dimmable spotlights problem

[qu1ksilver]

ive instealled 7 megaman 11w spots and a dimmer (min load 40w) in one bedroom and it dims very well, no problems.

in another bedroom i have 5 megaman 11w spots and the same dimmer, and when these lights are dimmed at their lowest one of the spots (the first one in series) goes out.

Anyone got any ideas why it might be?

thanks

 

[ban-all-sheds]

What happens when you swap the lamps around?

Is it always the same light which behaves oddly, or the same lamp no matter where it is?

 

[qu1ksilver]

i just swapped two of the lights and actually its the bulp that cant handle the low dim... and not the socket or location. strange?

 

[bernardgreen]

i just swapped two of the lights and actually its the bulp that cant handle the low dim... and not the socket or location. strange?

Not in the least strange, Lamps running at less than full brightness are not in their normal area of operation ( full brightness ) and the resistance of the lamps will vary between lamps. The one that is not lightingat a low dim setting probably has a higher resistance at low temperature than the other lamps. In which case the other lamps are taking far more of the available energy than the lamp that does not light. The lamp that does not light may be getting warm but not hot enough to glow on the lowest dim setting.

If you dim lamps in a group fed from one transformer they should be from the same manufacturing batch to avoid problems like this.

 

[johnnykc]

Your problem is that those megaman lamps are total sh##te....

 

[qu1ksilver]

i see, thanks for the info. Well i got the 'dimmerable' megaman lamps all in one hit and figured with the correct dimmer it would be okay, they arent on a transformer they are mains wired. So do i just need to replace the fussy lamp and hope i get a bunch that will cooperate?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Yup.

 

[bernardgreen]

My error. did not realise they were direct on mains via a dimmer.


http://www.megamanuk.com/megaman-technology/dimmerable/

lists a few "problems" when using megaman lamps with dimmers. Most important is that dimmers msut have a 10% minimum setting. Also lamps should be run at full for about a minute when turned on before being dimmed.

 

[johnnykc]

i see, thanks for the info. Well i got the 'dimmerable' megaman lamps all in one hit and figured with the correct dimmer it would be okay, they arent on a transformer they are mains wired. So do i just need to replace the fussy lamp and hope i get a bunch that will cooperate?

When you say 'correct' dimmer one assumes you must have a Richmond dimmer which is the only dimmer that can make some sort of attempt to 'dim' them....

 

[qu1ksilver]

well i took advice on everything before i bought it all. ive got low load dimmers, what are the richmond ones you mention? Ive changed a few bulbs around and it seems to be sorted now, just needs to be on full power for a couple of minutes before being dimmed

 

[johnnykc]

Hi.. What low load dimmers have you got?

Richmond make very good dimmers and I mentioned them because they are the only dimmer that megaman recommend for a product that was originally touted as working with any existing dimmerswitch...

The fact that you have to leave the lamps 'for a couple of minutes' before you attempt to dim them should tell you all you need to know about those lamps

 

[qu1ksilver]

yep lesson learned! its quite annoying actually, and its not like ive chosen a budget option... these lights were quite expensive! ive just browsed through the dimmers you mention, do you think they would do a better job? as at stands there is no flickering and all lights work and dim, after waiting a couple of minutes

The dimmers are 'varilight' energy saving dimmers and were sold to me by TLC's when asked for the best combo of lights and dimmers for the job. to be fair everything works now and looks great.

 

[johnnykc]

That varilight dimmer was actually designed to deal with minimum loading requirements for a single varilight dimmable CFL but was found to work with the megaman lamps..

The richmond dimmer is a top dimmer but either way you will still be waiting for those lamps to warm up before any dimming can commence!

 

[qu1ksilver]

aargh i'll live with it now, but wont buy into it again. thanks alot for the help, mucho appreciato