Longacre Turnbuckle and Eye Bolt Set

Four M8 stainless eye bolts, two turnbuckles and the wall plugs to suit brick. The part of a festoon installation that people improvise and should not.

Festoon lighting is a consumable in the same way that a bicycle chain is a consumable. Lamps get knocked, connectors get walked on and clips get lost in the grass. Everything in this group is matched to our own festoon and to the common trade sizes, so it will fit what you already have. Lamps are bayonet rather than screw, which is what stops them working loose in wind, and every connector here is genuinely IP67 rather than merely splash proof.

Specification

• Dimensions: see the product name
• Materials: polycarbonate, glass, rubber or 316 stainless depending on the item
• Finish: clear, opal or black as described
• Light source: not applicable
• Light output: not applicable
• Colour temperature: not applicable
• Beam angle: not applicable
• Power: 230V
• Ingress protection: IP67, will survive temporary immersion, suitable for ground level
• Cable: as described in the product name
• Warranty: 2 years
• Rated for permanent outdoor installation
• Compatible with 1mm and 1.5mm rubber festoon cable
• Weight: approximately 0.55 kilograms

In the box

• 1 x turnbuckle and eye bolt set as described
• Fixings where the item needs them
• A fitting note where the item is not self explanatory

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.