wire somewhere to go on a cold night when everything contracts.

When to buy

This is a spring and summer product and it sells out. March to August is our season and the popular finishes go first, usually in the fortnight after the clocks change. If you are planning for a particular weekend, order early.