help,dimmers keep blowing

[liverpoolee]

hi,i'm having major work done on my house and one of the things is that i had was all spot lights fitted downstairs.in the living room area is 2 sets of 6x50 watt.i put in a 400 watt capacity 2 gang 2 way dimmer.
the problem is this.when one of the spotlights go pop it takes one of the dimmers out with it.i'm on my third dimmer now.(it's not always the same one that blows)
i also fitted a higher capacity mains fuse,thats the one that trips when the bulb pops,right?
do i need a higher voltage dimmer?
any help or ideas appreciated.....lee

 

[Lectrician]

Are these 12v or 240v lights?

Either way you need to allow a dimmer de-rating factor for these types of lights. This will be given in the dimmer instructions (varies from make to make).

What make dimmer have you fitted? Some have internal fuses. Rare these days though.

What have you exchanged the lighting fuse/mcb for? You should not just change this without first taking many things into account.

 

[liverpoolee]

Are these 12v or 240v lights?

Either way you need to allow a dimmer de-rating factor for these types of lights. This will be given in the dimmer instructions (varies from make to make).

What make dimmer have you fitted? Some have internal fuses. Rare these days though.

What have you exchanged the lighting fuse/mcb for? You should not just change this without first taking many things into account.

240v halogens mate.it says additional fusing required for dimming(fusing where?)


i have to warn you i am a complete duffus when it comes to electrical stuff.

i don't know what make the dimmers are.they're bog standard ones from my local electrical shop.no instructions.
i changed the main light fuse for a higher capacity one on advice from a spark.when i had all the house lights on at once the fuse would trip you see.changing to a higher capacity fuse stopped this fault.

 

[Click-Sure]

Changing the MCB did NOT stop the fault, its stopped the SYMPTOM and could be very dangerous!

As for your lights, spend a little extra and get ones with an internal fuse, should save your dimmer in future.

 

[Click-Sure]

You could even replace with MEGAMAN dimmable low-energy lamps.

Did I not tell you that we all have shares in MEGAMAN on this forum?

 

[RF Lighting]

Cheap lamps kill cheap dimmers when they fail.