Many churches are the proud owners of inexpensive dimmer packs to dim their incandescent stage lights.  These 4-channel units are very popular among churches, and there are a wide variety of models and manufacturers to choose from.

Unfortunately, I’ve seen the worst of these packs fail in churches and I’ve also seen the best of these packs in all their glory years later.  I want to show you what you need to look for in a inexpensive dimmer pack, and how to find a winner for your church.

If you look out into the lighting world, you see a TON of advertising and products aimed at churches.

I get a lot of questions and visitors to this website asking about specific pieces of equipment for church use, and let’s face it- churches have a lot of questions about what equipment they should buy!

I remember when I was new to the world of lighting, and I figured that a dimmer was a dimmer was a dimmer.  As if they were all the same!

Fast forward a few years, and I recently consulted with a church that was blowing fuses because they did not realize that their dimmers were not rated for the current pulled by their lights.

 What do I need to look for in an Inexpensive Dimmer Pack?

There are a few “spec sheet items” that you need to consider when looking at your lights and the dimmer pack:

• Wattage or Amperage per Channel and Pack: You need to compare the total power per channel to the power you lights take up.  Many packs are limited to 5A(600w) or 10A(1200w) per channel, and 15A(1800W) or 20A(2400w) per pack.  You need to figure out how many lights you have to plug into the dimmer, and if they will overload the pack, which is both a fire hazard and a good way to blow fuses and/or destroy a pack!
• Number of Channels: How many different control channels does the dimmer have?  1, 4 and 6 are popular numbers for small dimmers.
• Number of Fuses/Breakers: Is there a fuse or breaker on each channel?  A good pack should have this, or else you will destroy your pack if you hook up too many lights.
• Is it DMX, Microplex or other control?: Check to see if your lighting system matches the control type of the pack.  Though many different standards of control use the same XLR plug, they are NOT compatible.
• What do the reviews look like?: Does the unit really work well in the real world, or does it fail easily?  The reviews will tell you people’s honest opinions!
• Is the manufacturer trusted?: Though there are many, many cheap-o packs imported from Asia, I really suggest going with a manufacturer that has been around for awhile, and therefore put some thought into the R&D and warranty.  I can’t tell you the numer of sub-$100 packs I’ve seen die really, really early in their life.

What Models of Dimmers Provide Great Value?

This guide wouldn’t be complete without some real-world suggestions.  While you get what you pay for with dimmers, there are many quality, value-minded dimmers that fit the church budget.  I don’t ever want to recommend something that isn’t built well to my readers, and this is no exception.

• Leviton D4DMX-MD5 – My favorite dimmer pack, this unit is rated for 20A(2400w) total/10A(1200w) per channel.  This allows you a little more flexibility in patching and you can use lamps brighter than 600w!  It also has both DMX and microplex inputs/outputs.  It also has breakers on each channel, so no fuses are blown if you accidentally overload a channel!
• ADJ DP-DMX 20L – This pack comes in a close second, with 20A total and 5A per channel, and only DMX input and output.  This pack has fuses instead of breakers, but they are easily accessible, so I suggest it!