3 way switch/dimmer question


  #1  
Old 09-01-06, 09:51 PM
R
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3 way switch/dimmer question

I'm currently wiring my basement. One of the rooms is a media/home theater room. Outside the door to the media room I have one can light and two clock receptacles that are all switched by a 3 way switch; one switch is right by the media room door, the other is at the bottom of the stairs. I put the clock receptacles in thinking that eventully I might hang some lighted poster frames. After thinking about it awhile, there might be instances where I might want the can light dimmed but the poster lights remaining at full brightness. So the functionality I'm looking for is lighted posters and can light still go on and off together by using the 3 way switches either by the door or by the stairs, but there would be an additional dimmer by the media room door that will just dim the can light. Can I just add a dimmer between the 3way and the can?
 
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Old 09-01-06, 10:14 PM
J
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How was the circuit originally wired?

For example: source....3 WAY...3 WAY... light... rec... rec
or source.... 3 way....3 way..... split from 2nd 3 way to light and to rec.. rec?
 
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Old 09-02-06, 05:35 AM
R
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Yes, you can wire your setup so that the can light can be dimmed and the receptacles stay full power.

From the second 3 way switch wire the receptacles directly, and wire the can light through a dimmer.
 
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Old 09-02-06, 07:58 AM
J
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You can certainly dim only the pot light. In fact you are not allowed to dim receptacles.
How you acomplish this will depend on the circuit is currently wired. It will require you to add a normal non three way dimmer to the pot light only and leave the three way switches alone.
 
 

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