Jamtastic3 Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 Hey all,I'm doing very basic lighting for a very small venue - basically 2 profiles on a stand plugged into 13A mains. But just in case they are too bright (750W) I want to dim them. Since I don't have a dimmer or control can I wire up a dimmer to each one that you get on household uplighters (like a slider)? So effectively a profile is plugged into the wall and dimmed through the small sliding dimmer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Pearce Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 Most household dimmer switches are 400 or 500W max. So basically no. A viable option would be to use followspot dimmers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 You can, but bear in mind many can't handle the wattage, and quite a few have poor protection, so a lamp blowing is likely to take them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 Hey all,I'm doing very basic lighting for a very small venue - basically 2 profiles on a stand plugged into 13A mains. But just in case they are too bright (750W) I want to dim them. Since I don't have a dimmer or control can I wire up a dimmer to each one that you get on household uplighters (like a slider)? So effectively a profile is plugged into the wall and dimmed through the small sliding dimmer.I have 3 possible answers for you...1. No.2. Don'tand3. Definitely NOT!! In all seriousness, any household dimmer you can buy is highly unlikely to take the power of all but the smallest theatre lights, and even then I suspect it would cook itself pretty much ten minutes into a scene where you have it anywhere but full on or off! Do the job properly and look at hiring a small dimmer unit or a 6-way dimmer pack with integral sliders. They're not that much to hire esp if you shop around some. This will also cut out the need for you to start wiring sockets onto a domestic dimmer which, I suspect considering the naivity of your query, you may not be competent to do safely. Hope this helps, and that you take the response in the vein it was intended. CheersTD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody74 Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 Why not use neutral density? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Pearce Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 A followspot dimmer and a grelco would do the job. A followspot dimmer is pretty cheap to hire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.elsbury Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 Also, many smaller "household" dimmers do not have very much in the way of making sure that they don't dirty up the power. So if you were to use them, there may be a problem with electrial hum, buzz etc getting into the PA system (if applicable) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomLyall Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 Small Profiles? 750W? Are they by any chance S4s or anything else that takes a HPL lamp? If this is the case, these can take a 575w lamp, which would certainly help reduce the output a bit. After that the suggestion of using a gel is a good one, or some form of dimmer which is fit for purpose, like an Alphapack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamtastic3 Posted February 2, 2006 Author Share Posted February 2, 2006 Thanks guys,I know it's all a bit 'cowboyish' so that's why I just wanted feedback about it because initially it seemed a good idea but obviously I don'tknow my stuff that well just yet! I should be able to get a followspot dimmer from my old high school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidLee Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 I know it's all a bit 'cowboyish' so that's why I just wanted feedback about it because initially it seemed a good idea but obviously I don'tknow my stuff that well just yet! I should be able to get a followspot dimmer from my old high school.Not really 'cowboyish' - homemade lighting controllers based on rotary dimmers have been used for years by impoverished amateurs. However you would need to use 1kW dimmers which will cost you about £25 each (and you need to be sure that they dim to zero - some push on/off dimmers don't). This approach isn't economical any more since you can buy a purpose made Botex single-channel 6.3A slider dimmer for under £20 from Thomann. Click here. David Edit:- Link made clickable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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