Dimmable LED's

[BillyCarpenter]

I've been putting this off for a while because I didn't want to open up this can of worms. Yesterday, I decided to bite the bullet and upgrade my pool table light from florescent bulbs to LEDs. I ripped out the starting capacitors and transformer as it was being replaced by direct wired LED tubes. Also, I installed a Kasa (Alexa compatible) dimmer switch inside the Budweiser Pool Table Light. I wanted the luxury of turning on/off with my voice as well as being able to dim the light to my liking.


See picture below.



bud 3.jpg

I tapped into a power wire in the ceiling for the source voltage. That way the wire is hidden out of sight. I mounted the dimmer switch inside the Budweiser housing. It looked like everything was working as planned. I could turn on/off with Alexa. However, the lights would flicker when I used the dimming feature. Since these are 3ft LED tubes, choices are limited. Some LED's are made to be used with a dimmer. Others are NOT. These weren't rated for dimming.

I just want the damn things to work. I wasn't planning on having to learn something new. Be that as it may, I couldn't just give up. I was forced to put on my electronics cap. Turns out that a dimmer switch works by either clipping the leading or trailing edge of the 120VAC sine wave. Moreover, the old legacy dimmers clip the leading edge and don't play well with LEDs. I needed a dimmer switch that clipped the trailing edge of the sine wave.

I put it on order. We'll see if it works.

[slimslob]

Re: Dimmable LED's

On a quick check, the only customer reviews that I could find were not happy with the "dimming" ability. Total amount of dimming was limited to only a reduction of 40% of emitted lumens. If the fixture has multiple tubes you may need to build a way to control the number of tubes that are turned on.

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Dimmable LED's

On a quick check, the only customer reviews that I could find were not happy with the "dimming" ability. Total amount of dimming was limited to only a reduction of 40% of emitted lumens. If the fixture has multiple tubes you may need to build a way to control the number of tubes that are turned on.

.

Customer reviews of what? A trailing edge dimmer switch? I won't know if it works until I give it a try. It's only a few bucks so it won't be a big loss. I watched a demo (video) and it worked very well. Especially once the dimmer got below 50%. And that's the problem I was having with the leading edge dimmer. Once it dropped down to about 50%, the lights would flicker.

If it doesn't work, I found some 3ft. dimmable LED's and I'll just use them.

PS - There is no light fixture. Here's the LED's that I used.

SHOPLED 3FT LED Shop Light Fixture, 27W 3510LM 5000K Daylight, V Shape, High Output, Linkable T8 3 Foot LED Tube Lights for Workshop, Wardrobe, Kitchen, Closet Lighting, 4 Pack - - Amazon.com

I know it says fixture but there is none. It's plug and play.

[slimslob]

Re: Dimmable LED's

.

Customer reviews of what? A trailing edge dimmer switch? I won't know if it works until I give it a try. It's only a few bucks so it won't be a big loss. I watched a demo (video) and it worked very well. Especially once the dimmer got below 50%. And that's the problem I was having with the leading edge dimmer. Once it dropped down to about 50%, the lights would flicker.

If it doesn't work, I found some 3ft. dimmable LED's and I'll just use them.

PS - There is no light fixture. Here's the LED's that I used.

SHOPLED 3FT LED Shop Light Fixture, 27W 3510LM 5000K Daylight, V Shape, High Output, Linkable T8 3 Foot LED Tube Lights for Workshop, Wardrobe, Kitchen, Closet Lighting, 4 Pack - - Amazon.com

I know it says fixture but there is none. It's plug and play.

Dimmable LED tubes.

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Dimmable LED's

Dimmable LED tubes.

Oh. I have a bunch of dimmable LED tubes and work flawlessly. But you have to make sure they are made to be used with a dimmer switch. Otherwise they will flicker once you dim below 50%.