Dimmer from scratch

S

Sedonafilmer

Active member
Im looking into buying a few dimmers for my production comapny. but is it cheaper to build them myself? (they just build a home depot near me)

and If i do make my own...how do i put it together (i needs to be able to handle 650watts)

thanks! :)
 
Yes, it is so much cheaper to do it yourself:

Dimmer <$4
metal box<$1
face plate<$1
extension cord ~$5
caps and wire clasps <$1

Cut they extension cord in half, and wire the ends to the dimmer leads per the directions in the dimmer box, cap it off, put it in the metal outlet/switch box, add a face plate, and voilla! You have what is refered to in the industry as a "hand squeezer" or dimmer box. I like to keep 4 of them in my kit. Very handy, and very cheap.

-j
 
You can get 650w rated dimmers at home depot or lowes for under $4. 1k dimmers are more expensive, like $20 however...

-j
 
The book section at Home Depot (or wherever) will have all the information you need to wire it together.

Make sure you match the size of the dimmer to the lamp, or you'll have a terrible buzzing.
 
Awesome. Would these work fine with less than 1500 watts? Like 650?

Yes, they will work with any lamp up to and including 1500 watts.

You get no buzzing from these?

Sometimes the filament in the lamp will vibrate a little (at certain settings), but this happens even with professional dimmers. As far as RF buzz picking up on the audio, no I haven't had a problem.
 
Cryogenic Filmworks said:
I was thinking about putting dimmers on my Briteks. Does anyone know if this will damage the lights or not? I have a 650, a 200 and a 500/1000 halogen.

Thanks
Raymond
Click to expand...


It won't damage the lights, but the color temperature will be reduced.
 
I just drove out to Pasadena and picked up a couple of these at Harborfreight.
Print out the page from the web site that has the $9.99 price, and the retail store will honor it (instead of the $24.95 list).
They seem pretty well made and work fine on my Britek 600's without any filament singing.

Thanks for the great link.

Ken
the Screen Skins guy
 
KHendrix2 said:
$47 is a pretty good deal, but here's a little secret that will give you a 1500 watt dimmer for less money and no labor:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=43060

I have three of these and they work great.
Click to expand...



The Voltage capacity is listed as 250 VDC and the Amp capacity at 15 amps. Using the following equation, shouldn't the watt capacity be 3750w?

Amps x Volts = Watts

I'm probably forgetting something, hence the reason you listed the capacity at 1500w.

Thanks. Great find!
 
It's listed as 15 amps. In the US that translates to roughly 1500 watts. If you ran it at 250 Volts 15 Amps you would get higher wattage, but do your lights run at 250?

So while your math is correct I don't think it makes a practical difference since your still at ~ 1500 Watts if your running 120.
SK
 
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