I know dimmer switches run warmer than regular ones, but how much so?
Hooked a brand new one ($15) up to our dining room light. On low it's just
warm. On full (light tottally on) it's pretty hot (the metal frame) - too
hot to put your finger against for more than a few seconds. I haven't put
on the plastic cover trim yet.

It's normal. Your standard dimmer is 600 watts if it's in a box by itself.
If it's ganged with other switches or dimmers it must be derated as per its
instructions. the metal faceplate of the dimmer is the heat sink and it will
get hot. Nothing to worry about as long as you didn't overload the device.
"jeffc" wrote in message
om...
I know dimmer switches run warmer than regular ones, but how much so?
Hooked a brand new one ($15) up to our dining room light. On low it's just
warm. On full (light tottally on) it's pretty hot (the metal frame) - too
hot to put your finger against for more than a few seconds. I haven't put
on the plastic cover trim yet.

RBM wrote:
It's normal. Your standard dimmer is 600 watts if it's in a box by itself.
If it's ganged with other switches or dimmers it must be derated as per its
instructions. the metal faceplate of the dimmer is the heat sink and it will
get hot. Nothing to worry about as long as you didn't overload the device.

========

What does the 600w power rating of the switch have to do with how much
warmer or how safe a dimmer switch is compared to a standard switch?

"jeffc" wrote in
om:

I know dimmer switches run warmer than regular ones, but how much so?
Hooked a brand new one ($15) up to our dining room light. On low it's
just warm. On full (light tottally on) it's pretty hot (the metal
frame) - too hot to put your finger against for more than a few
seconds. I haven't put on the plastic cover trim yet.




They use a triac to shut off the current for part of the sine-wave cycle
when dimming,and thus only conduct and dissipate a small amount of heat
when the light is low.At full intensity,the triac is on through more of the
cycle and has to conduct more current,and it's ON voltage drop means that
it dissipates more heat.

Your dimmer may last longer if you use a metal plate behind the plastic
cover to help conduct away more heat.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

jeffc wrote:

I know dimmer switches run warmer than regular ones, but how much so?
Hooked a brand new one ($15) up to our dining room light. On low it's just
warm. On full (light tottally on) it's pretty hot (the metal frame) - too
hot to put your finger against for more than a few seconds. I haven't put
on the plastic cover trim yet.


Hi,
They come in at different Wattage rating. Count the lights in the
chandelier and see if your dimmer is within spec. I had to use heavier
one for my dining room and living room light fixtures.
I'd think that's too hot.
Tony

Gideon wrote:
RBM wrote:
It's normal. Your standard dimmer is 600 watts if it's in a box by
itself. If it's ganged with other switches or dimmers it must be
derated as per its instructions. the metal faceplate of the dimmer is
the heat sink and it will get hot. Nothing to worry about as long as
you didn't overload the device.

========

What does the 600w power rating of the switch have to do with how much
warmer or how safe a dimmer switch is compared to a standard switch?

Higher rated switches usually use heat dissipation designs and they may
have heavier duty parts that have less resistance, hence less heat.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

"Tony Hwang" wrote in message
news:%T2ke.1445246$6l.326501@pd7tw2no...
jeffc wrote:

I know dimmer switches run warmer than regular ones, but how much so?
Hooked a brand new one ($15) up to our dining room light. On low it's
just warm. On full (light tottally on) it's pretty hot (the metal
frame) - too hot to put your finger against for more than a few seconds.
I haven't put on the plastic cover trim yet.
Hi,
They come in at different Wattage rating. Count the lights in the
chandelier and see if your dimmer is within spec. I had to use heavier
one for my dining room and living room light fixtures.
I'd think that's too hot.
Tony

I think that it is too hot, also. A good rule of thumb is that you should
be able to touch it for any length of time.
I don't like things that are too hot to touch to be installed inside a wall.
in a metal box or plastic or plastic one.

Charlie

Its my experience that the switch runs hotter when "dimming"..creating heat
instead of light by running the current thru more of the resistance
(rheostat) material..When the light(s) are full on, there should be a lot
less heat, if any so I'd say there is something wrong.

I know dimmer switches run warmer than regular ones, but how much so?
Hooked a brand new one ($15) up to our dining room light. On low it's just
warm. On full (light tottally on) it's pretty hot (the metal frame) - too
hot to put your finger against for more than a few seconds. I haven't put
on the plastic cover trim yet.

"Rudy" wrote in message
news:7tdke.1449670$Xk.334910@pd7tw3no...
Its my experience that the switch runs hotter when "dimming"..creating
heat instead of light by running the current thru more of the resistance
(rheostat) material..When the light(s) are full on, there should be a lot
less heat, if any so I'd say there is something wrong.

I know dimmer switches run warmer than regular ones, but how much so?
Hooked a brand new one ($15) up to our dining room light. On low it's
just warm. On full (light tottally on) it's pretty hot (the metal
frame) - too hot to put your finger against for more than a few seconds.
I haven't put on the plastic cover trim yet.




The pot should *not* be generating heat since it is in the low power or gate
part of the circuit. An RC time constant generates a pulse that fires the
gate on the triac causing a chopped sine wave to appear across the
load....as the resistance decreases the time decreases the the bulb gets
dimmer, since the *on* time of the triac has decreased. The heat is
generated by the triac. The more it conducts (on time) the warmer it will
be. It sounds like the dimmer switch is just poorly designed. If the dimmer
is REALLY poorly designed it will not even have a choke attached and you
should hear an audible buzzing ....
Advice to the OP....Buy a higher wattage good quality dimmer and toss the
charcoal starter......Ross

"Rudy" wrote in message
news:7tdke.1449670$Xk.334910@pd7tw3no...
Its my experience that the switch runs hotter when "dimming"..creating
heat
instead of light by running the current thru more of the resistance
(rheostat) material..When the light(s) are full on, there should be a lot
less heat, if any so I'd say there is something wrong.


The rheostat as you call it is not the problem. It only has a very small
ammount of current in it. The SCR or triac (solid state device) is where
the heat is being generated. There is a small voltage drop in this device.
Around 1 volt. This times the ammount of time the deivice is conducting and
the ammount of current being used by the lights determin the ammount of
heat. The longer the device is on (out of a 60 hz switching rate) the more
heat will be generated.

"Tony Hwang" wrote in message
news:%T2ke.1445246$6l.326501@pd7tw2no...
jeffc wrote:

I know dimmer switches run warmer than regular ones, but how much so?
Hooked a brand new one ($15) up to our dining room light. On low it's
just warm. On full (light tottally on) it's pretty hot (the metal
frame) - too hot to put your finger against for more than a few seconds.
I haven't put on the plastic cover trim yet.
Hi,
They come in at different Wattage rating. Count the lights in the
chandelier and see if your dimmer is within spec.

Oh good point. There are a bunch of lights in that chandelier.

Why do you need a dimmer in a chandelier? The old fashioned trick
is to slightly unscrew a few of the bulbs (leaving them in place, but
not allowing them to make contact). In times of expensive energy (esp
mid 1970s) we did this on chandelier & sconces.


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BachMozart ReaganQuayle EvrytanoKastorian
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/vjp2/vasos.htm
---{Nothing herein constitutes advice. Everything fully disclaimed.}---
[Homeland Security means private firearms not lazy obstructive guards]
[Fooey on GIU,{MS,X}Windows 4 Bimbos] [Cigar smoke belongs in veg food group]

wrote in message
...

Why do you need a dimmer in a chandelier? The old fashioned trick
is to slightly unscrew a few of the bulbs (leaving them in place, but
not allowing them to make contact). In times of expensive energy (esp
mid 1970s) we did this on chandelier & sconces.

Golly, I can just imagine how much fun that would be to move the kitchen
table, get out a ladder, and screw in or unscrew some bulbs every time I
wanted to change the light intensity.

On Sun, 29 May 2005 15:45:38 GMT, "jeffc" wrote:


wrote in message
...

Why do you need a dimmer in a chandelier? The old fashioned trick
is to slightly unscrew a few of the bulbs (leaving them in place, but
not allowing them to make contact). In times of expensive energy (esp
mid 1970s) we did this on chandelier & sconces.

Golly, I can just imagine how much fun that would be to move the kitchen
table, get out a ladder, and screw in or unscrew some bulbs every time I
wanted to change the light intensity.

Nah, just stand on the kitchen table and do it from there.