Ashley R Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Hi BR Just something I've started to notice coming out of our dimmer room is a peculiar smell. Almost smells like burning components, but doesn't have that sharp a smell to it. Whats located in the dimmer room: 120+ way patch bay, 3x LSC ePRO wall mounted dimmers and the switchboard supplying the 6x 32A 3Phase outlets (3 of which are perminately occupied by the ePRO's) Any suggestions as to what may be causing this fault? (Well im assuming its a fault within the dimmers themselves) Thanks Ash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.elsbury Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 When you say "our dimmer room" do you mean your school's? (this is what I would interpret as you are a student, yes??) David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley R Posted October 25, 2011 Author Share Posted October 25, 2011 David, you have hit the nail squarely on the head! I have already raised this issue now I think twice, but with just comment ' the dimmers smell like something electronically is burning'. Nothing more concrete than this. But we also had this issue crop up about 3 months ago, smelt something almost identical to what im smelling now. Had to get the maXim serviced, when it was picked up, guy had a peek in the room, and could smell nothing. I subsequently also had a sniff, and confirmed for myself that I could smell nothing. So whatever is happening, its only happening intermittently.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willdoweuk Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Is everything functioning as normal? Eg. Are there any faults with the way the dimmers are working? Or is it just a burning smell. Does it happen when the dimmers are under load? Have you tried eliminating 2 of the dimmers, it's unlikely that all three would develop a fault simultaneously? Have you consulted an electrician? These might be starting points.good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callumb Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 I had the same problem in my old school. Raised the point I was then asked when the maintaince guy came to help work out the problem. We found nothing just it being dusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin D Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 It might be being brought in by the air handling unit if it has one. I had a similar situation many years ago and it turned out to be the servo controlling the recycle vs fresh air intake. It burned out eventually. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley R Posted October 25, 2011 Author Share Posted October 25, 2011 Is everything functioning as normal? Eg. Are there any faults with the way the dimmers are working? Or is it just a burning smell. Does it happen when the dimmers are under load? Have you tried eliminating 2 of the dimmers, it's unlikely that all three would develop a fault simultaneously? Have you consulted an electrician? These might be starting points.good luck! No there are no faults with the way that the dimmers function. (Or I haven't noticed them yet.). Its just a burning smell at the moment. Not 100% sure, as im not sure which dimmer it is, but when I get some more time, ill have a sniff around, and try to figure out which one is the one causing the smell. No I do not believe that anyone has consulted a sparky. I had the same problem in my old school. Raised the point I was then asked when the maintaince guy came to help work out the problem. We found nothing just it being dusty. Hmmmm (tm Ynot) That might be my first port of call, as all 3 dimmers are lined up one on top of another (with breathing room) on top of another on the wall in a vertical fashion, So I think ill start with the top one, when I start my investigations. It might be being brought in by the air handling unit if it has one. I had a similar situation many years ago and it turned out to be the servo controlling the recycle vs fresh air intake. It burned out eventually. :( Air handling unit? I've pulled apart Jands FP-12's and Jands WM12's, and the way the air flow is designed is heat sinks internally, with a fan that intermittently turns on (When I assume a certain tempreture is reached). I have not had the chance to have a peek inside any LSC dimmers, so have no knowledge of the internals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPete Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 With re: air handling, I believe Robin D. meant for the whole room, like if there was air conditioning/extraction for the room itself. Sometimes when someone's having a garden fire in the street next to us, the smell gets brought in through the air vents and circulates in our main spaces. It might be a similar case for you? Hope that helps :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Yes! One possibility is that the building's air and ventilation system is bringing in the delicate aroma of somewhere else frying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley R Posted October 25, 2011 Author Share Posted October 25, 2011 Oh, that kind of ventilation. No this room does not have any ventalation vents whatsoever, just a hole in the roof that goes up to the catwalks above the stage. The electronics room, where you can find this smell is down the other end of the school, in an entirely separate building (Im talking 200m apart!), the only thing that is attached to this concert hall, is a music school. So im fairly sure its coming from the dimmers, as they are about the only thing with electronics in them, in that room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 If you have ascertained that something inside the room is cooking, and you have the responsibility for finding and fixing it, then switch off half the kit in the room -isolate it, If the smell persists then the ON stuff is at fault, if not he the off stuff contains the fault. Check by elimination. If it's not "your problem" then hand it to the person responsible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramdram Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Ash lad, stop all the posts pro tem and get the relevant sparkies in. They live on your doorstep, not like us with 8 thousand miles of rock in the way, ** laughs out loud **. For all we know something, with either no legs or at least four, has topped themselves across the phases. We use to have mice nest in our desks (You would be amazed at the hole they can get through.) and then get caught in the vermin traps. After a few days we all knew what had happened...nothing quite like a dead mouse for aroma, or as you say "peculiar smell". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul TC Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 a few days we all knew what had happened...nothing quite like a dead mouse for aroma, or as you say "peculiar smell".Even better when they crawl in a fan heater to end their days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.elsbury Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 So... if it's your school... it's not your responsibility then, is it? Just tell the school. That's all you can do, if they choose to ignore it and there is a genuine problem, such as the building burns down, it's their problem, not yours. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac.calder Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 LSC are pretty much on your doorstep. Maybe it is worth a suggestion that the school look at booking a general service for their gear from them? They will locate anything iffy in next to no time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.