E
eskimo39
Hi guys, got a problem in the hotel yesterday which I could do with a little help on. Late last year a local company came and installed 2 dimmer switches (Cheapo rotary dials) to two of our confrence rooms. However pretty much since they have been fit, there has been numerous faults with the MCB tripping (10A with both circuits on it)
I have tested the current and am getting 3.8a and 3.6a on the 2 circuits which at 7.4a is well below the rated 10a MCB. I have also replaced the MCB to rule out a faulty MCB.
The lighting in the 2 rooms controlled by the dimmers is low voltage downlighting approx 20 x 35w 12v lamps each with its own transformer (I have no idea of the quality of these transformers either).
The dimmers are rated at 1000w each. At 230v the 3.8a would be around 870w however I have tested the voltage as high as 250v which gives a load of 950w whichmakes me wonder how well these dimmers are rated.
Has anyone come accross dimmers that cause MCB's to trip???? Is it possible that under load a cheap dimmer can start to cause it's own problems on a circuit?? Sometimes they trip straight away, other times it can be 20-60 minutes.
To test, I bridged both switches out last night and they have stayed in all night with no problems, unfortunatly due to the nature of the hotel I cannot split the 2 rooms onto 2 MCB's so have to find a way to keep them both on one. Also the manager wants dimmers so replacing with a normal switch is not an option.
Does anyone know of any decent dimmers switches rated at 1000w or above?? Or would my best option to replace all low voltage lighting for GU10 lamp holders and use 7w LED lamps???
Cheers Guys
I have tested the current and am getting 3.8a and 3.6a on the 2 circuits which at 7.4a is well below the rated 10a MCB. I have also replaced the MCB to rule out a faulty MCB.
The lighting in the 2 rooms controlled by the dimmers is low voltage downlighting approx 20 x 35w 12v lamps each with its own transformer (I have no idea of the quality of these transformers either).
The dimmers are rated at 1000w each. At 230v the 3.8a would be around 870w however I have tested the voltage as high as 250v which gives a load of 950w whichmakes me wonder how well these dimmers are rated.
Has anyone come accross dimmers that cause MCB's to trip???? Is it possible that under load a cheap dimmer can start to cause it's own problems on a circuit?? Sometimes they trip straight away, other times it can be 20-60 minutes.
To test, I bridged both switches out last night and they have stayed in all night with no problems, unfortunatly due to the nature of the hotel I cannot split the 2 rooms onto 2 MCB's so have to find a way to keep them both on one. Also the manager wants dimmers so replacing with a normal switch is not an option.
Does anyone know of any decent dimmers switches rated at 1000w or above?? Or would my best option to replace all low voltage lighting for GU10 lamp holders and use 7w LED lamps???
Cheers Guys