RadioRocket
Member
I have been on the hunt for dimmers and it general consensus seems to be Harbor Freight Speed Router Controls however the shipping and brokerage costs seem to be a bit too high for me. Is there a canadian alternative?
CANADIANS: What are you using as dimmers?
- Thread starter RadioRocket
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Oliver Rush
Well-known member
I have seen a couple of those end up with melted plugs... The dimmer may be rated for 1K, but I suspect alot of the internals are not, which comes out in long continuous usage....
As far as dimmers go, why not build your own? Just get a 1K dimmer from your hardware store, a box for it, connectors, and wire it up. I made my 600w dimmers for something like ~$10-15, and my 1K dimmers for like ~$60 (The dimmer unit is alot more $$ for 1K). They are really easy to wire up, and if you build them right, better quality.
As far as dimmers go, why not build your own? Just get a 1K dimmer from your hardware store, a box for it, connectors, and wire it up. I made my 600w dimmers for something like ~$10-15, and my 1K dimmers for like ~$60 (The dimmer unit is alot more $$ for 1K). They are really easy to wire up, and if you build them right, better quality.
RadioRocket
Member
Care to share a tutorial?
David W. Jones
Veteran
I have around a dozen of the 15 amp Harbor Freight router controllers and have never had a problem with them.
MadHMC150
DVXuser Sponsor
+1 as I have a bunch and use them with 1k lights all the time.
swaneon
Well-known member
so if i use them i should be able to dim the Coollights without any problems?
David W. Jones
Veteran
Are you talking about Cool Lights tungsten fixtures or fluorescent fixtures?
Tungsten no problems. You don't want to use such a dimmer on fluorescent lights.
Tungsten no problems. You don't want to use such a dimmer on fluorescent lights.
David W. Jones
Veteran
Some models have dimming circuits or bank select on/off built in. Though it is my experience that dimming a fluorescent light more than a stop will result in a color shift in the light.
Cool Lights
DVXuser Sponsor
Anything with a ballast is not line voltage dimmable. This includes fluorescent, HMI/metal halide and even LEDs. Tungsten doesn't have a ballast and is basically a bulb hooked to the power line so bringing down the input voltage will bring down the intensity.
That is, any dimming, if its possible has to happen in the ballast itself which therefore means that you either have a dimmable or non-dimmable ballast and is also why you will often see a dimmable or non-dimmable version of fluorescent fixtures. The dimmable is normally more expensive because dimmable ballasts are more expensive. Bringing down the input voltage to a ballast will simply result in starving it of voltage/current and it therefore can't do its job any more and could even potentially damage the ballast.
That is, any dimming, if its possible has to happen in the ballast itself which therefore means that you either have a dimmable or non-dimmable ballast and is also why you will often see a dimmable or non-dimmable version of fluorescent fixtures. The dimmable is normally more expensive because dimmable ballasts are more expensive. Bringing down the input voltage to a ballast will simply result in starving it of voltage/current and it therefore can't do its job any more and could even potentially damage the ballast.
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RadioRocket
Member
Harbor Freight was my first option however, after seeing the international shipping rates I was a little put off.
David W. Jones
Veteran
Same thing for us in the US buying stuff from Canada.
Shipping sucks!
Shipping sucks!