WHAT DO ALL THESE NUMBERS MEAN?

Quickly learn these industry standard terms you never knew you’d need to know when buying Christmas lights.

Tru-Tone bulbs come in 3 sizes, each with a different base that fits a corresponding socket size

C7 Bulb > E12 Base

  • Smallest bulb, .5 Watts with E12 base (also called Candelabra).
  • Works with: Tru-Tone E12 Classic Light String, E12 Deluxe Light String, and Star Tree Top.
  • Sold in boxes of 25 (Classic Mix or Single Color), Classic Mix 5-Packs, and Pick-5 Custom 5-Packs.

C9 Bulb > E17 Base

  • Larger bulb, .5 Watts with E17 base (also called Intermediate).
  • Works with: Tru-Tone E17 Classic Light String. (We do not currently sell a Deluxe Light String for these bulbs)
  • Sold in boxes of 25 (Classic Mix or Single Color), Classic Mix 5-Packs, and Pick-5 Custom 5-Packs.

S14 Bulb > E26 Base

  • Our largest largest bulb, 1 Watt with E26 base (also called Medium). (We do not currently sell any light strings for these bulbs)
  • Sold in boxes of 12 (Single Color only)


Tru-Tone vintage-style light strings come in 2 styles, Classic and Deluxe. All light strings operate at 110 V, have 25 sockets, 12” spacing between sockets, 18″ leads, and can be connected end to end. Using Tru-Tone bulbs you can connect a nearly unreasonable number of them together on a single circuit. Conservatively speaking, you can connect at least 16 (400 Tru-Tone bulbs). At that length you may consider using standard bulk light string found elsewhere.

E12 Classic Light String – Two-Tone Green or Red and Green twisted pair vinyl wire with green clip sockets and brown plug. Works with all C7 bulbs.


E12 Deluxe Light String – Two-Tone Green or Red and Green twisted pair fabric covered wire with black sockets and black plug. Works with all C7 bulbs.


E17 Classic Light String – Two-Tone Green or Red and Green twisted pair vinyl wire with green clip sockets and brown plug. Works with all C9 bulbs.

For more information on ways to use Tru-Tone bulbs, see the Where Can I Use Tru-Tone Bulbs?