View Single Post
  #7   Report Post  
John White
 
Posts: n/a
Default Fitting a dimmer switch to a floor lamp - No Earth

On 31 Oct 2005 08:16:06 -0800, wrote:

we have a floor lamp that makes the room far too bright when on, and
leaves the room too dark when off. So, we asked our unreliable
handyman to fit a dimmer switch, which he did, a normal click on/off
dimmer in a plastic housing, by cutting the main cord, and putting it
inbetween the plug and lamp.


He left the job muttering something about "it buzzes because there is
no earth". The thing did buzz, and the lamp flickered as well, and
eventually after a week or so, there was a reasonbly loud bang, and the
lamp stopped working.


Does this lamp have a low voltage halogen bulb in it?

The buzzing noise, flickering and final bang symptoms suggest that the
lamp has (or had) a built in transformer or power supply unit that is
unsuitable for dimming.

How do I do this properly without the above problems?


If you have such a fitting then you would need to replace the power
supply unit with one that can be dimmed.

John
--
John White
SCA Electrical, Manchester
http://www.scaelectrical.co.uk/
Domestic and commercial electrical contractors