Neutral Wire Mod: Will it reduce humming?
Patrick Brochu
Will adding a neutral wire to my ws467 reduce the 'buzz' I hear whenever
they're on, especially when they're dimmed?
Thanks.
L. M. Rappaport
taking place. Dimming occurs not by linearly reducing the voltage,
but by abruptly switching on the voltage at a later point during the
AC cycle. Which is buzzing - the light bulb or the control? (there
may be other solutions you might try)
Larry
--
ra...@lmr.com
"Patrick Brochu" <pcb...@hotmail.com> wrote (with possible editing):
Patrick Brochu
hear more the switch than the bulb, but it maybe because the switch is
almost at hear level, where the bulb is a lot higher. What did you have in
mind?
"L. M. Rappaport" <ra...@lmr.com> wrote in message
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L. M. Rappaport
when dimmed?
Patrick Brochu
"L. M. Rappaport" <ra...@lmr.com> wrote in message
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L. M. Rappaport
but it certainly sounds like the dimmer. Assuming that you are
dimming a regular incandescent bulb or bulbs (no transformers or
ballasts involved) with a regular dimmer and the total wattage is
within range, it really sounds like you have a defective control or
controls. Some incandescent bulbs have a tendency to buzz at low
light levels. You can avoid that to some extent by getting better
quality bulbs - typically those which support the filament in more
than one place, but the dimmer should not make any sound at all, or at
least not enough to notice. Have you tried different dimmers?
Patrick Brochu
just by listening to the SWITCH, even when not dimmed. I can then tell you,
still with my eyes closed, that the light is dimmed because the SWITCH
buzzes even more.
As for the bulb, I can live with it, it is not half as bad as the switch.
And this is everywhere in the house.
Clear? ;-)
L. M. Rappaport <ra...@lmr.com> wrote in message
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L. M. Rappaport
(with possible editing):
>Ok, to make it simple, I can tell you if the light is on with my eyes closed
>just by listening to the SWITCH, even when not dimmed. I can then tell you,
>still with my eyes closed, that the light is dimmed because the SWITCH
>buzzes even more.
>
>As for the bulb, I can live with it, it is not half as bad as the switch.
>And this is everywhere in the house.
>
>Clear? ;-)
Not quite - you still didn't make it clear that you are using regular
incandescent bulbs; i.e., no flourescents and no halogen bulbs using
transformers. You also didn't indicate the total wattage per dimmer.
If you are using less than 300 watts of plain incandescent lighting
for the WS467 and it's buzzing loudly, then the dimmer is faulty; it's
that simple! They don't make any noise at all, at least in this
house, and I am using around 20 of them.
You might also check that the dimmer is mounted tightly, although
that's not normally much of a problem.
Larry
--
ra...@lmr.com
Patrick Brochu
watts on a track light, definitely never more than 300 watts.
Now you're telling me that I have to convince X10 that the 20 dimmers I have
are all faulty?
L. M. Rappaport <ra...@lmr.com> wrote in message
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Mark Lloyd
modules) and have never had one make noise. I have had some buzzing
but it came from the bulb.
On Wed, 31 May 2000 09:54:48 -0400, L. M. Rappaport <ra...@lmr.com>
wrote:
L. M. Rappaport
(with possible editing):
>Ok, regular incandescent bulbs are the worst. Typically, I have 3 or 4 60
>watts on a track light, definitely never more than 300 watts.
>
>Now you're telling me that I have to convince X10 that the 20 dimmers I have
>are all faulty?
Now you're telling me that you have 20 of them and they all buzz?
That makes it sound like there's something else wrong.
However, you STILL haven't confirmed that you don't have ANY inductive
loads. Bear in mind, the WS-467 is NOT designed for inductive loads
of any kind. An inductive load is any load using some form of
transformer - like a fluorescent (uses a ballast transformer in the
fixture itself) or most halogens which use a step-down transformer
either in the fixture or connected externally.
IF there are no inductive loads, have you checked the voltage? I
can't imagine that's the problem, but it never hurts to check.
Larry
--
ra...@lmr.com
>
>L. M. Rappaport <ra...@lmr.com> wrote in message
>news:u16ajs44d1330k4sp...@4ax.com...
Digi
enough to them.
Both the lights and the swiches buzz. Buzzing gets worse when I dim the
lights. I just bought my switches a couple weeks ago.
Jim
"L. M. Rappaport" <ra...@lmr.com> wrote in message
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Patrick Brochu
My house is free from any inductive loads, i.e. no fluorescents or halogen
lamps. The only halogen I use is in the bedroom, where I've replaced the 3
x 60watts incandescent bulbs with 3 halogen bulbs, but no transformer is
involeved. This actually seems to reduce the buzzing considerably. But
everywhere else, it's only plain incandescent bulbs.
Check the voltage where? The circuits are 120 volts (i've tested with a
multimeter, gives out readings like 119.xx or 120.xx VAC.
This is turning out to be fun! ;-)
Patrick Brochu
Digi <DigA...@SPAMyahoo.com> wrote in message
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Your Name
> Hey thanks, now I know i'm not crazy ;-)
>
Patrick, Jim, et. al:
I've used X-10 (several brands including Leviton) for at least 15 years and
have always noted a "buzzing" that eminated from the wall switch modules if I
dimmed the circuit. It's possible that the bulb filaments themselves are
also buzzing, but I've never really paid attention. I just assumed the
dimmer function caused buzzing in the wall switch and that was normal. I
know that regular dimmer switches buzz too, at least certain ones.
Tom H.
L. M. Rappaport
I can hear some buzzing if I get really close to my units, but for
most of them "really close" means putting my ear against the switch.
Having bulbs buzz is really common and is, as I said earlier, due to
the way a triac (the active element in an X-10 and many other dimmers)
works. The only way to completely eliminate it is to use autoformers
which work by lowering the voltage, or rheostats which work the same
way. These are relatively impractical, however, both because of cost
and the amount of room they take up. Rheostats also produce a
substantial amount of heat.
Buzzing in the bulbs can be greatly reduced by using better bulbs.
What does that mean? Usually it means buying "long life" bulbs.
These bulbs support the filament in several places and also use a
stiffer, heavier filament.
Another thing you might try is to shim the controls with rubber. Just
take some small, thin pieces of rubber, punch holes in them and put
them on the screw between the dimmer and the box. Might help.
Good luck.
Larry
--
ra...@lmr.com
"Patrick Brochu" <pcb...@hotmail.com.pleaseremovespamfilter> wrote
(with possible editing):
>Yessir, about 20, and they all buzz madly!
Patrick Brochu
out some $$$ to get halogen bulbs as they seem to reduce buzzing by a lot.
I've checked a plain old leviton dimmer (not X10) last night and it does the
same buzzing sound, especially when dimmed. I guess my ears are too
sensitive...
L. M. Rappaport <ra...@lmr.com> wrote in message
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