Westek 6004B 200W 3-Level Touch Lamp Plug-in Dimmer, White (5)

I was using this dimmer for my bed lamp that had a faulty switch that was always on. I could replace the switch, but this was easier. I missed the dimmer immensely once it failed so I ordered these.These dimmers can be difficult to find so I was happy to find them on Amazon. I’ve had my metal lamp plugged into one for the last seven years, (it was a Westek), and it’s given me very little issue. It did start to act flaky after a while. I noticed my lamp would come on the first dim setting. Then the next brighter setting. Then the brightest setting and stay there. All on its own. I finally figured out that it was fluctuations in the power in my house. If the dish washer or clothes washer were running then the dimmer would cause my lamp to come on as these units pulled more power or used less power during different phases of their operation. It didn’t happen when the dimmer was new so I just figured it was getting older. I think the problem started after numerous power outages and surges when the power came back on. The dimmer didn’t take to well to that. And then….Eventually, the dimmer died completely, but it wasn’t the dimmers fault. We had a lightning strike about thirty yards from the house and I lost quite few electronics. This dimmer was the least of my losses. I now have all of my electronics, including this dimmer, on 4,500 joule surge protectors. Problem solved.These dimmers work flawlessly for me. One on a bedroom lamp and one in the living room. I touch the metal lamp and it comes on. Another touch and it gets brighter. Touch it a third time and it gets brighter. Touch one more time and it turns off. No issues – even when using a dimmable LED bulb. Now, with no power surges or lightning strikes to affect them thanks to the surge protectors they work just fine without coming on thanks to the dish washer.For those people who find they have to beat on their metal lamp in order to get it to turn on, I’ve experienced this same issue. Here are two solutions for when the lamp isn't responding to your touch.Don't just tap the lamp for a micro second. Try touching it for two seconds. When you remove your fingers the lamp will respond.If that doesn't work then clean your lamp. No offense. Cooking, smoking, vaping, a humidifier and time will leave a film on everything in your house. Yeah, over time your lamp gets dirty like everything else and you get a poor connection when you touch it with your fingers. Ever pull a picture off the wall to see a perfect outline of the frame? The same crud that built up on your wall over the years builds up on everything else – including your lamp. Even though the lamp may look clean, clean it anyway and you may find that it works much better.Good luck!My dimmers work flawlessly and I am very happy with them. I hope Westek never stops making these. I’ll have to buy a new lamp in order to get the same touch to turn on function.

I've been using these plug-in dimmers for 30 years. I've had my share of problems with them, but they're generally so cheap that they were worth replacing after a few years. Now, Westek's quality control has diminished to a point where MOST of their inits don't work—or work sporadically for a while, then stop.I ordered two of them recently (May 2001). One was DOA, the other worked extremely poorly—it sporadically worked maybe 20% of the time. I've tried plugging them into surge protectors, which of course, does no good for a unit that's dead on arrival or works very poorly from the get-go.The wire-in type of touch dimmers are made far better, but for some lamps, such as the one I needed the plug-in type for, there's simply not enough room in the lamp base to hold the unit. If you want to buy one of those, you must measure your lamp base open space to make sure the unit Fits well.I returned both for refund. My advice is to avoid Westek products. They've gone terribly downhill over the years. Which is a shame, since if they worked, they'd be so handy. Alas, most simply DO NOT WORK. These units are available from my local hardware store, but I ordered from Amazon for convenience.IMPORTANT CAVEAT: Make certain that your overall lamp wattage does not exceed the rated voltage capacity of the unit. If it does, you'll burn out your unit very quickly (whichever type—wire-in or plug-in (if you happen to get lucky enough to receive a plug-unit that functions..

First off, these are great and work exactly as they’re supposed to. The issue I ran into was using them for two living room lamps. These lamps are plugged into seperate outlets on different walls but in the same room. The outlets are all connected together and run through the same circuit breaker. Apparently having two of these touch controllers on the same circuit doesn’t work. When each lamp is plugged in at the same time, only one will have the touch feature work. When plugging in just one of the two lamps, regardless of which lamp and controller , the touch control works great. So we put one on the main room and one in the bedroom for now. Soon I will add an outlet to our living room but tap into the power running to an outlet on the other side of the wall in a neighboring room so I can have the second lamp plugged into a different power circuit for the touch feature to work. Keep that in mind when purchasing these. And ensure that you are using dimmable led bulbs. I had one led dimmabe bulb flicker a bit on the touch controller so I swapped the bulb, that solved the problem of a bad bulb. All the negative reviews for these are probably due to one of these items I just explained. These controllers work great!

Pros:- Touch the easy to find lamp, not a touch pad. Great for nightstand when may fumble for it in dark.- Plugging into the plug versus the bulb socket, no potential of making the bulb not fit in the lamp- Incandescent works flawlessly every time. Three levels of touch, with a 60w bulb it is ideal on the nightstand. Love it- Price- Easy install- Conserves space on wall plug but will interfere with a three prong in the next socket. May have enough room for a slim two prong.Cons:- CFL works but not has seamlessly as the incandescent. Bulb will brighten but not in same levels. Seems like more touches to get to turn off. Perhaps there is a better CFL bulb for this.- LED, I am using one of the Cree 9w bulbs, which I love. It is noisy with this module, makes an almost fluorescent hum. The Cree does not hum with my "Touch and Glow" pad I use at my desk. Not sure why the difference but I would find it annoying on the nightstand.Hope this helps!