LED lighting and dimmers or I should say non dimmers
 

I recently purchased dimmable LED lights for our bedroom and have quickly discovered that dimmable LED doesn't work very well. What I am seeing is incessant blinking from them when we dim the lights. I tried a different set of LEDs and the same results. I really don't even need dimmable bulbs but unfortunately, all of my ceiling fans are on remote control switches that give you no choice other than dimming. Is anyone aware of ceiling fan remotes where the light button is literally on or off? No dimming whatsoever?

This is the remote we have right now...

http://www.amazon.com/Concord-Fans-R...remote+control

Are these newer fans with wattage limiters? We occasionally have problems with the lights blinking on our newer fans and removing the limiters corrects it.

No these fans were purchased over 10 years ago. If they have limiters I have no idea how to remove them. The lights actually worked fine until my wife accidentally held the dimmer switch too long.

Strange, because it sure seems like a limiter problem. Have you tried putting incandescents back in it?

it always works fine with those.

Not all dimmers will work with dimmable LEDs. On the other hand, your link to the fan remote, states "Concord Fans RM-103-S Accessory - Universal Non-Dimming Remote Control Small Motor". Note the non-dimming part. Yet, you say that the incandescent bubs dim. Not too surprising, but I'm confused.

Well there's the answer to your problem, screw the LEDs.

They might make different versions of that remote. But mine looks exactly like it. Basically you just push and hold the light button to make it dim.

I just want a remote that turns the light on or off. No dimming at all. Never needed the damn dimmers to begin with. I have the same problem with my living room ceiling fans.

The problem being that eventually I won't be able to get incandescent soon.

Eventually? Yes. Soon? I don't know about that. Supposedly the manufacturing of incandescents was banned on Jan 1 2014 but I still don't have any trouble getting them. And some incandescents are exempt from restrictions, such as the 40W candelabra bulbs we use in our newer fans.

I know. I like the idea of LED bulbs and am willing to use them but I have to solve this stupid dimmer crap.

Why can't you just be old and stubborn like me and keep using incandescents? :)

Trouble here is, I don't know if the problem lies with your fan, or the remote. If you can remove the bottom cover of the light fixture and post up a pic of the inside I can tell you if it has a wattage limiter or not.

This is what one looks like.

http://i32.tinypic.com/68ftzn.jpg

I'm using dimmable LEDs and not having any problems. I wish I could tell you more than that.

We replaced halogen with LED in our kitchen and they spazzed out with the dimmer. Our electrician initially said we needed a different dimmer and then said he couldn't put in a dimmer on LED.

I went out of my way to find dimmable LEDs. If this is how they are supposed to work, they are a waste of money.

Do those go bad?

It sounds like you need a new electrician. When I replaced our hanging counter light fixtures in the kitchen I switched to dimmable LED's. It did require me to replace the switch though. Works great and anyone can install them. Note the tiny little dimmer slide on the right side of the on/off switch. Works great.

http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pro...0f1214_145.jpg

Yep. Every once in a while I'll get a work order for a ceiling fan light blinking and removing that fixes the problem every single time.

I've got two fans that are on the same switches. Switch on each side of the room.

Both lights quit working at once. Fans work from their two other switches.

My buddy looked at them and said power was getting to a little box but not through it on both light assemblies

Could very well be the problem if they're less than 10 years old. Seems odd that they'd both go at the same time but since they're connected together it's possible. I don't know what makes them go, maybe power surges? They're easy enough to remove, just cap the white and connect the other two wires, usually black and red.

I'll try that. Thanks.

We use Duracell LEDs in our dimmable lights and have had no problems at all.

This thread has lost its spark.

Dimmable bulbs are a very small part of the market. I'm not sure why people buy fixtures that accommodate them.

CFL's kill LED on price and last as long. LED's use less power, but when it comes down to 10 watt CFLs vs. 8 watt LEDs (40 watt equivalent) LEDs are more than twice the price.

the problem isn't the fixture in as much as it is the remote control that comes with ceiling fans.

Buy a universal fan remote it that's really the problem. They're cheap.

Uhhhh mine is a universal fan remote.

I replaced all the bulbs to CFL's a few years ago and just took out the dimmable switches. My problem is those suckers don't last near as long as advertised. The lighting is very soft, probably more than I would like, I guess I have just gotten used to it.

Agreed, thats why I am trying LEDs. CFLs do not last any longer than incandescent from my experience.

I have found they last decently longer than incandescent but nowhere near as long as they are supposed to. While it's minor, it's also nice that LEDs don't have to warm up to get to usual brightness like CFLs either.

Sounds like your source of the dimmer is not compatible for whatever reason. Putting LEDs on dimmers seems pretty common.

If they would just make the light button be an on/off button instead of a dimmer button, I would be golden.

Why would you need a remote for a ceiling fan anyway?

because my wife is short. Making a chain long enough for her creates an obstacle for my eye.

I recently went around the house and changed all my conventional fixtures to integrated led fixtures.....no bulbs to worry about. The house is so much brighter and using 5x less electricity. Wasn't that expensive either.

Make her jump. It's entertaining.

LMAO

Why not get the switch that controls the fan speed also?

It does. I posted what the switch looked like. That's not the issue though.

Why not get the switches that control fans and dim the lights then?

I don't want it to be a dimmer. I want full control of the fan and light without it actually being a dimmer

Well go order the non-dimmable remote that you posted the link to earlier