Dimmer 2 vs Dimmer 1. Dimming capability

[U5tabil 2]

I am wondering if the new Dimmer2 is dimming lower and better than that of the Dimmer1. I was never totally pleased with how low you could dim the Dimmer1 even with a bypass, and went for a Qubino dimmer instead. but now with the Dimmer2 and all the new features i am wondering if i want to change to Dimmer2.

[petergebruers 1,268]

It also depends on the load. What is it (type, brand, model) that you are dimming? If the same light bulb dims better with a Qubino than with a "Dimmer 1", then it will also work better with "Dimmer 2". You can try without bypass, but if that doesn't work, you'll have to buy a "bypass 2". I think a few days ago, Fibaro posted these are not yet available. You should not try "Bypass 1" because it is not compatible.

[U5tabil 2]

It also depends on the load. What is it (type, brand, model) that you are dimming? If the same light bulb dims better with a Qubino than with a "Dimmer 1", then it will also work better with "Dimmer 2". You can try without bypass, but if that doesn't work, you'll have to buy a "bypass 2". I think a few days ago, Fibaro posted these are not yet available. You should not try "Bypass 1" because it is not compatible.

Yes i tested Dimmer1 and a Qubino on same light source and Qubino dimmed much lower. Both with and without the bypass. So what your saying is that it will still be the same? Maybe the new bypass2 will help?

[petergebruers 1,268]

Dimmer 2 will be like Qubino. You can't use "Bypass 2" on "Dimmer 1". I don't know if you get to dim lower with "Bypass 2". I've tested about 10 different bulbs, but I always started my test without bypass. If the bulb did not completely switch off, then (and only then) I'd add the bypass. So I've never added a bypass to a bulb that would seem to function correctly without it. It's an interesting question, if I can dim lower *with* bypass. I'll try to do a few tests this weekend. Can you please tell me type, brand, model of your bulb? And is it a 2-wire or 3-wire setup?

[U5tabil 2]

Dimmer 2 will be like Qubino. You can't use "Bypass 2" on "Dimmer 1". I don't know if you get to dim lower with "Bypass 2". I've tested about 10 different bulbs, but I always started my test without bypass. If the bulb did not completely switch off, then (and only then) I'd add the bypass. So I've never added a bypass to a bulb that would seem to function correctly without it. It's an interesting question, if I can dim lower *with* bypass. I'll try to do a few tests this weekend. Can you please tell me type, brand, model of your bulb? And is it a 2-wire or 3-wire setup?

No i wasn't thinking of using bypass2 on dimmer1. I have attached a picture of my "bulbs"

 

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[eg1l 0]

Some leds starts to flicker if dimmed too low, would the bypass solve this issue?

[U5tabil 2]

Some leds starts to flicker if dimmed too low, would the bypass solve this issue?

For me it did not. Didn't seem to help at all. But i hope the new Dimmer2 with Bypass2 would be even better. From all the reading they look really good. Auto calibration etc. 

[petergebruers 1,268]

@eg1l the FGD212 did a good job of finding the lower and upper bounds of my incandescent, LED and CFL lamps. If it doesn't work for your particular case, the dimmer allows manual adjustment of parameters.

@U5tabil I don't have that particular type. But I'll do some testing anyway. I'll try to that this weekend.

[Mo19 1]

We tried the Dimmer 2 with Osram dimmable transformer and a LED strip. The thing is that after calibration you can not turn the strip on at 100% becuase it turns off itself. Why is that? We do not have bypass 2 and we are not sure how to connect it to the circuit that i describe here. Even in the old manual of the Dimmer 1 the bypass is not shown with the configuration with a transformer! Do we have to connect it in paralel to the load - the LED strip? When we tried it with the old dimmer and a bypass in paralel to the load it flickers and it was worse then dimmer 2..... What we do wrong? What kind of manual setup we can do to Dimmer 2 in order to make it work and not turn off by itself? we tried to rise the maximum power consumption but in this case i think this is not a problem because the strips are using 40w according to the dimmer itself. Please help.

[j.nowacki 5]

Is it installation without neutral wire (2 wire set-up)? If so, you will never be able to set light to 100% (I mean real 100%, not rescaled value shown in interface), since Dimmer 2 needs to power itself up - and will not be able to do so if light is turned on to 100%. Also in 2 wire installation the lower threshold is always 1% - all light sources are detected as dimmable, since it is technically impossible to detect lower threshold without neutral wire. You need to adjust lower level manually so it will not flicker.

[U5tabil 2]

Is it installation without neutral wire (2 wire set-up)? If so, you will never be able to set light to 100% (I mean real 100%, not rescaled value shown in interface), since Dimmer 2 needs to power itself up - and will not be able to do so if light is turned on to 100%. Also in 2 wire installation the lower threshold is always 1% - all light sources are detected as dimmable, since it is technically impossible to detect lower threshold without neutral wire. You need to adjust lower level manually so it will not flicker.

It's 3 wire setup. But thanks for usefull information

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[noname 0]

We tried the Dimmer 2 with Osram dimmable transformer and a LED strip. The thing is that after calibration you can not turn the strip on at 100% becuase it turns off itself. Why is that? We do not have bypass 2 and we are not sure how to connect it to the circuit that i describe here. Even in the old manual of the Dimmer 1 the bypass is not shown with the configuration with a transformer! Do we have to connect it in paralel to the load - the LED strip? When we tried it with the old dimmer and a bypass in paralel to the load it flickers and it was worse then dimmer 2..... What we do wrong? What kind of manual setup we can do to Dimmer 2 in order to make it work and not turn off by itself? we tried to rise the maximum power consumption but in this case i think this is not a problem because the strips are using 40w according to the dimmer itself. Please help.

 

@Mo19

The bypass should be always connected between Neutral and Dimmer Output (at the 230/120V side). It should't be connected to the output of LV transformer (12-24V side), while this could lead to malfunction.

It seems that You connected Dimmer 2 in 2 wire connection mode. If dimmer turns off near maximum values and then turns on, this is due to to high autocalibration parameter 2. Maximum brightness level. It's all described in manual in error section.

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It's a parameter of phase - cutting value, so changing this to a lower level will make things work better.

 

So the options that You have:

1. Change the connection type to 3 wire

2. In 2 wire mode change parameter 2 to a lower level (if the level is 38, set for example 36, 35 vale)

3. In 2 wire configuration use bypass 2. Bypass 1 will not help Dimmer 2 with this issue.

4. 40W could be too low power for 2 wire connection

[tcviper 20]

Im trying to get a Fibaro Dimmer 2 working with 5x 5w 230V LED spots (Dimmeable). but for some reason it only turns the lights on or off, dimming does nothing, anyone any idea how this is possible?

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3 wire setup. N and L are directly connected to the dimmer

Thx

[petergebruers 1,268]

If you haven't tried already, I'd recommend you to do an auto calibration, set parameter 13 = 1 and see what happens.

Some more questions:

How many switches have you got connected to S1 (in parallel)?

Have you connected bypass 1 or other devices (resistors, capacitors)?

Could you please tell us the values of parameters 1,2,5,6,7,8,14,30,31,32,33,34 because they tell a lot about the configuration of the dimmer and the load.

[tcviper 20]

Seems this was fixed by first connecting 1 led light, then configuring the dimmer... then connecting all 5.