dimming mains voltage halogen bulbs

[IanJ]

My lounge has two light fittings installed by the previous owner, each with 3x 50W GU10 halogen bulbs. Both fittings run from a single dimmer switch - the 'push to switch on/off' type.

All fine after we moved in (9 months ago), until recently when one of the bulbs blew ... and so did the dimmer switch. It will now switch the lights on and off, but won't dim them.

Problem is that the combined voltage of the lights is 6x50W = 300W, and I can't locate a dimmer switch that says it can handle more than 250W of halogens.
So, before I bite the bullet and just change the lights for low-voltage ones, I'm just wondering if I have any other options for the switch.

 

[plugwash]

i guesss you meant wattage not voltage

there are dimmer packs which can handle that kind of power but they are not cheap and most modern ones are DMX which means you would need a dmx controller

if you can pick up an old dimmer pack with 0-10V imput then you should be able to make a control quite easlly from a wall wart style power adaptor and a potentiometer

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=14984&item=3747544839&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW would do nicely but i have no idea how much it will go for

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=12934&item=3838302637&rd=1&ssPageName=WD2V
would also do it if you put one light on each channel but may look a bit bulky

 

[securespark]

Yes. TLC do a 1000W single gang switch which is derated to 500W for GU10.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

It's hard to dim low-wattage lamps - needs expensive control gear.

ELV won't fix the problem - 300W is still 300W.

As securespark said, you can easily get a single dimmer to handle that load, or consider using 2 dimmers, as you have 2 lights.