MEGA TREES

Building a Mega Tree

What Are Mega trees?

There are really only two basic types of mega-trees, one that goes all the way to the ground and the other is a tree with a trunk (as seen in picture to the left.) They seem to be as small as 2M and as large 20M tall. A short definition of mega is as follows; “great, extended, powerful.

Getting started

To get started you need to know how high you want to build it. Once you know how high you can easily figure out the diameter of the bottom. Diameter is figured by dividing the height by two. So for this instruction sheet we will be talking about a 4M tree. If you follow these guidelines you can apply it to almost any size tree. For a 4M tree we will need a 2M base.

The Base Hoop?

There are two ways to build a tree, one is having the lights go all the way to the ground and attached to a ring or build a base that will give your tree the shape with a trunk and/or a hoop. If you would like for your lights to go all the way to the ground, this is the simplest way. The easiest way I have found to make the hoop is out of electrical PVC conduit, 25mm is the minium you should use.

Now you need to do the math. If you are not good at math open up the calculator. I am going to show you how to figure the amount of PVC pipe you will need to get a 2M diameter. The area around the circle is called the circumference. To find the circumference, enter your diameter (2M) and then multiply it by Pi (3.1416). You should get the figure 6.28. This number represents the number of metres in PVC pipe that you will need. PVC pipe comes in 4M lengths so you will need 2 lengths of PVC conduit. If you prefer we have provided a simple spreadsheet that will give you all the calculations that you will need.

When you get your electrical PVC conduit you will notice that it is really flexible and has a built in coupling. Now connect the PVC end to end and you will have a nice complete circle with a diameter to match the height of the tree. To hold this down on the ground you can make some U shaped anchors or tent pegs work great to drive in the ground. This is important otherwise the wind will blow your strings and possibly get them tangled. Once the ring is secure, you can run your strings from the top of your tree to the bottom, space them out accordingly and tie them down using a zip tie.

Centre Support Pole

What you will use depends on your budget. Some have used wood, galvanized pipe, PVC pipe or a flagpole. Whatever you use needs to be set in concrete. The support pole has to be strong because there will a lot of weight pulling down trying to pull it over. The most important thing is to guy wire the centre pole. Some have used three guy wires and others have used four, I say the more the better. They may just be strings of lights but they will act like a sail in strong winds. If that support pole fails you will end up with the whole tree on the ground in a tangled mess. One thing to remember when putting up this pole that it is kept away from overhead power lines. If you can put up a proper Flag Pole, you can use it to fly flags during the year and lights at Christmas time. I have also found that if you use the pulley system it makes it easier to raise the lights to the top of the tree (pole). I personally use four guy wires. Even more important than guy wires are the stakes that hold them into the ground. The stakes need to at least be 600mm long or longer if you can get them into the ground. Just be aware of underground services such as Water, Power and Phone.

The Tree Topper

There are various ways to hold the lights at the top; the best I have found is a ring with a series of hooks coming off it. Trying to pass strings of lights through a ring takes too long and can damage the string. I have found that if you can just hang your lights off a hook this is the best. If you are lucky to have a flagpole pass the ring over the top and down to the bottom, now you can attach your lights to this ring of hooks. Have the hoisting ring as high up on the pole as you can reach this will help keep tangles at a minium. Once you have attached the lights all you have to do is hoist away. You will be surprised just how heavy the lights will be. This system allows you to service any lamps that may have failed. Depending on the size of your tree you may need a couple of people to help you hoist the lights and watch for any problems as the whole tree takes shape.

How Many Lights

The amount of lights comes down to preference, power and/or budget. I prefer to have as many lights as possible. You can never have too many, but as a general rule I like my lights to be spaced 75mm to 100mm apart. To figure how many lights you want on the tree, use our calculator to work out your results.

Computer Control

If you plan to animate this tree with a controller a few things you will have to consider.

How many amps the tree will use
How many sections of the tree you want to control

8 channels is the minium to still give a good effect, this will allow you to use at least 4 different colours on the tree. If you distribute these colours evenly you will be able to make the tree change colour effectively. By using 4 colours over 8 channels this allows you to double up on channels, this will help balance the amps over the controllers 8 channels. E.g. Channels 1 & 2 is Red, 3 & 4 are White, 5 & 6 are Blue, 7 & 8 are Yellow

The final effect is purely up to your imagination; some effects commonly used are Rotation, Flash, and One colour at a time.