Does anyone know if Leviton is better than Lutron for LED dimmer switches?

I have a Lutron dimmer switch for my dining room light, and it’s never been quite right, have switched out bulbs several times and they all seem to flicker and buzz and I’m just wondering if it’s the dimmer and not the bulbs? Was thinking about trying a Leviton dimmer to see if that was maybe the issue, not sure if anyone has any experience between these two brands?

Seems like Lutron has the corner on the dimmer switch market but Leviton does make them too.

I am using a good brand like Cree and not some Amazon junk.

I would never use anything except Lutron. Dimmers are relatively inexpensive, so I don't see any reason to cheap out on them.

I'm curious why you switched lamps multiple times? After one or two swaps I would have moved on to dimmer.

If you take the cover off and post a picture I can let you know if it's an LED dimmer or not. If it's not a LED dimmer, I'd swap it for one designed for LEDs.

Also you could simply go to the lamp manufacturer website or 1-800# and just buy whatever dimmer they recommend and tested with.

Most of my house I’ve replaced with Lutron switches, including many dimmers, mostly from their Caseta line (“smart” crap). No problems except in a few cases where my 1950s-built house didn’t have a neutral, but that has been easy enough to fix.

I’d be looking at your fixture or the wiring.

-Rob

I've used two different kinds of Lutron dimmer switches with LED lighting (both screw-in [E26] bulbs and LED fixtures): Regular dimmer switches and Caséta switches The only problem I ever had was a cheap Lowe's LED ceiling fixture (Utilitech, I think it was?) that would do crazy things on power-up about 1/4 of the time. Swapped it out for an LED fixture from Costco and problem solved.

A couple of the standard screw (E26) LED bulbs will sometimes flicker at lower settings. I think they're CREE bulbs. One or both may be Feit bulbs. They're both on Lutron Caséta plug-in lamp modules.

Can't speak to Leviton dimmers. Don't have any in use of which I'm aware.

quote:

Originally posted by BurtonRW:
Most of my house I’ve replaced with Lutron switches, including many dimmers, mostly from their Caseta line (“smart” crap). No problems except in a few cases where my 1950s-built house didn’t have a neutral, ...

Most Lutron Caséta dimmers do not require a neutral. That was one reason I went with the product.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
I would never use anything except Lutron. Dimmers are relatively inexpensive, so I don't see any reason to cheap out on them.

I'm curious why you switched lamps multiple times? After one or two swaps I would have moved on to dimmer.

If you take the cover off and post a picture I can let you know if it's an LED dimmer or not. If it's not a LED dimmer, I'd swap it for one designed for LEDs.

Also you could simply go to the lamp manufacturer website or 1-800# and just buy whatever dimmer they recommend and tested with.

It’s 100% an LED dimmer

I think the model is Skylark by Lutron

I think I've used both but most recently I've only been using Lutron.

I don't think I have any complaints with either brand. But for some reason, without any real data, I've been preferring Lutron. There was a reason I bought Lutron at some point over Leviton but can't remember what it was. But I still have Leviton switches installed; just the most recent ones have all been Lutron.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
I would never use anything except Lutron. Dimmers are relatively inexpensive, so I don't see any reason to cheap out on them.

I'm curious why you switched lamps multiple times? After one or two swaps I would have moved on to dimmer.

If you take the cover off and post a picture I can let you know if it's an LED dimmer or not. If it's not a LED dimmer, I'd swap it for one designed for LEDs.

Also you could simply go to the lamp manufacturer website or 1-800# and just buy whatever dimmer they recommend and tested with.

It’s 100% an LED dimmer

I think the model is Skylark by Lutron

Switch it to a DIVA - DVCL-153PR-WH (the last two letters are color). They are higher quality switches and are the most widely tested/accepted from lamp manufacturers. The best part is that it's the same plate opening, so if you have decorative plates there's no need to even change the plate.

Before doing the swap, I'd call the lamp manufacturer or visit their website to confirm that the DIVA is on their approved list.

OK thanks Skins. I may give that a try

I've had better luck with Lutron and have a mix of Diva dumb switches and Caseta smart switches. I never intended to have any smart switches but I had a situation where I needed a switch inside a bathroom and wiring would have been difficult, so I got a Caseta set with a wall-mounted remote that looks just like a switch. I will warn you though that I've seen odd interactions between a Diva three-way dimmer and a Caseta dimmer: occasionally I'll turn off the Diva and the Caseta in the adjacent room turns off, turns on 100%, then goes back to it's previous setting.

Whatever you end up with make sure you follow the procedure to "trim" the dimming range, and consider re-accomplishing if you change bulb brand/type.

quote:

I would never use anything except Lutron. Dimmers are relatively inexpensive, so I don't see any reason to cheap out on them.

Good to know for future reference!

quote:

Originally posted by shikemd:
I will warn you though that I've seen odd interactions between a Diva three-way dimmer and a Caseta dimmer: occasionally I'll turn off the Diva and the Caseta in the adjacent room turns off, turns on 100%, then goes back to it's previous setting.

That is odd, considering that Caséta uses RF communications and the non-smart Diva switches have no RF capability.

We're using Maestro dimmers where we're not using Caséta.