wiring recessed lights

[ker]

I am planning on wiring 4 recessed lights that will be operated by a single dimmer switch. We tore out the ceiling joists and made it into a "vaulted ceiling" where the one end of the rafters is on the one wall and the other wall is the peak of the rafters. So the deiling is high at one wall and about 8ft. at the other. The recessed lights will go bewteen the rafters. We will then insulate and drywall the rafters. Okay, here are my questions:

1- I was planning on running the power to my first recessed light, branch it to the switch and to the 2nd light, and from the 2nd light to the third light, and then to the 4th. So I guess the lights will be wired in series.

Problem: the lights will be covered by drywall. This means the box that houses the wires for the recessed lights and the power that is fedding it willl be coverd. Is this okay and if not, how can you make it accesible?

2- If it is okay to cover these boxes and close off the access, how can I be sure there will not be a failure where I will have to cut into the drywall?

Thanks Ahead of time.

[John Nelson]

That's fine. The boxes are still accessible. Look very closely at the cans. You'll see that the cans are removable from below by removing a few screws that release the can from the bracket. Then you can get to the junction box through the hole. Make excellent connections and you should never need to do this.

Make sure you use IC rated cans and don't use larger than a 75-watt bulb. Buy a dimmer rated for 600 watts.

And I normally like to use the term "daisy-chain" rather than "series" to refer to this method of wiring. Otherwise it can get confused with wiring in electrical series, which is not what you want. All the cans are electrically in parallel.

[ker]

Thanks again John! What does wiring in series mean. On some of the rececced lights cans, it says that it made to be wired in series? What are they referring to?

[John Nelson]

Wiring in series is something that you study in science class. It has application in small-signal electronics, but no application in a home. If you do wire something in your home in series, it's almost always a mistake.

Two identical lights wired in parallel on a 120-volt circuit each receive 120 volts (which is what you want). Two identical lights wired in series on a 120-volt circuit each receive 60 volts (which is not what you want).

BTW, it makes no sense to me that this thread was moved from the electrical forum to the lighting forum. I don't know who moved it (so I don't know whom to address this comment to), but it is clearly an electrical question.