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Old 12-29-2009, 11:00 AM   #20
Chuck v
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Join Date: Dec 2009
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Jim,

Glad to have been of some help. Yes, the change from bright task lighting to mood lighting is quite a step with no intermediate settings, but I purposely chose the switch approach because I did not want any power dissipation in a dimmer, and wanted to constrain any heat generated to the lamp bulbs themselves which are designed for it and are in ceramic sockets. Safety first!

If you were to use a resistive rheostat, that device would get hot and there is not much space in the fixture itself. This is why the household dimmers are electronic, but that is much easier on an AC supply than on a DC system like the RV lighting.

Blue Sea Systems DOES make a DC dimmer which is essentially a programmable power supply of up to 10 amps, their part number 7503. It is operated by a separate momentary rocker switch that steps the output higher or lower (bright to dim...) They are expensive at almost $100 at marine supply houses and are too large to fit in the wall fixtures in the RV. measuring about 1 inch by 2 inches by 3 inches, not counting the five wire leads emerging from the metal finned housing... It certainly is a more robust unit than the RV style lamp dimmers.

The surface mount dimmer that is used on the overhead lights in the TM is a bit harder to find and as I recall it was also about that much money as well... Each of these do dissipate some heat but not nearly as much as a simple rheostat approach.

In short, I found nothing that could replace the wall switch for the dining lamp that was cost effective in the electronic dimmers, and would not feel comfortable with a resistive rheostat there due to heat buildup.

Chuck
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