stupid question..dimmer bought at home depot....

videoshark

videoshark

Well-known member
i bought a 300W dimmer at home depot for around 12 bucks... the dimmer says in fine print (didn't see it at store) "only for incandescent lights"..does that means i can't use it for my 300W Halogens? Will something blow up?

thanks!
still learning lighting as you can see....

E
 
Well, halogens are incandescent...but a lot of them don't behave well with dimmers. (The ones that work well are usually marked as such.)

On the other hand, that warning probably pertains to fluorescents more than anything else.
 
Yes... what he said... shouldn't be any problem with the halogen... just don't try it on your flos.
 
I'm willing to bet you'll get a lot of 60 Hz noise when you try to dim a light down.
That energy has to go somewhere- heat and EF radiation.

Let us know how it works for you.

Jeff Patnaude
 
Halogens need a minmum temp to work right, and dimming them way down can sometimes cause them to flicker. Other than that, it should be fine. Those sliding in-line dimmers are good to use on practicals, to bring them into acceptable range.
 
yeah..figured. i'll try and use them more for practicals. one last question. do all dimmers cause a hum? i have another one that is more professional and it does still make noise!
hate it...

thanks!
E

i will test it soon on the 300W...
 
okay i got a question about dimmers too and instead of starting a new thread ill post it here, whats the difference between an expensive dimmer like this :
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=298688&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation#

and cheapers ones like this : http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=48790&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

and

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=283607&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

I can see the higher priced one can support more wattage, but could the 1kwatt and 600watt dimmers work on arri 600watt fresnels for example? how much noise would be produced by each dimmer on an arri 600watt fresnel ? thanks a lot
 
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Yeah I just ordered 3 of those "dimmers" from Harbor Freight but they have not arrived. Anyone use those?
 
Some folks have had good luck (no noise) with a 15 amp router speed control from Harbor Freight. The item number is 43060. Regular price is about $25 and it's commonly on sale for about $13.
 
TheJackyl said:
okay i got a question about dimmers too and instead of starting a new thread ill post it here, whats the difference between an expensive dimmer like this :
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=298688&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation#

and cheapers ones like this : http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=48790&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

and

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=283607&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

I can see the higher priced one can support more wattage, but could the 1kwatt and 600watt dimmers work on arri 600watt fresnels for example? how much noise would be produced by each dimmer on an arri 600watt fresnel ? thanks a lot
Click to expand...


The more expensive dimmer is meant to work in conjunction with a control board to do programmable cues, etc. The other two are stand-alone dimmers.
 
videoshark,
The Harbor Freight dimmers are 1500 watts capable. I use them for 650s and 1ks
with no filament buzzing at all. They're very well made, and a steal at the $10 sale price.
Hope this helps.
Ken
the Screen Skins guy
 
The problems I have run into with the 'home depot' dimmers is they get warm and cause 'noise' in the form of humming when used with my Lowel 600 watt omni light. Get a professional one....You'll be happy you did.
 
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