Humey Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 In an upcoming production the director would like to use standard, round 40 watt bulbs, as used in domestic environments. They will be 4 of them hung in a window to create a feature. They need to be dimmable. Is this possible? I am not much of a lampy so any advice and help would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew C Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 They will be 4 of them hung in a window to create a feature. They need to be dimmable. Is this possible?Yes. With a modern dimmer, it will probably just work. If the dimmer is older, you may need to add a higher wattage lamp in parallel so the dimmer "sees" the sort of load it was designed for. This ballast lamp could be in the dimmer room, wings, or even a lantern in your rig if it is always on the the special. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humey Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 Im afraid we have 4 old Strand Mini 2's. Not very modern. Could you explain to me how to add a higher wattage lamp in parallel? How much higher wattage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LampTramp Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 If you are going to need a 'load lamp' just plug it into your dimmer, most dimmers have two sockets, one for your 40w lamps and the other for the 'load lamp'.You can just use a 500w fresnel or any spare unit.Should do the trick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timsabre Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 You won't need an extra load with Mini2's. I've dimmed all sorts of weird stuff with them, including sets of fairy lights, so a few 40W bulbs will work just fine. Just wire them into a 15A plug and plug em in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alistermorton Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Im afraid we have 4 old Strand Mini 2's. Not very modern. Could you explain to me how to add a higher wattage lamp in parallel? How much higher wattage? Take a look at this on the strand archive site. The blurb says the mini 2 is rated for a minimum of 60W up to a maximum of 2kW. Your four 40 watt lamps fall safely in that range. Should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam2 Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 If all four 40 watt lamps are to be on the SAME dimmer channel then it should be fine.If each lamp is to be dimmed seperatly on its own channel, then you may need to add another lamp to reach the minimum dimmer load.Or use 60 watt lamps, and dont turn them up full. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alistermorton Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 If all four 40 watt lamps are to be on the SAME dimmer channel then it should be fine.If each lamp is to be dimmed seperatly on its own channel, then you may need to add another lamp to reach the minimum dimmer load.Or use 60 watt lamps, and dont turn them up full. Yes, true, I'd kind of assumed they were all on the same channel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timsabre Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 If all four 40 watt lamps are to be on the SAME dimmer channel then it should be fine.If each lamp is to be dimmed seperatly on its own channel, then you may need to add another lamp to reach the minimum dimmer load.Or use 60 watt lamps, and dont turn them up full. Yes, true, I'd kind of assumed they were all on the same channel. It'd still work, mini 2's will dim a 15W pygmy lamp ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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