Hi I hope this post is in the right place.
Can you run a three phase dimmer from a single phase supply ,with a current limiting circuit breaker?
I'm the lighting man for our local drama group / village hall capacity 100. We have two 4 way dimmer packs , one 5A and one 10A. These run a motley collection of 8 frensels and Preludes plus some mismached led pars all controlled by a basic 18 channel desk.
We had our Panto last weekend. Dress rehersal lights working fine. Friday night I turned on the lights and there is no response from the second dimmer with two of its channels stuck half on . After getting over the panic attack and some frantic re plugging and repatching we manage to do one of our best Panto yet.
After the shows, swapping out DMX cables and connecting directly to the dimmer with a second desk proves the dimmer to be faulty.
This is where the plot thickens. I rescued some lighting bars and two twelve way dimmers from a local church that was being refurbished. The dimmers are Electron model E 1612 ,but these are three phase and the village hall has only single phase supply.
On the Electron dimmer units the first phase supplies dimmer channels 1 and 2 , 7 and 8.The second phase 3 ,4 ,9,10 and the third channels 5,6,11,12. So it would be awkward to use the dimmer with only one phase connected.
The big question, is it Ok to common the mains inputs so all 12 dimmers will work , and limit total current draw via a circuit breaker/rcd? This would replace both existing 4 channel dimmer units.
In the instalation manual of theStrand Act 6 dimmer unit it shows how to common the inputs for 1 or three phase supply.
