Dimmer Switches

Tattoo · Postby **Tattoo** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 4:40 pm

As I am considering expanding my collection I will need more caging etc. I am thinking about getting a dome (for heat) fixture with a dimmer switch. Anyone have any pros and cons for me to consider?

Postby **Zach** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 6:14 pm

You mean a dome for each cage? Dimmers RULE! I have one two dimmers connected to our unit...one controls day lights, one controls night lights -- Throughout winter, I either have all the lights off, or turned on a little bit here and there at different levels according to what time it is.

Tattoo · Postby **Tattoo** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 7:29 pm

Yup ... dome for each cage. Glad to hear they work well. :ohyes:

mom22wins · Postby **mom22wins** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 8:14 pm

Are you talking about an automatic dimmer? I have a dimmer switch that I manually dim but it's not hooked up to the lighting to automatically do it.

Postby **Bird_Brain** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 8:31 pm

I have looked all over for a dimmer switch on a timer, with no luck! Anyone that knows of a source for one, let me know! I want to be able to have the lights start dimming down on their own in about a 1 hour range. That way it wont be a sudden "shock" for the blueys when the lights go out on them.

But I have used a dimmer switch (manual) before and i like it, just dont remember to slowly dim it down like I want it to.

evil pixie · Postby **evil pixie** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 9:35 pm

I thought the automatic ones were quite pricey, but I could be mistaken (it's been known to happen)

Tattoo · Postby **Tattoo** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 3:56 am

I was talking about something like this ...

Postby **Bird_Brain** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 6:35 am

I would get something like this.
http://tinyurl.com/3b38bv

That way you can put an multiple heat lamps on them (with extension cords and power strips). It would be much cheaper going this route.

Tattoo · Postby **Tattoo** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 7:58 am

If I understand you correctly cheaper yes but if I use one unit for all lamps then everyone will have to be dimmed at the same rate. I want them to be independent as I will be stacking my cages and the top units will need less heat than the lower ones. Does that make sense?

mom22wins · Postby **mom22wins** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 9:41 am

I would ask Zach exactly what he uses for all his. Zach??? :shock:

Hijinks · Postby **Hijinks** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 10:37 am

If money is no object, Herpstat PRO! It can control four heating devices at once. You'd never have to worry about manually adjusting dimmers. http://spyderrobotics.com/products/herpstatpro.html

The Herpstat II I got has been really wonderful. I'd recommend it to anybody, especially if your building's temps can be unpredictable.

Shadowfax · Postby **Shadowfax** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 11:37 am

OMG, I think that Herpstat thing is smarter than I am! :shock:

Leigh · Postby **Leigh** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 1:34 pm

Hijinks wrote:If money is no object, Herpstat PRO! It can control four heating devices at once. You'd never have to worry about manually adjusting dimmers. http://spyderrobotics.com/products/herpstatpro.html

The Herpstat II I got has been really wonderful. I'd recommend it to anybody, especially if your building's temps can be unpredictable.

Thats a well smart bit o kit, they don't seem to give a price, Hmmmm I bet it aint cheap.

Fatal_S · Postby **Fatal_S** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 2:09 pm

Look at their sale page. The original is $100+, II is $219, and Pro is $319

Personally, when I'm ready for dimmers, I'll just get a geek to make me some. I know many geeks.

KyleWeiss · Postby **KyleWeiss** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 2:55 pm

Dimmers are great. Make sure the switch is useful to you, meaning won't get accidentally bumped up or down. I found a model at Lowe's for a table lamp that has a very low-profile, easy-to-use switch and is difficult to accidentally adjust either way. Be sure NOT to use them with compact fluorescent bulbs or it'll ruin them pretty fast.

KW

Tattoo · Postby **Tattoo** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 3:35 pm

Hijinks I Wish I could say money was no issue but alas I can not. $319.00 kinda made my eyes bug out!

Kyle I don't use compact f bulbs and am planning on dimmers just for my heat source. I hear what you are saying about usefulness and bumping the dial around. Good food for thought at purchase time.

Shadow ... I feel the same way. May be the best reason to obstain. :lol:

Leigh you're a lecky man ... worth the money? I worry about relying on the gadget too much and becoming lax about checking for myself. Hmmm.

Fatal I don't know any geeks that can do that. Also married women aren't supposed to ask other people for things that might show up the hubby. :roll:

Mom ... good point about Zach ... OH Zach?

Did I get everyone? Sorry if I missed one. Thanks for all the great tips guys.

Leigh · Postby **Leigh** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 1:47 am

I'll be honest and say that that would cost more over here. Its a good,clever, bit of kit,I can think of quite a few other things that warrant the money though. I let nature do the sunrise/sunset thing via the window,my lights are on time clocks, so the uv comes on about five mins before the basker and goes off five mins after on the night, havent had a problem with that idea in all the years I've owned herps. That device is a bit tooooo pampering for me,but hey,each to his own and all that!!

Postby **Zach** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 5:39 am

ReptileKing wrote:I have looked all over for a dimmer switch on a timer, with no luck! Anyone that knows of a source for one, let me know! I want to be able to have the lights start dimming down on their own in about a 1 hour range. That way it wont be a sudden "shock" for the blueys when the lights go out on them.

But I have used a dimmer switch (manual) before and i like it, just dont remember to slowly dim it down like I want it to.

I looked into this extensively when we were building our cages....I can't believe there's no "reptile product" that does it. Everything I found was very expensive -- one method was a movie theatre dimming system that would do exactly what I wanted for a couple thousand....and the other was this device I found online somewhere from an independent person/company that was about 600 dollars.

In fact, a quick search, I found it again:

http://www.integratedcontrolsinc.com/nob_pg28.html

I talked to the guy for about an hour a year ago...

Postby **Zach** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 5:44 am

mom22wins wrote:I would ask Zach exactly what he uses for all his. Zach???

Each unit (5 total) is connected to an on/off toggle switch, and all ten heat bulbs are on ONE dimmer which is also the master on/off button. The night lights are also connected to one dimmer which is also the on/off switch. I would LOVE to get this connected to an automatic dimmer like I mentioned above sometime...but for now, we manually dim the lights in the evening. The on/off mechanisms for heat and night lights are all automatic. And the CD player is on all the time and we change the sounds for night/day manually before bed. I was such a nerd while building this; we had tons of ideas -- one was to install a car CD player because when turned on, the CD starts automatically. This way, you could have the CD player on an automatic on/off timer as well. :lol:

When dealing with complex electrical setups like this, it's a good idea to have a smoke detector -- we have one built into the back near the top. That was something I worried about quite a bit when looking at the back (lots of wires going every which-way).

Tattoo · Postby **Tattoo** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 11:40 am

Thanks Zach.

Dimmer Switches

Dimmer Switches

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