# Dimming Cree LED Retrofits



## dogleg (Dec 22, 2008)

Having trouble with 6 juno recess cans with Cree LR6 LED retrofit kits installed.We used a 600 watt Ariadni incandescent dimmer and it worked fine for about 2 years.Now we have an issue with the leds blinking on and off at a high frequency.We have tried replacing with an LED style dimmer,1000 watt Ariadni and the same blinking happens.The LED lights work just fine with a regular toggle switch but will not act correct with any dimmer that we have installed to test.I guess the next step is to remove each individual LED retrofit one at a time to see if there is a bad apple affecting the rest of them.
Any other ideas would be welcome as this one is kikking my ass.:blink:


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## rexowner (Apr 12, 2008)

Have also had problems dimming Cree CR6's. FWIW, go to their website
for their list of approved/tested/idunno dimmers. Was able to get dimming
to work by swapping in those devices.


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## Dennis Alwon (May 9, 2009)

You may have done some damage to the bulb by using a regular ariadni dimmer. I suspect you will have to replace bulbs. I would call Lutron and see if they can offer any insight as they are great with technical support.


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## hardworkingstiff (Jan 22, 2007)

A little off topic (and self serving), but how do you guys feel about CREE products? I'm asking because I've been in/out of the stock as a trader and just wondering if I should buy/hold it based the strength of their products.

Thanks to anyone that answers.


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## electricalwiz (Mar 12, 2011)

To the OP I would try to put in some Lutron Dimmers

To Lou, I like the CREE LED, I thought they had corned the market on the LED retro fit, but I have noticed that HD and Lowes are now selling a cheaper knockoff that can not bode well for CREE. As far as trading their stock, I think you would be better off at the roulette wheel and let it ride on red


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## rexowner (Apr 12, 2008)

electricalwiz said:


> To the OP I would try to put in some Lutron Dimmers
> 
> To Lou, I like the CREE LED, I thought they had corned the market on the LED retro fit, but I have noticed that HD and Lowes are now selling a cheaper knockoff that can not bode well for CREE. As far as trading their stock, I think you would be better off at the roulette wheel and let it ride on red


You are right, because price trumps quality in resi. If you compare the
Color Rendering Index to the e.g. Commercial Electric/Other LEDs HD/Lowes
are selling, the HD/Lowes parts are clearly inferior. For me and my customers, I recommend
Cree, but in most cases, cheap wins.


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## hardworkingstiff (Jan 22, 2007)

electricalwiz said:


> As far as trading their stock, I think you would be better off at the roulette wheel and let it ride on red



I've been known to do that, but mostly play BJ, Craps, or Poker.


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## electricmanscott (Feb 11, 2010)

electricalwiz said:


> To the OP I would try to put in some Lutron Dimmers
> 
> To Lou, I like the CREE LED, I thought they had corned the market on the LED retro fit, but I have noticed that HD and Lowes are now selling a cheaper knockoff that can not bode well for CREE. As far as trading their stock, I think you would be better off at the roulette wheel and let it ride on red


That was my first thought. It seems like they are going from the only game in town to a no name in a sea of brand names.


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## Sparky J (May 17, 2011)

rexowner said:


> You are right, because price trumps quality in resi. If you compare the
> Color Rendering Index to the e.g. Commercial Electric/Other LEDs HD/Lowes
> are selling, the HD/Lowes parts are clearly inferior. For me and my customers, I recommend
> Cree, but in most cases, cheap wins.


Look closer the cheaper ones (some especially at HD) are made by Cree.
Cree also lisenses parts for some other companies use.


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## Lighting Retro (Aug 1, 2009)

we had a flashing issue that ended up being related to a loose neutral I think.


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## rexowner (Apr 12, 2008)

Sparky J said:


> Look closer the cheaper ones (some especially at HD) are made by Cree.
> Cree also lisenses parts for some other companies use.


You may be correct. The ones I have seen are not, and to be honest
I don't look at who makes the LED devices, but the CRI, Color Temp
and other specs, and the cheap ones had worse specs, and even if
it is made by Cree, it could still be cr*p. I don't want to
be a shill for Cree though, there is no reason decent LED luminaires
can't come from someone else.


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## Runion Energy (Aug 17, 2011)

Go to crees website and look at the CR6 spec sheet it has all the recommends dimmers that must be used with these can lights also the Cree cr6 sold at HD is a lower end product made by cree to get led in the comman markets.


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## MarkyMark (Jan 31, 2009)

The Commercial Electric LED's at HD are made by Cree. I've installed probably 200 of them and had zero failures. I actually like them better than the more expensive Cree model as far as ease of installation. I believe they use the same LED chip, but have a cheaper driver and smaller heat sink. Once installed, they look exactly alike.

Lutron makes several LED compatible dimmers. Many of them have a little dial on the interior you can adjust the minimum dimming % to. Lutron help line can tell you a recommended setting for the lamp type you have. They also make a device you can install on the load side of the dimmer that acts as a neutral choke, that can alleviate dimming issues with LED's (part# LED10TCP.)

Lutron has the best help line in the business. Give them a call, and I'm sure they can help you with a solution.

Owning Cree stock is fine, I guess, if you like riding the roller coaster. I think they are positioned well in the market, and seem to be a well managed company (they are local, and I know several people who work there,) but as a former stock owner, I can say, the stock has not been kind to me personally.


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## ecelectric (Mar 27, 2009)

Just installed some halo led last week and Luton led dimmer worked great even has a knob on the inside of the dimmer to adjust how low you want to dim them. And believe me they dim pretty low with no flickering. I also changed some bulbs on some sloped recessed the customer had and the same led dimmer wouldn't work just flashed. When I called the manufacturer they sent me a list and it was Standard dimmers non led type and sure enough I ended up using a diva


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## gold (Feb 15, 2008)

Lutron has a line of "CL" dimmers for use with dimmable CFLs and LEDs. They come in Ariadni CL, Skylark CL, Diva CL, and Lumea CL. They have a small adjustment dial on the device that allows you to adjust the bottom level range so you can get a full range of dimming.

*Lutron LED Dimmers*


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