What type of base do your LED lights have? Are they the standard A19 or perhaps MR-16 (GU5.3/GU10)? If they are A19 shape, my experience is that you might only need to replace one bulb with a Thetalux Pro and the circuit will stabilize. If you have MR-16/MR11 bases, you could have other issues. On the EarthLED web site, there is a note regarding fixtures designed for low voltage halogen MR16 or MR11 lamps: Special Note: Fixtures designed for low voltage halogen MR16 or MR11 lamps that use electronic transformers may need to be retrofitted with LED-compatible transformers. This is because the standard electronic transformers have a minimum power-usage requirement in order to function. Some LED-lamps may be below this usage requirement. Fixtures that use magnetic transformers can generally be used with LED-lamps without modification.
It could be that the source of your problem, is not your LED bulbs or the VRE06, but the low voltage transformer.
There is one more option you can try: Use the VRI06 (try the VRE06 dimmer as well) and keep one incandescent lamp in the circuit. Do not replace all of them. This could give you enough leakage current for the Leviton switch to work properly. You will know if it is working if the LED indicator light on the switch lights up. I know it is a kludge, but until Leviton markets a true fluorescent/LED dimmer, desperate men (and women) will be driven to desperate measures.
They are self contained bulbs but I’ll have to get the specs.
In the meantime I wired an outlet into the circuit and added a night lite and that worked like a charm!
Full on/off and smooth dimming…unbelievable.
I see no reason not to just install the outlet in a single gang box in the attic with the night lite up on a stud. Saves me a lot of money too since that vre06 is quite a bit more money.
Sound ok to you guys?
Thanks for all the assistance!
I’m glad to read that a night light bulb gave your circuit enough leakage current for your Leviton switch to work. What Leviton switch are you using: the VRE06 or the VRI06? I assume that your night light was a 7 watt bulb. Before I found the ThetaLux LED light, I tried a 7 watt night light. For me it was not quite stable enough, so I switched to a 12 watt sign lamp and everything worked well except I had a 2700K sign bulb paired with a 5000K LED lamp. Then I discovered the Thetalux Pro LED lamp and since then all my VRI06 “incandescent” dimmers and VRS05 “incandescent” switches work without problems.
I see no problem with installing a 7 watt night light in your attic. Just make sure it is well ventilated and nothing flammable is nearby. You will know when the night light is burned out because your lights will flicker. You could also install a 9W ThetaLux Pro bulb using some of the money you save by not buying the VRE06 and you won’t have to worry about your bypass lamp burning out in the next 10 years.
I left the vri06 installed. Now that I know it can work, I see no reason to spend the extra money for the vre. Good info on that thetalux…I’ll keep that in mind. My wife now wants to switch the kitchen lights to led. She likes the color much more.
Thanks for your help and I’ll update when I do the kitchen…
[quote=“TimAlls, post:37, topic:170342”]Here is the final install…we have been running full power for hours and the heat build up is just warm to touch…that is with 10 circuits running all at once.
I will check it’s temperature tomorrow but It appears that the LED dummy loads are going to work fine!
We took the output of each dimmer and fed them into the resistors shown…the common white ties them all to neutral.
The light CANs are next but I see no problems.
Regards
Tim[/quote]
Tim, do you have a picture of how you mounted the dummy loads in the light cans?
Great job, btw. I put 4 EcoSmart 6 in. 9.5-Watt (65W) LED Downlight(E)* in my office cans and added a leviton vizia rf+ dimmer with a 3-way remote switch. The flickering has been really annoying. An incandescent bulb fixes the problems, but this seems like a much more elegant approach.
So - I have this exact same problem utilizing Intermatic InTouch dimmers. The people I purchased the dimmable LEDs said outright that they would work with a normal incandescent type dimmer. They were wrong and now I am stuck with them.
So there are 4 lights in each circuit. Normal behavior when I turn the dimmer to full off is that three of them stay lit very dimly and one turns off all the way.
As a proof of concept to make sure it worked before I mounted the resistors I put one between the switch and the lights. What happened was only ONE light would turn on and refused to dim or do anything but stay on (not the same light that would turn all the way off before).
[quote=“dtl, post:86, topic:170342”]As a proof of concept to make sure it worked before I mounted the resistors I put one between the switch and the lights. What happened was only ONE light would turn on and refused to dim or do anything but stay on (not the same light that would turn all the way off before).
I have no idea what else to do. Any help?[/quote]
Can you clarify how you are connecting the resistors?
The resistors should be connected between the output of the light switch and the neutral wire.
It sounds like you are putting the resistor in series with the light bulb…it should be in parallel with the circuit acting as load.
Hope that helps.
Tim
Can you confirm you only need one resistor per circuit (i.e. dimmer switch)? I see you have 10 mounted, so that must be for 10 different sets of cans, not 10 cans on the same light switch, correct?
Can you confirm you only need one resistor per circuit (i.e. dimmer switch)? I see you have 10 mounted, so that must be for 10 different sets of cans, not 10 cans on the same light switch, correct?
Yes you are correct....one resistor per circuit. The photo is how we handled 10 circuits or dimmers.....over 45 lights....still working perfect after several months.
Regards
Tim Alls
I have installed four Commercial Electric T85 6" LED recessed light retrofit kits on a single Monster 600W dimmer switch (equivalent to Leviton Vizia RF) with no flicker. I would prefer to have a relay switch there, to eliminate on-delay, but that’s what I had in place for the previous incandescent fixtures.
I’m not sure I understand the question… This topic is about people having issues with led lights on standard zwave dimmers. Many times the lights behave erratically due to the greatly reduced load.
You say you have a dimmer that works okay all on its own without the added resistor thats great!
You also say you want to remove that dimmer and replace it with an ordinary on/off zwave switch that’s great too since the problem everyone is discussing in the thread only happens with dimming switched… Normal full on full off switches don’t run into any of this.
I not sure I understand why you think I’m asking a question. I am using LED lights on a ‘standard’ Z-wave dimmer without the problems others are experiencing. I posted a link to the equipment I’m using. I thought it was pertinent.
They’re priced pretty reasonably. At the time I bought them, Home Depot was even cheaper than I could find on eBay; but I see them on eBay now at lower (bid) prices. I went from ugly incandescent track lighting to retrofitting cans & adding LEDs for under $200. And they throw a LOT of light. I bought six, but ended up returning two when I realized I didn’t need them.
Oh okay my mistake, yes the cans you purchased have something similar tho likely not the same as what we are taking about.
Electronic LED driver (120 volts, 60 Hz) helps ensure quiet operation and soft white light with no flickering.
Which is what they are charging quite a bit extra for over a traditional recessed can. A similar result can be achieved by installing a resistor or using one incandescent bulb in a multi can setup. The difference is the can you purchased takes care of the issue in its own way and is a consumer and electrician friendly form… Which should not be downplayed… Hey no electrician would install a resistor and assume all blame if something when wrong when for an extra $40 bucks that he’d bill to the customer he can use a ul listed product that he doesn’t have to take the blame on.
Edit: Interesting reading some of the comments… People are seeing some local home depots selling these for as low as $18 bucks… No such luck in my area but even at 30 bucks it’s actually not a bad item to consider… Hey thanks for the tip! ;D
Tho it doesn’t help me with my little hallway candalabra fixture…
That is the exact same set up I am trying (right down to the Monster brand Leviton). I am starting to notice the ON delay more (sometimes up to a second or so) and I am not sure if it is getting worse since I leave the lights/dimmer fully dimmed. I didn’t notice the delay much when I first put them in (and probably ran them at 100% on back then). I also tried one of the Commerical Electric T91 surface mount fixtures, but it flickered and in hindsight since only one was connected it must have been due to minimum current requirement of the dimmer.
The nice thing about the retrofit can trims is that they are a sealed unit to prevent air exchange between the room and attic or ceiling. I paid $35 a piece at HD. Also if the spring clips dont match your can’s hooks, just bend the tab the spring clip is attached to so that it jogs the whole clip over a bit (a couple 90 degree bends).
For the rest of the lights in the house I think I’ll have to try the resistor and individual LED bulb route as it should be a bit cheaper and because the Commercial Electric 4" retrofit trims dont look like they’ll fit my exisitng 4" remodel (old use) cans.
Funny, I discovered exactly the same thing. The other thing I had to do was loosen the screw that holds the (normal light bulb) socket plate in place to push it deeper (which when mounted is higher) into the can. These retrofit LEDs were a bit taller than a normal floodlight bulb, and doing this let the built-in trim plate fit a lot better.
