On Sun 27 Apr 2008 09:06:12p, Art Todesco told us...

Wayne Boatwright wrote:
On Sun 27 Apr 2008 10:41:48a, Art Todesco told us...

Robert Allison wrote:
Wayne Boatwright wrote:

On Sun 27 Apr 2008 08:08:26a, Robert Allison told us...


Wayne Boatwright wrote:


I have heard that there are dimmers available that will work with
conventional CFLs and don't require the special dimmable CFLs, but
I have yet to find one that clearly states it will work this way.

Does anyone here know about such a dimmer?

There are special fixtures for cfls that allow them to be dimmed.
On the other hand, there are special cfls that allow them to be
dimmed with a standard dimmer. You need to get the right
combination for either to work correctly.

http://www.pathnet.org/sp.asp?id=23506

http://www.energy.wsu.edu/documents/...pact_fluor.pdf


Thanks, Robert.

Your welcome. In addition to the other information, I will give you
this; If you invest in the special fixtures (I have been involved
with these mostly in can lights) and install them, you will come out
ahead financially. Although the dimmable on board ballasts cost more
than standard can lights, you only have to buy them once.

The bulbs that carry their own onboard ballast that makes them
dimmable are way more (about 20 bucks a piece) than standard cfls.
Since you are going to have to change them over the years, you will
save over and over by going with the dimmable fixtures.
Actually, they are a little more ....
not $20 more or not even $20 for a dimmable
CFL. I paid about $8 for the dimmable
CFLs that I have.


How well do they work? What was your source? Are they reflector
flood/spot lights? What wattage?

Thanks!

They don't dim well .... by that I mean
they do flicker quite a bit. If lucky, you
can find a sweet spot where they don't
flicker too much. I was using X10 to
do the dimming; a real dimmer might work
better. They were the standard
twist lamp and were pretty bright, I'm
guessing 20 some watts. I got them at the
local Menards home center.


Thanks, Art. I might buy one to try, and I would be using a regular
dimmer. At least I'd learn if they were acceptable to me. I don't think
I'd like the flicker, though. I'd be getting a floodlight configuration,
but it's still a twist lamp just enclosed in a floodlamp shaped exterior.

--
Wayne Boatwright
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