Wire Lighting - Lights dim

[Lost Yorkshire Man]

A little bit of advice needed.

Our wire lighting (Looks like this) did not turn on, electrician came out and fitted new transformer (100w).

Lights now turn on and are bright but gradually dim over the next 20 mins. Turn off and on again and they are bright again.....only to gradually dim again..

There are 5 20w lights. If I take 1 or 2 off. Would that make a difference? Or is there something else I should do?

Maybe we should get the Electrician back but it would involve having another day off work!

Thanks

[david_carnell]

We have exactly the same lights and the same problem and are getting a new transformer fitted shortly.

Out of interest could you PM the name of the electrician you used as I'm now concerned ours won't work.

Thanks

DC

[red devil]

Sounds like the transformer he fitted is not compatible for that type of lighting system. It won't do any harm to take one light out and see if that makes a difference, but really you should get the electrician to come back at your convenience (after hours/weekend) to sort it out.

[Lost Yorkshire Man]

Thanks RD / DC

I will remove a light (there are too many anyway) and if that does not work I will have to get them back.

I'll let you know the results

[Huguenot]

That's a brilliantly interesting question worthy of A-level physics - and I don't have the answer.

It's unlikely that the performance of the lights will alter over time, so it's more likely that they're receiving a reduced power output.

Transformers don't actually connect your light with a power supply at all - what a transformer does is create a fluctuating magnetic field that 'creates' a current in a nearby electrical conductor - in this case the wire that leads to your bulb.

So for some reason the performance of that magnetic field is being reduced.

It's well known that 'hot' transformers underperform because of variations in the volume of hot metals, and vibration in the material. Hence 'overworked' transformers 'buzz' increasing movement and vibration. Any energy being given out in heat and sound is not being generated in light energy.

It might just be a cheap crap transformer that does this - but generally in a scientific sense I recommend that transformers are purchased for TWICE the required load. So for a 100W load, get a 200W transformer.

It's not a 'proven' concept, but it's easy to understand that if you can pick up a 10kg weight, you're not going to wince when you have a bag of fruit gums.

[Alan Medic]

Lights, now we're talking.............

[Huguenot]

Im fact, here's the University of Illinois on why hot magnets don't work:

"Some atoms have an interesting property called "spin". These atoms act like tiny magnets, each of which can have its North pole pointing in some direction.

Often the spins in a large clump of atoms are so random that they have equal numbers pointing in different directions. Then they cancel out. But in some materials, nearby spins tend to settle down pointing in the same direction. If these clumps of nearby spins (called domains) are also lined up mostly the same way, you end up with a real magnet.

The hotter things are, the more energy can be found in them. The reason the spins settled into the lined-up state was that they had lower energy that way. But if it's hot, there's enough energy around for many of them to get out of line. So as the temperature gets warmer, the magnet gets weaker. When it's hot enough, it loses ALL of it's alignment and stops being a magnet at all.

Depending on the material, you may need to get things really hot in order to see this effect. Even before the magnet completely loses its alignment in every domain, the domains themselves can shake lose and start pointing different directions. If you cool the magnet down again, the spins inside each domain will line up again with each other, but the domains will still point every which way and your magnet will remain weakened."

[mrbobble]

Looks like you need an electrician ,my name is gary im a fully JIB approved electrician got my NVQ level 3 and 17th edition, can come and give you a free quote i do evenings too my no is 07872178044

[ruffers]

Our lights occasionally dim right down for a second then come back up - same reason>

[Huguenot]

No, I don't think that could be the same reason - it sounds more like you've got some sort of connection problem, or a failsafe kicking in.