Replies

1. 
   Mark_McDonnell | Feb 02, 2001 11:19pm | #1

   *
   Are they low voltage?

1. 
   Rob_Rehm | Feb 02, 2001 11:34pm | #2

   *Wrong or faulty dimmer switch. Check to see if it is rated for the wattage you are trying to illuminate.

1. 
   Michael_Keeling | Feb 02, 2001 11:36pm | #3

   *I'm afraid i don't know if they are low voltage ..Although I built most of the house myself the wireing was done by an electrician. However it will find out this weekend & get back to you.Thanks mike

1. 
   Michael_Keeling | Feb 02, 2001 11:37pm | #4

   *thanks I'll check that this weekend

1. 
   Craven_Moorehead | Feb 03, 2001 01:37am | #5

   *If they are low voltage pot lights the "buzz" you hear may be the transformer. Listen to some fluorescent lights if you have any. The noise will me the same(not as loud but they also work with transformers). This could be the source of the buzz. If they are in an isolation box, that would also amplify the sound aswell.CM

2. 
   Ryan_C | Feb 03, 2001 01:52am | #6

   *I've got incandescent hanging fixtures that buzz when the dimmer's turned down. No transformer, no thermal overload, just a light bulb. Figured that for some reason the filament vibrates more the lower the dimmer is set. Must be something to do with magnets or gravity, or sun spots.

3. 
   Keith_C | Feb 03, 2001 03:53am | #7

   *Does your pot know the lights are buzzing? It is illegal to grow pot in the US. Hydroponics and growing lights (on dimmers or not)are concidered to be paraphenalia. Watch out for the man dude.

4. 
   Keith_C | Feb 03, 2001 03:54am | #8

   *But seriously, try a 3-way bulb in the light. It has a much heavier element that will not vibrate and "buzz" as such.

5. 
   clayb | Feb 03, 2001 09:18am | #9

   *ditch the pot lights, go to hydroponics

6. 
   Jeff_J._Buck | Feb 03, 2001 09:37am | #10

   *True story. Years ago. Of course it starts...well, we were drinking.....meet up with a buddy that just finished smoking a few...walk across parking lot to hook up with another buddy....my buddy(the stoner) turns the me(the drunk) and says....."hey dude, are the lights BUZZING or is it just me?"......I couldn't stop laughing to answer!........which woulda been...."BOTH!" Jeff

7. 
   Jack_Lindsey | Feb 03, 2001 10:10am | #11

   *I've never heard the term "pot light" applied to anything other than a 1000 watt metal halide lamp that is used to accelerate the growth of some plants that are frequently grown indoors for security reasons. Lights used for this purpose aren't dimmed so I assume you are referring to a recessed "can" light using an incandescent lamp. The following applies to all line voltage incandescent lamps.Most dimmers employ an electronic switch called a triac to actually turn off the power to the lamp for some portion of each cycle. This creates a mechanical vibration of the filament, causing it to hum. The hum increases as the dimming increases. The hum is also related to the type and configuration of the filament, with some filaments more susceptible than others. This is why some of your lamps hum more than others. The problem can be corrected by installing a filter that is available from most major lighting distributors. This topic is discussed in the book "Applied Illumination Engineering", 2nd edition, on page 437.

8. 
   Pro-Dek | Feb 03, 2001 10:38am | #12

   *I can't believe Michael is admiting he grows POT :-)

9. 
   Rein_Taul | Feb 05, 2001 08:02am | #13

   *Pot lights neeeed to be dimmed. They're just too bright maaan.

10. 
    John_Sprung | Feb 06, 2001 12:02am | #14

    *Jack's right about the triac dimmers. The triac shuts itself off every time the 60 cycle AC goes through zero volts. The knob you turn adjusts how long after the zero crossing it turns on again. That turn-on is close to instant, so it's like having some extremely high frequency instead of 60 Hz. The filaments are coils - inductors, and the higher the frequency, the more they like to make magnetism. So the high frequency components hitting them 120 times per second make them try to pull together like a spring, and then release, thus the buzz. The jump is highest at a quarter cycle delay. Dimmers also have little toroid chokes in them to try to reduce the high frequencies and buzz, and the effectiveness of them may well vary by make and model.I've found that Rough Service bulbs buzz a lot less than ordinary ones. If you have some for your work lights, give it a try. RS filaments appear to be strung out over a longer distance on more supports, rather than using coiling to get the required length. I'd also guess that the buzzing vibration can't be good for bulb life, so RS in this application may be overall more economical.(Of course this post gives ample opportunity to make turn-on, buzz, and strung out jokes.... ;-) ) -- J.S.

11. 
    Dave_Mason | Feb 06, 2001 12:13am | #15

    *I'm surprised theres not more pot jokes, maybe you should post this on Woodshed it would be a good one.

12. 
    Bill_Conner | Feb 06, 2001 02:35am | #16

    *To add to Jack and John answers, shorter filament usually buzz less; longer less well supported filaments buzz more. Try a halogen substitution lamp - these are usually shorter filaments. Or get a better dimmer - dimmers with higher rise time chokes do exist.Or if short of funds, build your own coil with 50 wraps around a core and wire it in series with the load. Just watch out that the coil is not too close to combustible materials.

13. 
    John_Sprung | Feb 06, 2001 02:48am | #17

    *There's one problem with halogen and dimmers. The tungsten-halogen-quartz lamp depends on the quartz envelope being hot enough to keep tungsten that boils off the filament from plating out on the quartz and darkening it, and weakening the filament. When such lamps are run dimmed, that doesn't happen. When they were new in the movie industry, practice was always to run them a few minutes at full brightness before shutting them off. As to adding a choke, I'm not sure what code says about it, but I'd think that they'd prefer it to be on the hot rather than the neutral.-- J.S.

14. 
    Michael_Keeling | Feb 07, 2001 10:15pm | #18

    *THANKS FOR YOUR WELL LEARNED RESPONSE.PARDON THE "POT" LIGHT TERM ,IT'S THE TERM I LEARNED ON THE JOB HERE IN TORONTO.

2. 
   Michael_Keeling | Feb 07, 2001 10:15pm | #19

   *
   I have an annoying buzz noise from my pot lights. They are installed with dimmer switch. I find the lower the light the higher the buzz. These same light & dimmer switch combos are in different rooms but they only make noise in some. I would appreciate any help