1. Choose a location near a wall outlet to assemble your tree. 2. Remove contents from the box(es) and arrange all of the parts where they will be accessible during assembly. Before use or reuse, inspect the tree carefully to make sure there are not any cut, damaged, or frayed wires. 3. Identify the total number of sections of your tree. For trees 5’ and under, you will typically have only two sections. For 6’ to 8’ trees there will typically be three sections including the top, middle, and bottom. If you have a 9’ or taller Christmas tree, you may have four to five sections. 4. All tree sections will be labeled from bottom to top. Typically the first section you will use, the base section, is labeled as ‘A’, the second section as ‘B’, etc. and ‘Top’ as the topper. You can always tell which section is the bottom because it is the only part of your tree that will have a tapered (pointed) end on bottom of the pole. This section usually also has a longer electrical cord than the other sections; one which is long enough to plug directly into a nearby wall outlet. Always identify this bottom section first and use it as your starting point. 5. Each section of the tree will have a male electrical plug which will either plug into the wall or plug into the next lower tree section. Any cords that are characteristic of regular extension cords AND have a long section of wire extending from the bottom of the section (greater than 3’ in length) will plug directly into a wall outlet. Any cords that are very short lengths of extension cord or characteristic of traditional Christmas lighting will typically plug into a female extension wired near the top of the next lower section. If your tree has more than one regular extension cord, ALL OF THE LONG EXTENSION CORDS MUST BE PLUGGED DIRECTLY INTO THE WALL. Failure to do this will cause blown fuses.
WARNING: Never tip the tree assembled in the stand to add higher sections onto the tree. This can cause the pole to bend and such damage is not covered under the Treetime Warranty. NEVER unplug electrical connections that are already plugged in at the factory. (NOTE: If you have a potted tree, skip point 1.) 1. Assemble the tree stand by pulling apart the legs of the base so they are X-shaped. Align the holes in the base. Insert and thread the eye bolt into the base through a set of aligned holes. Do not insert the eye bolt so far that it protrudes into the base opening where the tree pole will be inserted. Only one screw is necessary for most trees to properly secure the X-shape of the stand. The eyebolt is packed in a plastic bag and should be attached to the tree stand. Some larger trees may have multiple eyebolts. 2. Identify the bottom section of the tree and remove any plastic pole protector that may be on the end of the pole. Place the end of the pole into the assembled base until it bottoms-out in the stand and gently FINGER-TIGHTEN the eyebolt – do not over tighten. If you have a potted tree, no additional tightening or eyebolt is required. Simply insert the pole into the potted stand. 3. Shape the first section one row at a time (refer to the “Shaping Your Tree” section of this quick start guide) until all rows of the first section are shaped. For each subsequent section: 4. Identify the next section of the tree, remove any plastic pole protector that may be on the end of the pole, and insert into the mating location on the previous tree section. 5. Locate the male electrical plug from this next section and determine whether the wire is a standard Christmas lighting cord or an extension cord. 6. If it is a long extension cord, run it down along the pole of the previously assembled section(s) to the floor so that it may be eventually plugged into a power strip or the wall. DO NOT PLUG LONG EXTENSION CORDS INTO ANOTHER EXTENSION CORD WITHIN THE TREE. Failure to follow this instruction will result in blown fuses. b) If it is a short tale of an extension cord extending from the previous section or Christmas lighting cord, then plug it into an available outlet of the wiring of the previously assembled tree section. This is most commonly located along the top foot of the previous section, but sometimes will be found further down the tree pole. Just follow downward until you find this available plug opening. You may have to remove a safety “plug cover” to access it. 7. Topper: It is usually easiest to shape the topper (refer to “Shaping Your Tree”) BEFORE assembling it to the tree. Once shaped, insert the topper into the previous tree section and attach the electrical cord as per previous sections.
Learning to shape your Treetime Artificial Christmas Tree is very straight forward. Once you develop a technique, you will find that you can beautifully shape a typical 7-1/2 foot tree in a half hour or less. The first year may take a bit longer due to the fact that the tree was so tightly packed in the shipping box in order to minimize shipping costs. Subsequent years will be easier, especially if you store your tree in one of our Treetime storage options which don’t require the dense collapsing of the foliage for storage. Use of the best of these options allows you to set up and shape your tree in under fifteen minutes. 1. After you have placed the bottom section of your tree into the stand and secured it with the eyebolt (refer to “Structural Assembly” above), you are ready to begin shaping your tree. The branch levels of your tree are tied with cordage which holds layers in place for shipping. Remove ONLY the first cord and gently guide the branches down into place. Some hinges may require that you gently lift them and pull outward as they come down. Save the cord for use when putting your tree away if you expect to store your tree in the original box. 2. Starting at the pole, work out along each branch lifting the individual tips straight up and outward, arranging them into the shape of a fan. Then move outward along the length of the branch, arranging each group of tips into a fan where the spokes ARE NOT in line with the previous fanned group. The offset of the tips as you move out along the length of the branch is critical to making the tree look its fullest. 3. As you move out the length of the branch, the last several tip sets should be arranged to tip outward instead of straight up or sideways from the branch, mimicking the outward reaching tip growth of a real tree. Feel free to use the close-up view of your tree model on our website to get a feel for how we shaped your variety of tree. The tree that you see pictured on our website was taken out of a box just like yours, shaped, and photographed in our own showroom. No special photo tricks were used except to extract the tree from the background. 4. You may MOMENTARILY plug in the lighting for the tree section that you are shaping in order to get a look at the way the lights are falling into place. It is critical however that you DO NOT LIGHT YOUR TREEfor more than a few seconds WHILE BRANCHES ARE TIED UP AGAINST EACH OTHER. The tree material acts as an insulator around each bulb, capturing the heat of the bulb, and eventually causing melting of the needles and the risk of fire.
5. Follow this same shaping sequence for each branch on this level, then release the cord holding the next higher level of branches and guide them gently down into place. Shape each branch on each level accordingly until every branch on the lower section has been shaped. 6. Assemble the next tree section per the instructions in the “Structural Assembly” section of this manual, attach the electrical cords, and shape as described above. Continue this sequence until reaching the top section of your tree. 7. We find that it is easiest to shape the tree topper before it is assembled to the tree. Hold it in one hand, pull each level of branches downward and fan them out just as you might see the top of a tree growing outdoors. Shape the very lowest level of these branches to point downward a bit, extending their tips so that when the top is placed on the next lower section, the lowest branches will nest within the top branches of the next lower section. Plug your tree into the nearest wall outlet, and enjoy! That’s all there is to it. You may also find it to be convenient to plug the tree into a switched outlet, a switched power strip, or one of our remote control modules which allows you to turn your tree on and off with the push of a button on a remote.
If for a branch comes loose from the center pole assembly, you can easily replace the hinge pin as follows: 1. Insert the branch into the hinge bracket if it is loose. 2. Insert the replacement hinge pin through the hinge bracket on the pole. 3. Make sure the hinge is secured with the washer at the end of the hinge pin.
1. Make sure the power cord is properly plugged into the wall socket and power is supplied to that socket. 2. If your wall socket has an on/off switch make sure it is in the on position. 3. If your tree has multiple sections, try plugging each section individually into the wall socket to test. 4. Carefully check to ensure that each light section is plugged securely into the sockets located along the center pole of the tree. 5. Make sure to check the fuse that is located within the socket on the plug going to the wall. Each section of the tree has this same fuse located in the plug. If you have half a strand out or a single strand out on a tree, it is unlikely that the problem is the fuse. A bad fuse will have a visibly broken wire through the glass tube when you inspect it. The replacement fuse is located right next to the fuse that is in use. Mini lights use a 5 Amp fuse while the thicker extension cords use 25 Amp fuses.
1. Find the end of the light set that isn't lit and make sure it is plugged into the right socket leading to the extension cords within the center of the Christmas tree. 2. Inspect the fuse within the plug leading from the light set (if the whole strand is out) on that light string. Take the fuses out and check to make sure they haven't blown. The blown fuse will have a broken wire that is clearly visible through the glass tube. 3. If a light set is still off, an individual bulb may be causing the outage. If this is the case: a. Inspect each bulb in the unlit portion of lights to make sure none of them are broken or missing. Please replace the missing or broken bulbs (you should have some that came with the tree, if you need more, click here for replacement bulbs). b. Alternately, you can nudge each bulb that isn't lit within the strand. It is possible that one of the bulbs within the socket isn't seated properly. A good connection is required for the strand to light consistently without issues. Each copper wire at the base of the light bulb must be touching the leads within the socket.
• Standard light sets will remain lit if a bulb burns out. BUT IF A BULB BECOMES LOOSE, BROKEN OR TWISTED, ALL THE BULBS WITHIN ITS CIRCUIT WILL GO OUT. Also, as bulbs burn out, voltage gets distributed among the bulbs that are still lit. The increase in voltage will shorten the life of the other bulbs, causing multiple lights to burn out resulting in a domino effect. Change burned out bulbs ASAP! • When assembling and disassembling your tree, be sure not to pinch the light wires in the branch hinges as this could nick or break the light wire, which could cause a light outage. • Adding other plug-in devices to your tree, such as illuminated tree tops or revolving tree stands using the supplied main power cord(s) on your tree could result in an overload depending on the number of lights pre-installed on your tree. It is possible you will burn out multiple sections of your tree’s lighting (bulbs will be blackened). Check for blown fuses in the electrical supply cord’s plug. Spare fuses are included in the main power cord’s plug. Replace fuse. • If you use timers or dimmer switches on your tree, make sure they are rated to handle the total wattage of your tree’s lighting. Example 2,000 lights on your tree. Each bulb is 2.5 volts.
Formula: 2.5 volts x 0.17 amps = .425 total watts per bulb.
2,000 bulbs x .425 watts = 850 total watts
Your dimmer or timer would need to be rated to handle 850 watts NOTE: If you need to add extension cords, make sure they are correctly rated (same formula as above). • Don’t overload electrical circuits. Examples of household items that draw higher wattage are: toasters and toaster ovens, irons, hair dryers, microwaves, and vacuum cleaners. If your tree is on the same circuit with any of the above items, it is best not to have your tree turned on while using any of these or similar appliances.
