In , on 07/08/04
at 10:15 PM, (glen) said:

I had line voltage tracks with a dimmer and the dimmer worked fine. I
replaced the track with a newer track, hampton bay, and put in 3 low
voltage halogen light fixtures in it. Now the light turns on and off
but the dimmer doesn't work. Has anyone ever seen this? I thought you
could use a dimmer with low voltage halogens. The light still turns on
and off but it doesn't dim.

Probably, the dimmer is not designed to be used for low voltage
lighting. Do you still have the instructions that came with the dimmer?
They will tell you if it is designed to operate with low voltage
lights.

Dimmers that operate low voltage lighting are slightly more complicated
and cost a fraction more. I think the manufacturers are trying to hit
the lowest possible price and capture the largest market. For most
customers dimmers are just a commodity -- mass consumers buy the
cheapest one. Since low voltage lighting is more expensive, the
manufacturers assume that these customers will not mind using more
expensive dimmers and the manufacturer will capture both customers by
offering a separate model that will dim low voltage lighting. It's
possible that your dimmer is very old and did not anticipate low
voltage lighting.

There is a lower wattage threshold for inexpensive dimmers. Below that
threshold, dimmers are quirky or inoperative. I haven't looked at any
dimmer instruction sheets recently, I don't know if they point this out
or not. The dimmers I've checked have lower limits in the 7 to 40 Watt
range. (But I haven't checked the current crop.)

You could purchase an appropriate dimmer and move this one to another
area.

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