External lantern with a dimmer - can anyone suggest an alternative?

[Gigagator]

Good evening all,

We bought a new build, Persimmon-built home in 2016 and moved in Christmas of that year.

We specified an external light to the front and rear of the property before completion, on the thinking that it would be less messy to have the cables run at time of build rather than after we had moved in.

I've always preferred the front outdoor light giving off a gentle glow rather than actually providing bright light - we don't really need a bright light next to the front door as the streetlights are sufficient for finding the lock etc.

I therefore disconnected the in-built PIR, installed a grid plate type double switch with a dimmer and put an incandescent squirrel cage type bulb in the lantern.

It achieved the desired result and have been happy with it.

However, I'd like to change the ugly dimmer grid plate setup for a simple on/off switch so I was wondering if anyone could tell me if there is a way of achieving such an effect without a dimmer?

I am going to guess the answer is no, but you folks on here are far more knowledgeable than I and you may know of a lamp type that runs dim like this without dimming, maybe.

On a side note, as you can see from the photo the lantern is installed on a rough textured rendered wall.
It's not sealed against the rendering so there are huge gaps which doesn't seem right to me. Luckily we've never experienced water ingress tripping the RCD.

I'd like to replace the lantern as it's getting a bit corroded now and some of the paint is flaking off so how would you guys approach installing a fixture such as this on a rendered wall? I was thinking of chiselling the rendering flat but seems risky.

Thanks in advance.

Rhys

 

[foxhole]

Simply install a very low wattage lamp, external lighting comes with waterproof connection so rough surface is of no consequence an opaque glass in the new lamp will also reduce light output.

 

[robinbanks]

is a way of achieving such an effect without a dimmer?

If the back box is deep enough you could remove the dimmer from the plate there, wire it in series with the light and fit a new on off switch plate (also in series), leaving the dimmer tucked inside the back box and the single switch for control. If you ever did want to vary the brightness you can remove the faceplate switch and twiddle the dimmer

Personally I'd consider replacing it with a touch/push style dimmer plate; tap for on off, hold for dimmer/brighter - https://www.screwfix.com/p/varilight-v-pro-1-gang-1-way-led-dimmer-white/2061k

 

[JohnD]

Put in a low-power lamp bulb FFS.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

and put an incandescent squirrel cage type bulb in the lantern.

I have absolutely no idea what one of those might be, but have you thought about simply installing an appropriate wattage of lamp?

 

[Gigagator]

I have absolutely no idea what one of those might be, but have you thought about simply installing an appropriate wattage of lamp?

It's basically a faux-vintage lamp where the filament is intricately arranged. They are mostly for decorative use and when the bulb is dimmed it's a lovely thing to look at. E.g. top right in this image (stolen from ebay).

The problem I was having was those type of incandescent lamps are normally rated around 40w but at 40w they are too bright and you can't make out the decorative effect of the filament. I also found that unless dimmed, they really don't last long at all (months of minor use at best).

I couldn't find any incandescent lamps that were low enough wattage to look decorative without using a dimmer, if that makes sense.

Put in a low-power lamp bulb FFS.

Which is why this pointless comment was a complete waste of your time.

Happily, in the end I randomly stumbled across an LED vintage-style lamp while in Asda.
It's pretty much perfect for what I had in mind and having now replaced the dimmer switch with a toggle switch, it emits a soft, warm glow from the lantern which is what I was after.

https://groceries.asda.com/product/...ge-led-st-64-es-amber-lightbulb/1000149472569

I always like to conclude a thread where possible.