Maximum amps per channel

[tbone321]

And this quote means what???

[rm357]

The real issue is the turn on current surge of the bulbs. Incandescent bulbs draw a lot of current when they first turn on until the filament warms up, then the current draw drops dramatically.

Dimming the lights will reduce your average current, but the peak current is still going to be there and the triac actually has to work harder when the dimming is at 80% than it does at 100%... If you want to save the triacs, never let the level go below about 5%. By keeping the filament warm, you significantly reduce the turn on current surge.

The Best solution would be to split the strings across more channels. If that is not possible, the 4.2 A will most likely be ok, but know that you are really pushing it. My fear is that everything will be fine this year and next year you will assume 4.2 is fine and want to know if 4.5 is ok. That's just human nature.

[chrisatpsu]

And this quote means what???

it means he's not loading up on all 16 channels. he was asking about 4.2A on one channel.

[tbone321]

Yea, and.....  PK was just warning him about exceeding 20A on one side of the controller which can easily be done if one channel is carrying over 4A.  I just added that unless he has some custom wiring, the house breakers will stop him from doing that.

[UncleBuck]

I only have 3 channels of my 128 that are pushing the 4 amp load. All the rest are under 3 amps. I will try the dimming down to 80% for my pre/post show lights.

[UncleBuck]

I am using LOR S3, how do I set the intensity to 80%? For my pre show I want to fade up to 80% and then after a half hour fade down.

[Jeffl]

I don't use it but there are two options on the tools menu.