I have a few posts where I talk about using hand dimmers with LED lights. Flicker at low levels is often a problem.
For practical lamps and single Quasar Crossfade tubes, I have been using the Credenza CL dimmers. These work great. I can dim most LEDs to about their threshold of being on without any flicker.
(Always check if the LED light you are dimming is dimmable. Some are not.)
For my larger LEDs, like my 4'x4 Quasars and 6'x4 Quasars, 200 watts and 300 watts respectively, I built hand dimmers specifically for use with LEDs.
I tried some other brands, but settle on Pass & Seymour Legrand TradeMaster Dimmer LSCL450. These work great. I like the feel of the slider. It seems solid with excellent control. There is a threshold adjustment under the plate. These dimmers will take the light level to an almost off position without any flicker.
A problem I found with some other dimmers was a lag between moving the slider and the light level changing. This makes it difficult to fine-tune the level.
Here is one of my finished dimmers:
Like all of my hand dimmers, I like to use plastic outdoor boxes. These are durable, and won't corrode. These eliminate the problem of the metal box acting like an antenna, broadcasting electrical noise, or inducing noise into the power line. Water-tight or CVG style strain reliefs give the box a clean professional look. There is a tie-line for conveniently hanging the box on a lighting stand.
The stainless steel plates look cool but I would rather have plastic. I just couldn't find black plastic plates that would fit the boxes at a couple stores.
My final touch with any home-made electrical equipment is to clearly label it.
My original goal was to only have 1-style of hand dimmer around that was good for everything; 1k resistive loads and LEDs. I tired several options, but having separate dimmers for resistive and LED has turned-out to be the best option.
https://electricgrip.blogspot.com/2019/01/using-hand-dimmers-on-leds-without.html
For practical lamps and single Quasar Crossfade tubes, I have been using the Credenza CL dimmers. These work great. I can dim most LEDs to about their threshold of being on without any flicker.
(Always check if the LED light you are dimming is dimmable. Some are not.)
For my larger LEDs, like my 4'x4 Quasars and 6'x4 Quasars, 200 watts and 300 watts respectively, I built hand dimmers specifically for use with LEDs.
I tried some other brands, but settle on Pass & Seymour Legrand TradeMaster Dimmer LSCL450. These work great. I like the feel of the slider. It seems solid with excellent control. There is a threshold adjustment under the plate. These dimmers will take the light level to an almost off position without any flicker.
A problem I found with some other dimmers was a lag between moving the slider and the light level changing. This makes it difficult to fine-tune the level.
Here is one of my finished dimmers:
Like all of my hand dimmers, I like to use plastic outdoor boxes. These are durable, and won't corrode. These eliminate the problem of the metal box acting like an antenna, broadcasting electrical noise, or inducing noise into the power line. Water-tight or CVG style strain reliefs give the box a clean professional look. There is a tie-line for conveniently hanging the box on a lighting stand.
The stainless steel plates look cool but I would rather have plastic. I just couldn't find black plastic plates that would fit the boxes at a couple stores.
My final touch with any home-made electrical equipment is to clearly label it.
My original goal was to only have 1-style of hand dimmer around that was good for everything; 1k resistive loads and LEDs. I tired several options, but having separate dimmers for resistive and LED has turned-out to be the best option.
https://electricgrip.blogspot.com/2019/01/using-hand-dimmers-on-leds-without.html